Quotes by the participants of the Corus Honorary Group:
Ljubomir Ljubojevic: “A man without frontiers. He didn’t divide the east and the west, he brought them together in their admiration for him.”
Jan Timman: “A great player and a great example for many. His book My 60 Memorable Games had a big impact on me. It is a shame he didn’t continue to enrich the world of chess with his unparalleled understanding after 1972.”
Lajos Portisch: “A big shock; the best chess player in history has passed away.”
Viktor Kortchnoi: “A chess genius has died; a loss for humanity.”
Source: http://www.coruschess.com/
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
It seems tacky to do an article on Kasparov on today of all days. Fischer may not have been the best chess player in history, but this should be his day.
It is arguable that Fischer at his best was better than anyone else at their best. One thing is clear though, no one in chess has ever captured the world’s imagination the way Bobby Fischer did. At least on that score he will never be equaled.
At his best Fischer WAS the BEST. Period.Had Fischer been a Russian,they would have seen to it that he became World Champ earlier, and remained so for longer.
Who were Fischers trainers?
Since someone chose to mention Kasparov, then let me too. Garry Kasparov will forever live in Bobby Fischer’s shadow.
Why Garry has to live in shadwow to Fischer ?
They are from different generation.
I am pretty sure Garry will beat Fischer easily.
Has noone heard that Jeff Sonas has statistically proven by retro-rating each game back to Steinitz, that the top five are 5. Botvinnik, 4. Lasker, 3. Capablanca, 2. Fischer, and 1. Kasparov. Check out chessmetrics.com
This talk of “the best” is utter nonsense. Fischer at his best was in all likelihood the equal of Lasker and Capa and Akiba and Alekhine and Morphy and the rest of the gang of immortals, let alone Kasparov and the modern geniuses. Never forget Newton’s imperishable words: “If I have seen farther than others it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants”.
Imagine Lasker with the resources that exist nowadays. Imagine his being able to devote all his energies to chess, being untroubled by his university duties in mathematics and philosophy in order to earn his daily crust. How would the moderns have coped against him, I wonder. Fischer would have had a ball fighting this man tooth and claw, but the outcome is moot, despite what these questionable Elo ratings try to tell us.
Let’s just love all our chess legends and frown upon vulgar comparisons, PLEASE!