FJLawrence wrote:
ok, if you wanna make it hard, let me put it this way: who has the best chess playing skills of all time. do you get it?
Today's chess players have access to engine analysis and reviews that older players did not. Many modern players would therefore crush the best of the old time players. But what if the older players had access to the same resources? Who knows?
Magnus Carlsen has the highest peak FIDE rating ever of 2882. But FIDE only started using the Elo system in 1970
For example: which is the best team in American football ever? Is it the 1972 Miami Dolphins, who went 14-0 in the regular season and 3-0 in the playoffs to win Super Bowl 7? Is it the 2002-2005 Patriots who won 3 out of 4 Super Bowls in that time frame? Or maybe the 2002-2019 Patriots who won 6 Super Bowls? What about the Kansas City Chiefs, who have won 3 out of the last 4 Super Bowls?
If the 1972 Miami Dolphins played last year's Kansas City Chiefs, who would win? The rules have changed since those two times, so how can you compare them?
I am basically saying that the question the OP poses cannot be determined because it is subjective