Hail Magnus Carlsen, the highest rated chess player in history.
During the 2012 London Chess Classic, Carlsen surpassed Garry Kasparov’s record rating of 2851, established in 1999. Carlsen, 22, has soared to these new heights two years after becoming the youngest player ever to be ranked number one in the world.
“It’s pretty cool. It’s probably the biggest achievement so far in my career,” Carlsen told chessvibes.com in an interview after finishing the game that assured his record high rating.
Now that the Norwegian superstar has raised the bar even higher into the stratosphere, how does the chess landscape look? Is Carlsen the best classical chess player ever, in addition to being the highest rated?
Kasparov and Bobby Fischer are the only two players other than Carlsen who have a fairly valid claim on being the best player in history. Certainly Kasparov was the most universal player ever, equipped with encyclopedic opening knowledge, middle game prowess, tremendous attacking and tactical ability, subtle and top-shelf endgame technique, and fantastic defensive resources. Kasparov ruled chess as world champion from 1985-2000. As great as he is, Carlsen has not yet become world champion, at least not at classical chess time controls. He has been the world blitz champion. Carlsen did not compete in the last World Chess Championship cycle to determine a challenger to the throne held by Vishy Anand of India. Carlsen’s reason for not competing was he didn’t agree with all the rules for the cycle. His run at destiny would just have to wait.
It is hard to contest the argument that Fischer was farther ahead of his contemporaries than anyone in history. Demonstrating total dominance over his competition, Fischer’s rush to the world title in the early 1970s included a 19-game winning streak and back-to-back 6-0 whitewashings of quality opponents during the Candidates Matches. Fischer, however, refused to defend his title and became a recluse, and Kasparov was dominant over a much longer period.
The highest rating Fischer ever attained was 2785. Since then there have been ten players who have achieved ratings higher than Fischer’s best, including six who have gone beyond 2800, according to chessvibes.com. Chess rating inflation is almost inevitable over time, and this is the reason so many players have moved past Fischer in the ratings. Consensus opinion says Fischer, in his prime, would have dispatched most of these players. Fischer had a genius and fighting spirit most of these other players lacked. There is no way to adjust Fischer’s rating upward to combat this inflation. Therefore the only thing to go by is the quality of games. And by this measure Fischer and Kasparov take a back seat to no one.
Called “The Mozart of Chess,” Carlsen has certainly put his name into the conversation of who is the best player of all time. Like many of the greatest players, Carlsen, Fischer and Kasparov were all chess prodigies who learned the moves at a very young age. At almost every age level as they matured, they stood out among their contemporaries as being a cut above. For example, Fischer won the chess “Game of the Century” when he was just 13 years old. Kasparov and his rival Anatoly Karpov also showed more consistency in tournament play than Carlsen has exhibited so far. Carlsen sometimes finishes down in the pack, whereas Kasparov and Karpov almost always won or finished second in the tournaments they entered.
Then there is the question of the chess computer. While he reigned as World Chess Champion, Kasparov defeated the Deep Blue chess computer in 1996. However, he lost the rematch in 1997, and since that time chess computers have gotten stronger and faster. Today’s players consult the best computer chess software to track what their opponents play and to prepare for their games and matches. No matter how high Carlsen’s rating is, the best computers are stronger and Carlsen’s record has to be qualified as the highest human rating.
To be called the best ever, Carlsen will have to at least gain the classical chess championship title currently held by Anand, and he will have to maintain his form for a few more years.
Sources:
http://www.chessvibes.com/reports/carlsen-beats-kasparovs-rating-record-in-london
