Scottrf wrote:
elig5428 wrote:
Is it not true that Anand and Carlson are just as equally able to produce a win the the tournaments in the next 3 years, say?
No it's not true, which recent tournament would give you that impression?
London, Bilbao; Carlsen is a far better tournament player than Anand right now.
Scott, I disagree because we all know that past performance is no guarantee of future results. Can you agree with me on this point--which I obviously borrowed from the field of financial investments?
If I may go further, I will use a non-chess example of how ability and skill could be rated to try and make another point in the discussion of "best player ever." If we compare a man who did a two year tour of duty in Vietnam, then went home, with the man who completed a six year tour and escaped with his life, it would seem easily concluded that the second man was the better comparable soldier. But, if the first man was a medic not in the field and the second man was in combat every day, then the second man would definitely have been the better corpsman. Just an aside on that point.
But to determine the best chess player ever, I think it would require a statistical analysis through computer engine, to see who made more very good or excellent moves over their career, at tournament play. Even though Alekhine beat Capablanca in one or two tournaments, Capablanca has respect for his complex calculating in endgames, but equally so in the opening moves and middlegame, which prepared for his seemingly easy wins in the endgames. As such, many more would say that Capablanca was a superior player, an inference that most people agree with than take issue. But, I think a beginning way of looking at how did a player make a mark far beyond his peers to take a seat as "the best ever" we must look at all their tournament level games, and determine who had a higher average of "best moves" and obversely, a lower average of "blunders" or "moderate mistakes" at the tournament level, correlating factors only possible discovered through computer generated analysis-- But it is true that chess enthusiasts can addice a knowing on who achieved more perfection in the game absent any computer analysis. And, we like certain players more over years because, well, they were much better players and we try to aspire to that level. But yes, I am saying the players that competed and won in tournaments for a longer range of time, Fischer was one who won it all, then dropped out, but Alekhine and Capablanca competed over and over again, displaying their passion, and proving easily and quickly that they are better masters of chess than was Fischer. And, I say Fischer loses points in ranking for unsportsmanship that is well known as a fact. But, also when they are saying that because of the high point rank of the current tournament players, that these players are way better than the seminal players of age old, I fully disagree. I don't think there is a correlative between current point rank and overall standing in the total history of chess.