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

The biggest reach?  Karpov and Fischer would have eventually became friends.  But that of course wouldn't happen until Kasparov reigned supreme.  But Gary's reign wouldn't have been 15 years (nor Karpov's 10).

This might be part of the problem ...

Or this ...

The political slogan reads, "We fully support the Soviet Constitution"

And the trolling goes on... :)

I should be quitting forum participation, lest I become a troll myself. Not too good.

As you are not playing chess here, what is left other then becoming a troll?

It was a tragedy Fischer and Karpov never played any official games.

I've often wondered about Karpov's greasy hair.

Then again, I'm old enough to have caught the last year when it was cool to wear Brylcreem. I was in the fifth grade.

Here are two photos of Karpov,one before he discovered Neutrogena,the other after using Neutrogena.

NEVER  try brushing your teeth with that stuff !!  

Wow !  Thats the only pic I have ever seen where his hair isnt greasy !  Did he lose a bet or something ? 

Amen. That's the first appealing picture of Karpov I've seen. He looks like a relaxed version of Bill Gates after eating ice cream with Marlon Brando in Tahiti for several months.

Karpov has a problem with his eyes that one of my best friends also suffers from . 

Good grief. They stil sell Brylcreem. As one Amazon reviewer said:

In short, if you've never tried Brylcreem and you find yourself scoffing, perhaps saying to yourself "why would I want to try such an old product when there are so many great new ones out there?", just take a moment to remember that Brylcreem has survived so long because of its unparalleled quality. It's quite literally a household name, and it obtained this status for a reason. That reason is that Brylcreem is, quite simply, the best of the best!

http://www.amazon.com/Brylcreem-Hair-Cream-4-5-Ounce/dp/B000052Y6H

Brylcreem! A little dab'll do ya!

Ha-ha, good point. I'm actually working on learning new things. Doing those chess mentor courses and watching video lessons too. Pretty good actually. Although, I'd agree with you, that I'm probably spending too much time and effort on useless talk like this. You might think that I haven't done many chess mentor courses over time and that's true; however, I do these exercises a few times, sometimes as many as 10 times to make things stick. I have a lifetime membership and a lifetime to learn. :) But then, again, the more I work on my chess the more I see how much I still don't know, how much there's to learn. So, I may not go back to playing chess but I'll always enjoy and appreciate learning. Learning the depts of master level gives me an enourmous joy and appreciation of the game.

P.S. Trolling can be a fun game though, I see now why so many are engaged in it. Those who are there, are just having some good fun. I was trying to present a point of view and make some sense, but realized that most of these forums are hardly for that. So, I guess, I gotta get outta here too. I've had enough of trolling - I'm still just a beginner in that field.

Here's Kramnik's assessment of Fischer-Karpov:

Interviewer – We can have a long argument about the possible outcome of the Fischer-Karpov match. What do you think, did Karpov have a chance?

Kramnik – He did. I think that Fischer had the better chances but Karpov had his trump card too. I am referring to Karpov’s preparation because Fischer was a ‘lone sailor’. He did not have any serious assistants and played risky openings. Karpov had his chances by setting opening problems for Fischer. I would like to mention that Geller had a positive score against Fischer. Geller was proficient at openings and adopted an intensive approach to theory, which was not easy for Fischer. As for level of play Fischer would have been superior to Karpov. However, if Karpov could have gained a real edge in the opening, the match would have seen an even contest.

http://www.chessmastery.co.uk/interviews/chess-interview-kramnik-on-the-world-champions/

the_decoys wrote:

Fischer probably would have gotten off to a fast start against Karpov, and then Karpov would have had a strong finish but come up short in their initial meeting.  But Karpov playing against Fischer for 10 years would have sharpened him (as no other could), so that Karpov would have been completely prepared for Kasparov.  Karpov would have eventually beaten Fischer, although Fischer would have remained strong all of his life and while he still played.  Kasparov would eventually be too much for Fischer as well, even though Fischer would never be completely ran over by the two Ks. It's a shame that we couldn't have seen these giants go back and forth from the mid 70s through the 90s, elevating the game of chess almost back to the 'golden age' of the days of the original "Grand Masters."  That would have been a real treat and the world have enjoyed the real gift of Bobby Fischer over that span of time.  Now, the world of chess belongs to all of the young GMs who will captivate us in the same way.  

Fischer would of been the first 2800 elo player after beating Karpov, and Karpov would benefit a lot playing Fischer, they would been chess lesson given by Fischer, and he might of become even stronger by playing Fischer. Karpov would of become tougher mentally and his game would been elevated to higher caliber; you become a better player by playing someone much strong than you, this happen to Garry when he played Karpov; Kasparov became much strong player.

ipcress12  wrote:

there was only one big Fish in chess. truly a Jaws that crippled his prey with fear.

There's a myth about Fischer out prepping Spassky. Spassky found a critical line in the Sicilian Poisoned Pawn variation that Fischer did not solve. Spassky forgot his prep at several key moments. Spassky was not well prepared to defend his title and played well below his best. Karpov would almost certainly have been better prepared than Spassky. I think Kramnik probably has it about right.

Grace-Ventura wrote:

I don't know about chess, but having read a little bit about their lifes, Fischer seems much more fun than the dull Soviet pal.