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Originally posted by AttilaTheHornAgree - can;t really have debate about about 'worst ot weakest' World Champion.
There are no 'worst' world champions. All 15 of of them earned the title. Euwe was the only amateur world champion, and he was stronger than a lot of people give him credit for.
These were all great players.
Euwe deserved his title. I have his best games collection - excellent.
And he could write about chess (with Kramer). His books take the
club player up quite a few notches.
But let's not waste the thread. Good idea but mapped out wrong.
Which player is the strongest player NEVER to have won the title?
Give name and one sentence why.
I'll say Paul Keres (pron: Keresh).
In his career he beat all the World Champions from Capablanca to Fischer.
Any votes for Rubenstein, Nimzovitch, Bronstein Korchnoi.....others?
Originally posted by greenpawn34Shirov
Agree - can;t really have debate about about 'worst ot weakest' World Champion.
These were all great players.
Euwe deserved his title. I have his best games collection - excellent.
And he could write about chess (with Kramer). His books take the
club player up quite a few notches.
But let's not waste the thread. Good idea but mapped out wron ...[text shortened]... pablanca to Fischer.
Any votes for Rubenstein, Nimzovitch, Bronstein Korchnoi.....others?
Stein - died quite young and never got the chance to compete for the world title. Fantastically creative player, but little known to the average chess player.
Keres, Bronstein and Korchnoi are the obvious ones who were strong enough players to be world champions but didn't quite make it for one reason or another.
Originally posted by greenpawn34maybe not the pure strongest, but I have a great sympathy for Schlechter. the poor man was one of the greatest defensive masters in the world, yet he died out of starvation. If I had the chance to give one crown to the best non-champions, that would be him.
Agree - can;t really have debate about about 'worst ot weakest' World Champion.
These were all great players.
Euwe deserved his title. I have his best games collection - excellent.
And he could write about chess (with Kramer). His books take the
club player up quite a few notches.
But let's not waste the thread. Good idea but mapped out wron ...[text shortened]... pablanca to Fischer.
Any votes for Rubenstein, Nimzovitch, Bronstein Korchnoi.....others?
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Originally posted by EmLaskerwho said anything about being dead, is it a prerequisite for having been the strongest player who was never world champion?
shirov isn't dead, he might be the champion someday.
uummm...the best players never earned a title would be Efim Geller, Efim Bugoljubov and ... Zukertort?
Originally posted by robbie carrobieOK, since all the obvious choices have been taken I’ll pick Kamsky. I have a feeling that if he never retired he would have eventually usurped Karpov and Kasparov. If nothing else, he was easily Kramnik’s or Anand’s equal.
who said anything about being dead, is it a prerequisite for having been the strongest player who was never world champion?
Originally posted by peacedogi was reading an excellent article of his. i think that his father has such a profound influence in his life that he made him take time out from chess to study medicine. i like him too, seems such a humble, unassuming character.
OK, since all the obvious choices have been taken I’ll pick Kamsky. I have a feeling that if he never retired he would have eventually usurped Karpov and Kasparov. If nothing else, he was easily Kramnik’s or Anand’s equal.
Kamsky was (and is again!) an excellent player, but he had plenty of chances to win the title and couldn't overcome Karpov, while he would have stood little chance against Kasparov (I'm sure his personal score against Kasparov was something horrible like 8 losses and no wins?!).
He reminds me of Korchnoi - an amazing fighter, not a theoretician but someone who thrives on difficult middlegames and his endgame skill. However, I can't see him beating Topalov in their forthcoming match.
Originally posted by streetfighterI have a chess magazine with a picture of Stein on the cover with the caption "The Next World Champion?". I think this was dated 1973 or thereabouts. I don't think he would have become World Champion though, he was almost forty when he died.
Stein - died quite young and never got the chance to compete for the world title. Fantastically creative player, but little known to the average chess player.
Keres, Bronstein and Korchnoi are the obvious ones who were strong enough players to be world champions but didn't quite make it for one reason or another.
I've never known what to make of Klaus Junge:
http://www.chessgames.com/player/klaus_junge.html
Undoubtedly very talented, but impossible to say whether he had what it takes to become the very best. According to the Oxford Companion to Chess, his parents moved from Chile to Germany because they thought their three sons would get a better education there. All three died in WW2.