Chess, Six Degrees of Separation

For this only games won directly count. Games won in simuls do not count.

Show within 6 games how you are "better" than a World

Champion.  Example  Player A is a world champ  

You beat player B one on one--

player B beat player C one on one--

 player C beat player D one on one--

and player D beat player A [World Champion] one of one. 

 Four games--four degrees of Separation.  Therefore you, are "better" than the World Champ.

Draws don't count,  play in simuls does not count.

Can be any World Champ past or present.

@Ponz, I'm betting you have X degrees of separation from a win over Bobby Fischer.  Let us know.  

I think I should include wins in simuls. This will give many more possiblities.

Ok if you scored a win in a simul it counts.

Player A is world champ [past or present] 

You won a game in a simul vs grandmaster X..

Grandmaster X won a game from grandmaster B  

Grandmaster B won a game vs a grandmaster A  [world champ past or present]

Now you are "better than a world champ"

[It took 3 games, so only 3 degrees of separation!]

zborg you are correct!

Rethinking the math.  If it takes 3 games then really it is only 2 degrees of separation--I don't know? Someone familar with "degrees of separation"

please set me straight?

One game = one degree of separation.  Those you are 1 degree of separation from are those you have beaten.

By following the "best win" links for my blitz rating on chess.com I am 4 degrees of separation from.... a 2436 rated player who was apparently banned for cheating.  The chain ends there.  For my standard rating it only takes 3 links before I reach a banned player.  For my bullet rating it again takes 4 links.

I am 5 degrees away from a 2200 blitz player on this site whose account was closed.

Correspondence: 4 degrees away from a 2470 player whose account was closed.

Thanks, Berder for clearing that up.

If you count semi-serious OTB games, I think I can get Karpov in three. There's a player in my club who I have beaten a few times, Stuart Hutchings, and Stuart says he got Karpov in two - he beat Ray Keene and Keene beat Karpov.

If only fully-competitive games count, I can get Simon Williams in two (I've beaten Alan Spice who beat Williams in the 4NCL), so I can get anyone Williams has beaten in three. Ivan Sokolov is one. 

I'm only counting OTB games at standard time control here because I've beaten loads of GMs and IMs in blitz so it would be easy

I beat FM Tim Wall who beat IM Dean Ippolito who beat GM Gawain Jones who beat GM Ivan Cheparinov who beat GM Vassily Ivanchuk who beat GM Garry Kasparov

That's 6 degrees, I'm sure there's a quicker way somewhere 

You made it, pip!

Ahh, Ivan Sokolov beat Kasparov in 1999. I can get Garry in four!

Fathallah --> Spice --> GM Williams --> GM Sokolov --> GM Kasparov

I won a game vs GM Arthur Bisguier in the US Open in 1973.  Bisguier won from Robert Fischer in the 1950's.

Also, per my new chess data base Bisguier also has a win vs Tigran Petrosian.

So two degrees of separation me and Fischer

and two degrees of separation me and Petrosian?

[of course I will have to admit that after Bisguier won that game and a draw later--that Fischer beat him quite a few games after that]

My degree of separation vs grand masters is 1. 

My degree of separation vs United States

Champions is 1.   

Impressive to win against Bisguier, what was the rating difference at the time?

That is a story in itself. Previously I had won several tournaments but they were in downstate Illinois and my rating before that US Open was only about 2000. In that tournament I scored draw with Karklins and Loss to Lawrence Day and a win vs the Chicago champ and a draw with a former state champ and of course the game where a won vs Bisguier and came out with 2188 rating USCF.

Needed only 12 points to become master. Then  played in a tornado in Kankakee and scored 4 wins no losses and no draws and then played in another tornado in Kankaee and again scored 4 wins and no loses and no draws. And eagerly waited for my copy of Chess LIfe to come and my new rating as master.  First month  rating still at 2188  Second month my rating still at 2188.  Third month my rating still at 2188.  Then I was doing so well at correspondence chess--I stopped playing USCF over the board

and here is punch line:  My USCF rating is till at 2188--has not budged since  1973.

I won against Kasparov, now I am better than Kasparov in the first degree. And better than most other chess players in the second or third degree.

Is your pet monkey called Kasparov?

One degree of separation against each GM I have ever played  [3]

No losses or draws vs GMs.   [of course I am now a "has-been" old timer]

Also, one degree of separation vs U S Champions  [2]

Should we include none chess records by chess players?  Then I could include the number of perfect bowling games I have had or a tennis record or some very unusual chess records.