If Fischer would played Karpov for the World Champion, who would win?

One point to remember about Fischer's minus score against certain opponents (Geller, Tal) is that many of the losses occurred back when Fischer was a kid.

I think Fischer told the world he was not fit to play Anatoly Karpov when he declined to play Karpov in the Philippines. The Philippines president was putting up $5 million back then.  If Fischer thought he had a chance to win, he'd have jumped on that size prize money.

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chuckfloyd2011  wrote:

Sure Fischer would of played Karpov for five million dollars but the condition Karpov had to be the challenger, of course Karpov refuse. 

I said 1972-1975.  There was not enough appreciable deterioration by 1975 to diagnose squat.

As for the rest of your diatribe, I deleted it.  I've been clear enough all through this thread that I would not claim either player was a sure winner.  

So, who's deluded and can't let things go, the person that argues that the answer is irrelevant and unknowable, or the person that insists that a dead man would have lost a match that never happened, argues that he needs to be kicked around some more, and casts aspersions at everyone that does not agree?

Anyone who is " sure " that Karpov would have beaten Fischer in 75 is simply showing their ignorance of chess ...  

I read the full transcript and was shocked by just how much of a bigot Fischer was at the time. It's one thing to be crazy, but it's another thing to be crazy and hateful. What I don't understand is why the interviewers didn't act differently- they just played along with Fischer's hate speeches and didn't call him out that much at all on the offensive things he was saying. Even though Fischer wouldn't have listened to them, they could at least said more than "Okay..." and "Remember, we are live" to show that they didn't support Fischer's view in the least, and in this way apologize to the people who were offended by the radio interview.

I don't think it's the interviewer's responsibility to express judgment -- they just ask questions to let the interviewee's words speak for themselves. The interviewee's words aren't meant to represent those of the interviewer, but the interviewee.

And they do certainly speak for themselves -- Fischer has a very hateful attitude and assumes things about such a large group of people. (He did about women as well, although some have told me that Fischer's experiences with the Polgar sisters softened him up a bit in that regard) But I would leave the interviewer out of that.

Fischer was an unmedicated paranoid schizophrenic who will always be remembered as the greatest chess player who ever lived. He was obviously not in control of the things he was saying, I can't figure out why people discredit his chess because of his schizophrenia.

In 1975, Fischer by at least a 3 pt margin.

Fischer 12, Karpov 10.  (Fischer doesn't show up to one game, Karpov gets a point.  Something frustrates Fischer in another game, Karpov gets a point.  There are several draws in between, but overall Fischer plays better). 

Hijodeluna keeps on touting the same spiel from my observations here. Some of us think Fischer is the greatest, different opinions for different people. "Fixing" someone's statement is pretty rude. Deal with it.

Anyone who is "sure" that Fischer is the greatest of all time is simply showing their ignorance of chess...

and armchair psychiatrist Taiwanese.

Garry Kasparov believes Karpov wouldn't have won in 75. We will never know for sure because the match never took place. Unless someone invents a time machine, goes back in time, kidnaps Fischer and forces him to play, the point is moot.

And what are your chess credentials to claim his chess was overrated ?  Kasparov certainly doesnt share your opinion and his " credentials " are pretty impressive .  You are just a hater , wipe the foam from your mouth and seek help . 

As for what Fischer did for chess he simply did more than any player before or since him , making it possible for the top players to at least earn a decent living , something they couldnt do before him . Spassky won less than $ 5 k  for beating Petrosian in the WC match of 69 and now they play for millions .... thanks to Fischer . Give credit where credit is due , only the most rabid haters are unable to do so ... 

    Sage insight rdecredico.  I was just thinking that yesterday...there could be no more accurate discription of present day America than Juvenal's, "panem et circenses".  I prefer, "panis angelicus" myself. 

While Fischer most likely suffered from some form of paranoia based on the paranoid basis of his hatred, the story about the metal fillings, etc., saying he had schizophrenia is jumping to conclusions. People with schizophrenia have both delusions (which may or may not be paranoid) and (often auditory) hallucinations, so they appear in some cases to be "talking to themselves" when they really are hearing voices. People with schizophrenia actually do have control over what they are saying, but they perceive the world differently due to their mental illness. People with schizophrenia also show marked negative symptoms, including signs of depression and problems interacting with people (especially in severe cases), and they might also show involuntary motor movements and usually have rambling or incoherent speech, especially when talking to others. I don't think Fischer showed all of these symptoms, also considering that his mental health decline happened later than schizophrenia starts in most men (late teens-early twenties), so I think it was much more likely he just had paranoia and emotional problems that caused him to be so hateful. I can illustrate the example of paranoia vs. schizophrenia with two famous mathematics- John Nash had paranoid schizophrenia, which was especially marked by delusions, but also hallucinations, and its onset occured when Nash was relatively young (he struggled with his illness for over 30 years, during which it greatly debilitated his mathematical career). Kurt Godel, on the other hand, was very paranoid later in life, particularly about the delusion that his food had been poisoned, and sadly this delusion lead to Godel's death when he starved himself (his wife was usually there to taste his food for them, but she was being hospitalized for medical ailments at the time and had left Godel by himself).

Seek help for your hate ... 

You give society too much credit.  Major sports are successful because they give beta males a reason to hoot and hollar about alpha males they identify with but have no actual connection to, and people have figured out that you can make money off of this.  Pretty simple.