The great chess Grandmaster, Russia's Gary Kasparov, has been retired from chess for a couple of years now. He's picked up a new game, leading the opposition political party in his motherland.
It appears that his new endeavors are, to say the least, dangerous. I certainly wish him the best of luck as he tries to change Russia from within. Sadly, his political life will apparently keep him away from competitive chess forever.
As U2's Bono is "the last of the rock stars," so Kasparov is the last of the chess stars: a world dominating powerhouse with the highest chess rating in history.
About 15 to 20 years ago, the chess world longed for a dream match, Kasparov vs. Fischer. Alas, the fantasy match never materialized, mainly because Fischer had, by that time, become a complete recluse with a host of social issues, to put it mildly.
Still, Fischer is without doubt the best American chess player to push a pawn. Depending on who you talk to, the greatest chessman of all time is either Fischer or Kasparov. These guys were giants among mortals in the chess worlds that they played in.
For my money I'd have to give that race to Fischer, by a nose. But Kasparov is, hands down, my champion.
He's a gentleman and a gamer, a true one-of-a-kind.
- G.K. Chesterton
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Personally--and I'll admit, this is something I haven't thought about for a number of years, so I don't remember my reasoning--I'd put Capablanca ahead of Fischer, though probably not Kasparov.
Emmanuel Lasker was the greatest ever, in my book. Guy played and beat the widest range of great masters of anyone in history, and then came back in his 60's (!) and was STILL competitive with the top players. Amazing! He even became a champion Bridge master during the time he was retired from chess.
The greatest chess tournament of all time would be Lasker, Karpov, Kasparov, Capablanca, and Fischer all playing for the title of greatest ever!
Fischer fans should read Bobby Fischer Goes to War. Fascinating the mind games he played with Spassky.
My review of Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess at Amazon continues to draw negative responses for no other reason that I can see except that it's positive toward Fischer. Talk about a divisive character in the chess world! The haters REALLY despise him.
Fischer later advocated a form of chess that moved the starting positions of the non-pawn pieces, claiming that the traditional game had become stale through overanalyzing opening moves. He claimed the first thirty moves of the game were utterly worthless because they'd been memorized by most truly great players.
I know when I play I fool people by opening with untraditional moves. Even though this should put me at a disadavantage, most people are so startled they don't know how to respond. Too many have memorized their openings and can't parry something outside the book.
A metaphor for the state of the American Church if there ever was one!
"A metaphor for the state of the American Church if there ever was one!"
Huh?
In an age when so many churches are "changing the starting positions", and traditionalism in churches in on the extreme wane, etc, I don't understand this comment. But I may be missing something.
My son has read it. I'm reading it now. Only it's a bummer because Daniel marked all the answers in it. I have to move fast to cover them with my hand so I can do the questions on my own! T'is a good book.
DLE, I was talking about "Goes to War," though, "Teaches Chess" is also a cool book too! Blest, that book's cheap, get another copy! ;-)
Bird, if I play chess online, it will be official: my butt will permanently become one with my office chair.
Fischer's mental instability gave him a psychological edge over everyone he played. Normal humans cracked under the psy-ops tactics Fischer employed to rattle people. Fischer himself was/is some kind of Asperger's-like savant who resembles Deep Blue more than he does Kasparov. I've met people like Fischer, who so easily slip into some fugue state, and they're largely scary people to be around.
Fischer's genius, though, undid him. With no social skills and an inner life no one can or could understand, it was inevitable that he should flame out so wildly. As a one-time admirer of Fischer, and someone who remembers watching the great duel with Spassky, I hate to say it, but I'd be afraid to be in the same room as Fischer today.
BTW, did they ever extradite him from Japan? I lost track of the whole sordid affair.
If I remember correctly, Japan released him and Iceland took him in. I guess he's a national hero there for bringing him so much fame.
Yes, I'd be scared to be in the same room with Fischer as well. Too bad for Americans, he was our only great champion on the world stage. Unless you count Paul Morphy, another weirdo who died in a bathtub surrounded by womens' shoes.
You know, I almost brought up Morphy. He and Fischer have some similarities.
Y'know, that's a good point. As a pure chess player, I don't think Fischer was on quite the same level as Kasparov or Capablanca (or Lasker--good call, Jason); but then, it wasn't just his chess playing that mattered.
I wouldn't take anyone over Fischer. The dude was an absolute killer.
Gosh, it'd be fun to see a tournament with all these chess greats we're talking about going head-to-head.
I heard an interview with Kasparov on BBC Radio 3 last night. You can listen to it online on the Night Waves page of the Radio 3 website. (It'll be available for the next week)l.