WHO IS THE BEST CHESS PLAYER OF ALL TIME

Many chess players asked me that question more than anything else. In my opinion, it's Bobby Fischer or Gary Kasparov. Both were extremely dominating world Champions at their peak. If I had to choose, I go with Fischer purely on his personality. There is something magical about him that brings people into the game. He's a chess genius.

As I was young, he was a role model. Someone who inspired me to do what he did. His passion as well as his will to win the game was unparalleled. Gary kasparov too had similar killer instinct. When he sat down on the table as a champion, it is believed that many of his opponents trembled in fear and sometimes would consider draw as a very good result. That's the aura that these two personalities possessed. At their best, they are miles ahead of the rest.

Nowadays, the younger generation might suggest Magnus Carlsen as a likely candidate. I would agree. Magnus is a force of nature. Recently, before he became a world champion, he won almost all tournaments that he participated. He broke the highest rating record previously held by Gary kasparov i.e 2851. Carlsen is currently the world's number 1 as well as the world champion. He would be defending his title next month against former world champion Viswanathan Anand for their Revenge match.

Truth be told, it's impossible to compare two players. The reason being that they played at different era. So it came down to opinions. If we look at the reign as a champion, Gary kasparov held longest time frame. But we can argue that Fischer retired as a champion. So no one had any clue how long he would be champion. The same can be said for Carlsen as well. He is currently the champion and we don't know how long he will remain a champion.

Personally when I look at the criteria for deciding the best player of all time, I would consider the following :-

1. Domination
2. Accuracy of moves
3. Influence on people
4. Originality

After a thoughtful assessment, Fischer had a slight edge but that's just my opinion. Not a scientific one. Everybody is free to have their opinion.