Who is the best player of all time?

"There`s no return match between a man and his stars."

S. Beckett.

tal

Kasparov okay, but good in his prime? An interesting contention. Highest rated player ever. Dominant for 20 years. Hammered Anand and Short. Beat Karpov (remember him - he's the guy Fischer ran away from and who is now generally regarded as the second best player of all time - if anyone doubts this compare Karpov's canditates final match against Spassky with Fishers WC win). Both Ks had better tournament records than Fischer. What Bobby achieved was magnificent, and for a brief period (perhaps 2 years) he was almost untouchable. Problem for those who want to see Fischer as the greatest is that Karpov was more so and for longer, and Kasparov bettered even that. For me, I think it's got to be Kasparov. Only players I can think of who were similarly dominant for any length of time were Capablanca and Lasker.

 Neither Kasparov nor Karpov ever won 20 games in a row against GMs, Fischer did. Neither of them won a major event with 100% either, Fischer did. Also neither of them ever won a candidates match with 100% , Fischer did it TWICE ! If longevity at the top is what matters most to you then you have to go with Lasker and NOT Kasparov. If it doesnt matter then why knock Fischer for lack of it ?  Noone knows how long Bobby would have stayed at the top had he continued to play but there is NO reason to believe he wouldnt have lasted as long as Kasparov did.

The problem with comparing the results of one common opponent for two players and declaring a superiority for one of them is that you need to include other opponents and achieve a consistent result in order to make a point with this method. Karpov struggled for a plus score versus an aging Petrosian and Fischer crushed the same player when Tigran was younger and stronger. Let it also be noted that no one but *no one* crushed Petrosian until Fischer did it.

Paul Morphy!

'A popularly held theory about Paul Morphy is that if he returned to the chess world today and played our best contemporary players, he would come out the loser. Nothing is further from the Truth. In a set match, Morphy would beat anybody alive today.'... Bobby Fischer

'Morphy can be regarded as the forefather of modern chess.'... Garry Kasparov

kasparov

L  A  S  K  E  R

Where I am coming from?

lol...

ADOLF ANDERSSEN IS THE BEST!!

I am the best player. I am not the player who plays the best: I am just the best player... a purely subjective judgment with which no reasonable person could argue.

(Vissi) Vishwanathan Anand is my favorite. Young innovative talented player.

If Fischer isn't the Greatest Chess player that ever lived, I am certain he would know who was!

'A popularly held theory about Paul Morphy is that if he returned to the chess world today and played our best contemporary players, he would come out the loser. Nothing is further from the Truth. In a set match, Morphy would beat anybody alive today.'... Bobby Fischer

I believe him!

I would have to say KASPAROV. I just can't look up to Fischer due to his anti-semetic views, and therefore he wasn't great. For me, being great is an all round quality, one has to be a good person to be great.

KASPAROV was champion for the greatest number of years. He has contributed alot to the game, the way it is played today, and to those who say Fischer could beat Kasparov, I say to them, that cannot be prooved.

The only reason Fischer is so loved is because of the aftershocks of cold war US propaganda, and waitzkin's book, which got so many people into chess. Kasparov is the greatest in my opinion.

Well, of course it changes over time.  The greatest chess player from 100 years ago was Morphy, and many people could argue that he couldn't stand head-and-shoulders with the best players today.  But the point is, back then, there was no T.V., no Internet, few books to study, and even fewer opponents to face...

In the Fischer era, Bobby Fischer not only stood up to the "Soviet player-building machine", he did it without the help of the Internet's research capabilities and without computer-aided chess.  I also think that Bobby's so-called "anti-semitism" is very exaggerated by the media, since he was a Jew himself, and also prone to being sarcastic and making jokes that he knew few people would get.  He was socially very brusque in his mannerisms, but so are a lot of genius-level people that I know.  They certainly don't see the world the same way the rest of us do.  It's uncertain that Fischer continued to play at a high level in his later days, but rumors abound of him playing over the Internet (under an alias) until he died, dismantling high-ranked opponents at speed chess...

As far as our current era is concerned, there are still lots of great players.  Kasparov, Karpov, Anand, and Tal, spring to mind; I'm sure everyone has a favorite.  All these players have different styles and different personalities, and some people like one more than others.  I think Kasparov stands out because of his celebrated matches against Deep Blue, and also because he was on the top of the heap for so long.  He may not be the strongest player at the moment, but many casual observers would likely name him if they were asked who the best is today.

I guess that the best player of all time is Kasparov.

 Agreed. Fischer was great, but he also had very favourable circumstances in which he played.

lol.... niven42 has just shown us some serious comitment there

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2DHpW79w0Y