WHO IS THE GREATEST CHESS PLAYER OF ALL TIME? Defend your answer...

i wonder who authored such rankings among these champions..if it were you,then i dont believe it..your thoughts are not credible towards the matter,hehehe..id rather believe these grandmasters than you.

I was the strongest from 1964 to 1970, but in 1971 Fischer was already stronger.  -  Boris Spassky

I mean, most of modern chess is his offering. Myself and the rest had those moves ready for us when we started out, but it had to take someone to discover them first. Bobby Fischer was that person. He was that person for entire generations of chess players. His was a singular life in that sense. He's made it easier for us today.  -  Viswanathan Anand

What I admired most about him was his ability to make what was in fact so difficult look easy to us. I try to emulate him.  -  Magnus Carlsen

Bobby Fischer is the greatest Chess genius of all time!  -  Alexander Kotov

I believe that Fischer surpassed all the former and currently living grandmasters in the ability to produce and process chess ideas.  - Anatoly Karpov

If only I had had my duel with Fischer, my fighting level would be of a higher order. Once I had attained and mastered such a level - a level which for Kasparov is completely unattainable - I would have recalled it whenever necessary.  -  Anatoly Karpov

Fischer’s beautiful chess and his immortal games will stand forever as a central pillar in the history of our game.   -  Garry Kasparov

I like Nizman's list best!

NN. Almost certainly the most experienced player, if only (s)he could learn from all that experience, (s)he'd be unstoppable.

I vote John Doe as the second best chess player.

My pet peeve with these lists is that people usually place Kramnik far ahead of Lasker and Steinitz.

i guess maybe the debate should be, would modern players have discovered and featured what their predecessors did ?