A nice idea.
Mt. Rushmore of Chess
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Apr 26, 2017
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#6
I think you guys should just leave the mountains be, you bunch of dynamite-happy vandals.
Apr 26, 2017
0
#7
Nice idea. On the road leading to Mount Rushmore, the first sight of it is so awesome that there's an extra-wide shoulder intentionally created for people to pull-off and not get into an accident driving.
Similarly, the idea of a chess Mt. Rushmore is so awesome that that the question of which four faces should be there deserves stopping and thinking first.
1. Bobby Fischer. The world's greatest player of all time, maybe by ability, certainly by his rating difference above competitors.. He didn't hold the title long, but he was clearly the world's best player for nearly a decade before the candidate's tournament rules were changed so the Soviets couldn't cheat.
2. Wilhelm Steinitz was the first official world champion and held the title from 1886-1894. That's longer than Morphy played competitive chess and I don't think more than one American deserves to be there (unless they carve it on another mountain in the Black Hills of South Dakota like Mr. Rushmore and Crazy Horse). Steinitz also had a lot to do with the development of modern chess theory: Lasker's books are based on Steinitz's theories. This month I won a game by using the Steinitz Variation against the Classical French Defense.
3. Garry Kasparov. Of the modern world champs, he lasted the longest: 15 years.
4. Alexander Alekhine. There are lots of good candidates left, especially Tal and Lasker, but they contributed little to chess theory and influencing the way we play chess today. Alekhine was clearly an innovator and one of the first major players to demonstrate that influencing the center was at least as important as occupying it.
SpasskyKhan101 wrote:
You left out influentual players like Capablanca and Tarrash.
The mountain I have in mind only has room for four. Unless we blast their faces smaller, but then no one could see them from the highway.
Fischer and Kasparov for sure. Staunton??? No way. Although he did design the pieces the best. Morphy was a brilliant meteor whose light didn't shine long enough.
Capablanca and Alekhine. Or perhaps Lasker and Karpov?
SeniorPatzer wrote:
Fischer and Kasparov for sure. Staunton??? No way. Although he did design the pieces the best. Morphy was a brilliant meteor whose light didn't shine long enough.
Capablanca and Alekhine. Or perhaps Lasker and Karpov?
+1
Wait a minute... shouldn't the people on Mt. Rushmore be presidents? I'd say they should be
Folke Rogard
Max Euwe
Florencio Campomanes
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
How's that?
They do not have to be presidents, just those who people have heard of Macer75. Yours don't count
Well then.. Anna Rudolf is in.
yorygregovich wrote:
This thread it starting to become somewhat bigoted in my very humble opinion.
No females?????
You have to make room for one broad as far as I'm concerned.
But if there are four players... then shouldn't 2 of them be women? 1 is not enough, not to mention 0.
Anna is out. Women can get their own mountain.
Let's stop all this CAPS stuff on who is the best chess player ever. I have a better idea. If you were wondering if chess had a monument blasted out of the side of a mountain, who would be on it? You don't have to. I have done it for you. #1 Robert James Fischer. Greatest player ever. I would go so far as to blast out a collar and tie for him. #2 Garry Kasparov. Another great player. He lost to Watson's grandpa. #3 Howard Staunton. What he did for chess was historic. Imagine what chess pieces would look like without him. #4 Paul Morphy. Facing west, towards the future of chess perfection, Morphy's play showed everyone that you would win more often if your pieces were not left on the back rank. As the monument has yet to be constructed, your feedback and suggestions may sway the discussion. REACTION!