Author: David Mitchell
Date: 14:05:33 05/27/05
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On May 27, 2005 at 15:00:42, adam wilks wrote: >Fischers strength may have decreased since 1972 yet I still think his chess >creativity and simplicity along with Morphy`s positional ideas will remain >unchallenged for many centuries to come. I think Fischers true strength in his >prime was severly underrated due to peoples perceptions of his character through >his behaviour. I think his behaviour is normal for someone with an iq of 180. >Extremely sensitive to lights and noises hence 1972. > >Since learning about how he affected chess for possibly millions of yesterdays >and todays generation plus the fashion in which he destroyed Taimanov and Larsen >6-0 respectively and fininshing 5 points ahead of Tal in a blitz tournament now >gives me the impression hes the greatest chess player ever. The reasons why i >think so are: Could Kasparov in his prime have beaten the same opponents and >finished 5 points ahead of Tal? Could kasparov beat the modern day equivalent of >Donald Byrne when he was 13 not only that but in the same fashion? > >Lastly, i think Fischer with his speed and keeping things simple approach on the >board would have destroyed Deep Blue in 1997 and busted its opening book let >alone knowing about how chess computers/programs work! Fischer was given the credit he deserved for his chess games and their strength. Having an odd character as a chess champion, is nothing new in the chess world. There have been many eccentric or borderline dysfunctional chess masters. Morphy, for one example, went completely off his mental roadmap. RF's anti-semetic views are especially ironic, because he is jewish, by blood. And if you want to talk about keeping things simple in chess, you need only look at Capablanca's games to see that quality very strongly evidenced. Fischer's genius, imo, was in being able to work with analysis (his and others), and then recall that analysis, move by move, in great detail, when playing OTB. Great stuff! Unlike Cappy, Fischer loved working thru detailed analysis and openings, and chess fans found his love of the game thoroughly enjoyable. If Fischer had been playing DB/DBII, I am sure the book lines of the computer would have been optimized to give him no more than equality after the opening, In the same way that Hsu's team optimized DB to play against Kasparov. Fischer was a great chess genius, no doubt, but let's keep in mind that Kasparov is considered the greatest chess player of all time. Knowing how a chess program works is of very little help in defeating it, OTB. Certainly, Hsu and his team knew EXACTLY how it worked, but none of them could begin to beat DB. It's like baseball - you may know EXACTLY how a bat is made, but will that REALLY help you hit a lot more home runs?? Like many, I wish Bobby the best. I hope he can put his past fears from his Pasadena police incident, and more recent squabbles with Uncle Sam, finally behind him, and move on. Remembering the past is fine, but being controlled by it makes for a sorry future. Dave
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