Kasparov says ranking chess players across eras is impossible because each generation has more knowledge and resources. He describes Magnus Carlsen as a lethal combination of Fischer's fighting spirit and Karpov's positional efficiency, and notes that physical conditioning matters more than people realize.
Where do you put Magnus Carlsen, the current world champion, in the list of all time greats in terms of style, moments of brilliance, consistency?
It's a tricky question. You know, the moment you start ranking. Yeah.
You lose something.
It's the. I think it's, it's, it's not fair because it's the. Any new generation knows much more about the game than the previous one. So when people say oh, Gary was the greatest, Fischer was the greatest, Magnus was the greatest, it disregard the fact that the great players of the past, Whether last year CavaPlan, I mean they knew so little about chess by today's standards. I mean today just any kid, you know, that spent few years, you know, with his or her chess computer, knows much more about the games simply just because you have access to this information and it has been discovered generation after generation, we added more and more knowledge to the game of chess. It's about the gap between the world champion and the rest of the field. So it's the. Now if you look at the gap then probably Fischer, you know, could be on top, but very short period of time. Then you should also add a time factor. Yes, I was on top. Not as big as, but, but much longer. So that's so. And also unlike Fischer, I was succeed. I succeeded in beating next generation.
Yeah. Here's the question.
Yeah.
Let's see if you still got the fire speaking of the next generation because you did succeed beating the next generation next.
It's close. Okay. And short. Anand the sheer of Kramnik is already 12 years younger. So that's a neck that's. But still yet I, I competed with them and I just, I beat most of them and I was still dominant when I left at age 41. So back to Magnus. Magnus. I mean consistency is phenomenal. The reason Magnus is on top and it seems unbeatable today. Magnus is a lethal combination of Fischer and Karpov, which is very, it's very unusual because Fischer's style was very dynamic. Just fighting to the last pawn. I mean just using every resource available. Karpov was very different. It's just yet an unparalleled ability to use the every piece with a maximum effect. Just, it's minimal resources always produce maximum effect. Just so now imagine that you merge these two styles. So it is, it's, it's like, you know, it's squeezing every stone for a drop of water. But, but doing it, you know, just, you know, for 50, 60, 70, 80 moves. I mean Magnus could go on as long as Fischer with all his passion and energy and at the same time being as meticulous and deadly as Karpov by just, you know, using every little advantage. So. And he has good, you know, very good health. It's important. I mean, physical conditions are, by the way, very important. So a lot of people don't recognize it. There are. Latest study shows that chess players burn thousands of calories during the game. So that puts him on the top of this field of the world champions. But again, it's the discussion that is I saw recently in the Internet whether Garry Kasparov always peak, let's say late 80s, could beat Magnus Carlson today. I mean, it's totally irrelevant because gary Kasparov in 1989, okay, it's played great chess, but still, I knew very little about chess compared to Magnus Carlson 2019, who, by the way, learned from me as well. So that's why. Yeah, I'm extremely cautious in making any judgment that involves, you know, time gaps. You ask, you know, soccer fans. So who is your favorite? Pele, Maradona or Messi? Yeah, yeah. Who's your favorite Messi? Messi. Why?
Because maybe Maradona, maybe not, because you're younger.
But that's simple. Your instinctive answer is correct. Because you saw, you didn't see Maradona in action. I saw all of them in action. So that's why. But it's. But since, you know, when I was, you know, just following it, you know, just. It's Penny, Pele and Maradona, they were just, you know, they were big stars. And it's. Messi's already just. I, I was gradually losing interest, just other things. So I remember Pele in 1970, the final match, Brazil, Italy. So that's the first World cup soccer I watched. So that's the. And, and actually my answer when I just, when I just, you know, I. Because I, I was asked this question as well. So I say that it's just. While it's impossible to make a choice, I would still probably go with Maradona for simple reason. The Brazilian team in 1970 could have won without Pele. It was absolutely great. Still could have won, maybe, but it is. The Argentina team in 1986 without Maradona would not be in the final. So this is. And Messi, he still hasn't won a title. That's, That's.
Could argue for that for an hour. But yes, you could say if you ask Maradona, if you look in his eyes, especially let's say, Gary Kasparov, 1989, he would have said I was sure as hell would beat Magnus Carlsen.
Just simply the confidence, the fire. Simply because. Simply because again, they saw me in action. So this, again, it's. The age factor is important, definitely with a passion and energy and being equipped with all modern ideas. But again then you make a very just important assumption that you could empower gary Gaspar of 89 with all ideas that have been accumulated over 30 years. That would not be Garag sport, that would be someone else. Yeah, because again, I belong to 1989. I was way ahead of the field and I, you know, I beat Karpov several times in the world championship matches and I crossed 2800, which by the way, if you look at the ingest in rating, which is this, it's even today. So this is, this is the rating that I retired. So that's. It's still, you know, it's just, it's. It's a top two to three. So that's as. This is Caruana and Ding, it's about the same rating now. And I crossed 2800 in 1990, which is, you look at the inflation. When I crossed 2800 in 1990, there was only one player in 2700 category, Anatoly Karpov. Now he had more than 50. So just when you see this. So if you add inflation. So I think my 2851, it could probably, could be more valuable as Magnus 2882, which was his highest rating. But anyway, yeah, too many hypotheticals.
