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

We are speaking about 1975, your sarcasm is really irrelevant.

Karpov's mental and emotional stability is one big unknown. He suffered several failures due to "bad nerves" later in his long matches vs Kasparov and he tended to lose weight, probably due to digestive problems causing loss of apetite under tension. I used to think he suffered with proper mental anorexia (and prof. Zukhar was his therapist), but I find it implausible now.

Fischer's play was sound, stable and consistent.

During the match with Garry Kasparov - that is possible. Although even during that match Karpov was able to control his emotions and remained calm.

The point I mean is - it is enough to see where Karpov participated in the period 1969-1975, and what is more important - his results in that period, to see whether Karpov's chances were "zilch" or "not zilch"

It's funny how relatively weak chess players think they can judge the strength of certain chess players at a certain point in their careers.

I'm a pretty lousy chess player. I'm well aware of that. I am under the impression that I am more aware of that than most of you. But at least I competed at a pretty high level for a couple of decades. And was always in the top 300 and in the top 100, just for an instance when I was an active player. (middle-ages you might say).

I say it one more time. In 1975 Karpov stoof NO chance against Fischer.

99% of titled chess players will agree with that point of view. I can't remember a single occasion where a strong chessplayer disagreed with that over the last 40 years.

NR.

Tracking turned off! (again)

Shame Fischer was too scared to play then.

There are no really great chess abilities required to discuss about all that. Even if taking into account Karpov's results of that period, all agree that Fisher's chances were higher. And all those discussions might last forever.

The pitiful fact (both for Fisher's and Karpov's admirers, but as for me - my only wish would be to be given a possibility to enjoy the games of their match, no matter who would win) is that Bobby did not want to give a chance for that lottery, preferring to be defeated without struggle, to the whole world's disappoitment

There was a rumour that fischer returned to chess in 1977 to play a 4 game match with Kaválek which he lost 4-0, but as I have never seen any of the games published maybe it was just a rumour.

Nobody can belittle either Fisher or Karpov as personalities in chess, both having a full honour to be chess champions. One would be very mistaken to think that in 1975 Karpov "just by chance" or "for some strange reasons" gained the honour to play a WC match with Bobby Fisher.

Tracking turned off, yes. But came to have a look anyway.

You're wrong Scottrf. No way in hell he was scared. Whatever his reasoning was for not playing (I have a pretty good idea, but that would take too long), it was certainly not because he was scared.

That wasn't a rumour. I've got that info from a first hand witness. That DID happen, but nothing about that match was allowed to be published.

By the way, Fischer WON 4-0. See how history gets manipulated.

I have three shelves of books on chess. And although it's very interesting to read commented games of interzonal and other tournaments and championship matches, it is far more interesting to read about single chess players, where both their biography and commented chess games are. And it is very interesting to read a chess game commented by two grandmasters - often their opinions and seeing of position and possible plans differ in a curious way. I many times read and re-read the books about Alexander Alekhine, Bent Larsen, Leonid Stein, Svetozar Gligorich, David Bronstein, Mikhail Tal, Emanuel Lasker, Max Euwe, J. R. Capablanca, Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov - this is not the whole list. But I wish I had such a book about Bobby Fisher, to learn more about events in his life, to replay his games on my chessboard, following his comments. It's really an unknown world

Just seeing if you could manage to stay away.

You even twist the results of a secret match to support your man 

Ok, I admit that's funny. But I stand by what I said.

By the way, you know what's really funny?

Karpov is and always has been my favorite chessplayer. Both as a chessplayer and on a personal level. But I talked about that before, somewhere else.

STILL, Bobby would have destroyed him. (in 1975)

Just a question, if anyone can answer - why was all that "secrecy" of that match. Strange to read that "nothing about that match was allowed to be published"

Fischer was scared he would lose. Same reason he wouldn't play Karpov.

I would not believe that it was Fisher who did not allow to publish about that match. Is it really possible to find those games anywhere?

Wrong, wrong, wrong. And a blatant lie.

If you would have said "he was paranoid" i might have agreed, maybe.

He had this thing about - total control and info -.

Wrong again, geez. It was FISCHER who didn't allow the games to be published. And I don't think you can find them anywhere.

Now I'm going to try to leave this thread. Again.

R.I.P. Bobby and thank you.