Who are the nicest chess players at the top?

being a hard driven, focused person doesn't stop one from being not an asshole. nice is relative here (think of all the grandma's and generally friendly people there are out there). but, when it comes to top chess, especially vs someone of similar calibre, nice is out of the question. it's their job/work/passion. they aren't f'in around. 

people liked Tal cuz he drank a lot and told stories.  i'm sure it was a blast hanging out with him. 

Borislav Ivanov.

Not bobby Fischer?! Aw come on. Wasn't he one of the nicest ever?

Go recite your socialist paradise spiel to someone who's interested, comrade.

The 70's called looking for you, I told them you'd be home by supper...

Definitely not Fischer. That guy was a selfish a**hole. Although a great player.

I forgot to mention that I also have heard nice things about Levon Aronian and, of course, Mikhail Tal. I once read that Tal had no enemies.

no i believe you are a .... Why else would you insult such a great honest player. Bobby Fischer was probably the only top chess player ever, were we know with absolute certainty that he wasnt an a.. and selfish.

He always told the truth and said what he thought. Even top players seldom seem to have such a character and guts. Most people tend do be less honest and do everything for tiny profits really and are hilarious and pathetic.

Im not saying all are bad, but a great bunch of players ofc are, Fischer was not. If you are not a bad guy yourself, why would say that about Fischer???

Why would someone throw a stone at Jesus, if he had no blood on his hands??

I think the reason all hate Fischer, is because people are low life and would do shady things and lie for really small money. they have no character and are pathetic, so when they see a proud person like Fischer, they realise what low life losers they reall are.

In 2010  Anand donated his gold medal to the charitable organisation "The Foundation" to be auctioned off for the benefit of underprivileged children. 

Um, I'm sorry, I think you worship Fischer.

No im just saying the facts.

Everyone attacks Fischer, but no1 attacks those guys that sell bad chess books, or the phoney friends of those guys who push them up knowing they are bad. you are very selective in your opinion.

Chess is very phoney and corrupted, Fischer is the only one we absolutly can be sure of he wasnt.

He spoke the truth and said what he think, even if its not about such cheapos and small dollars do you really think everyone else says what they think??

That really was a cool thing to do, I didn't know about that. I've always thought Anand acted very polite. I noticed Kramniks name was mentioned here & I've always seen him being polite in interviews. But he sure is quoted a lot saying some stuff that makes him sound like a whiner & a bit jealous.

And yet ,this isn't nearly as offensive as Fischer's Anti-Semitism and his approval of 9-11. Give me all the bad chess books you want, I'll take them any day over Fischer's character. Fischer's chess, however, is a separate issue, and I adore his games. I'd also like to add that you have the most selective opinions of all, i.e. if a forum topic has any words in the title at all it is :

1. Say a ton of things about how awesome Fischer is if it's about Fischer, or

2. Introduce Fischer if the topic has nothing to do with Fischer, and then proceed with #1.

Essentially, virtually every post you make goes something like "If Fischer did it, it's cool," or "Fischer is the best (insert something from completely unrelated forum topic here)"

well i guess everyone has different opinions, but i put those guys who write bad books on the  level of peoplet who would lie or steal for as little as 5 dollars without any need.

For me they are just pathetic losers.

Fischer just said what he thought, so what??? you never said anything other might be offended.

Well for me there is nothing bad in what Fischer did, he just spoke his mind. I heard in america you hear worth things when you drive the car (but maybe that a myth, ive never been to america sadly)

Dang, see what I started? Chaos, turmoil, vitriol, ah yes, my work here is done. Muahahahaha....................

Yeah, political flames and Fischer flames, all in two pages.  I see this thread is going well.

Of the players I've met, Anand, Larsen, Najdorf, Christiansen, Bisguier, Rossolimo, Seirawan, Dzindzi, they were all pretty cool, easy to talk to (though the Anand meeting was very brief).  Benko was the only one I saw that acted like a jerk, but it was over a time scramble in a tight game, so....

Ken Rogoff is the one I met that I have no respect for, but I won't publically go into the reasons.

Of the current GMs, the top five all seem to be engaging, intelligent speakers, who sometimes can be brutally hard on their own play in post-game interviews.  In personalities, I don't really see a Steinitz or an Alekhine in the group, they're more like a bunch of Capablancas.  But I kinda like it.

That quote is indeed authentic. You were not able to find it in any book because it was never written down. It was something someone overheard him say one day when he was drunk and on the toilet.

Don't get me wrong. I'm a fan of his chess, he was an incredible player but just look at the interviews for example. He was an arrogant, self-centred human being.

What about Kasparov? He's pretty good. And Gelfand. Their bothamazing chess players.

i listened to many of his interviews, he was pretty charismatic and a good talker in my opinion and i havent felt his arrogance.