# B. Fischer, deportation, chess in Yugoslavia under sanctions **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 20, 2004, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-fischer-deportation-chess-in-yugoslavia-under-sanctions/256021 "2004-07-20T16:57:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![AbbySthrnAccent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@AbbySthrnAccent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbbySthrnAccent)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2004, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-fischer-deportation-chess-in-yugoslavia-under-sanctions/256021/41 "2004-07-22T04:23:03Z")
This thread wasn’t started for the [pit](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=267419) and isn’t in the [pit](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=267419) now. There is already a Fischer thread in the [pit](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=267419) where such remarks can be posted. ---
**Author:** ![Silocke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Silocke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silocke)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2004, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-fischer-deportation-chess-in-yugoslavia-under-sanctions/256021/42 "2004-07-25T23:59:01Z")
Is this guy really _that_ good? I mean is he like the Michael Schumacher of chess? I only say because the way **Liberal** describes him he sounds more like a deity than a man. People have a way of overhyping things - so like did he really dominate so bad that he can be considered “the greatest of all time”? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-fischer-deportation-chess-in-yugoslavia-under-sanctions/256021/43 "2004-07-26T00:52:25Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Well, if he IS mentally ill, then what’s with all the intolerance and sanctimony? The last time I had to defend an artist like this was against rednecks who couldn’t get past Elton John’s homosexuality. I’m not comparing mental illness to homosexuality, but I am comparing one irrelevance to another. It isn’t about mental illness and ill-conceived statements. It’s about the art. But if we’re talking irrelevancies… how is the art at all relevant to the issue of whether he committed a crime by playing in Yugoslavia during the embargo? Whether he played phenomenally or poorly is irrelevant to the basic issue of whether the committed an offence. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-fischer-deportation-chess-in-yugoslavia-under-sanctions/256021/44 "2004-07-26T02:27:46Z")
I don’t see how we can do anything but haul this Looney into court. Otherwise we have created a ‘Chess Genius’ exception to the law. Try him, convict him, sentence him, try to help him. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-fischer-deportation-chess-in-yugoslavia-under-sanctions/256021/45 "2004-07-26T02:48:12Z")
[Salon article on Fischer](http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/2004/07/24/hunting/index.html). I believe it’s premium, so you have to either be a member, or watch a short ad. It seems his mother warned him that his behavior would cause something like this eventually, right before she died. ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-fischer-deportation-chess-in-yugoslavia-under-sanctions/256021/46 "2004-07-26T03:36:38Z")
> [@Silocke](#): > > Is this guy really _that_ good? I mean is he like the Michael Schumacher of chess? > > I only say because the way **Liberal** describes him he sounds more like a deity than a man. People have a way of overhyping things - so like did he really dominate so bad that he can be considered “the greatest of all time”? It’s obviously difficult to compare players from different eras, for several reasons. However, I would say that Fischer at his peak was further ahead of his competitors than anyone in recent times. Kasparov has said as much himself. To qualify for his title match with Spassky, Fischer had to win a series of interzonal and candidate matches. In this period, he had a streak of _20 consecutive victories_, which is completely unheard of. He won the last 7 games of his interzonal, to qualify for the final candidates matches; he then beat Taimanov 6-0 and then Bent Larson 6-0, and won the first game against Petrosian, eventually winning 6.5-2.5. And these weren’t chumps he was beating, they were the top few grandmasters competing in the final qualifying tournament for the world championship match vs. Spassky. For a quick comparison, when Kasparov went through his candidates matches in the early 80s, his scores were: 4 wins, 1 loss, 4 draws vs. Beliavsky 4+, 1-, 6= vs Korchnoi 4+, 9= vs Smyslov And those are considered pretty dominating performances. ---
**Author:** ![Chunky\_Bum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Chunky\_Bum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chunky_Bum)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-fischer-deportation-chess-in-yugoslavia-under-sanctions/256021/47 "2004-07-26T13:26:45Z")
> [@Silocke](#): > > Is this guy really _that_ good? I mean is he like the Michael Schumacher of chess? > > I only say because the way **Liberal** describes him he sounds more like a deity than a man. People have a way of overhyping things - so like did he really dominate so bad that he can be considered “the greatest of all time”? Fischer was good, real good. The best _American_ chess player of all-time. The best _chess_ player of all-time is still playing competitive chess: **Garry Kasparov**! Word Champion for 15 years, with numerous title defenses. Highest ELO rating ever. His tournament record is unmatched; Winner of 15, and recently 10, straight GM tournaments in a row! ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-fischer-deportation-chess-in-yugoslavia-under-sanctions/256021/48 "2004-07-26T13:35:52Z")
Kasparov is the guy that lost to the adding machine, right? 😉 Kasparov has never had to face Fischer in a match, so you can hardly count title wins as a factor in any comparison. And as far as ratings, the algorithm has changed, and so that’s not a fair comparison either. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-fischer-deportation-chess-in-yugoslavia-under-sanctions/256021/49 "2004-07-26T13:38:04Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > [Salon article on Fischer](http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/2004/07/24/hunting/index.html). I believe it’s premium, so you have to either be a member, or watch a short ad. > > It seems his mother warned him that his behavior would cause something like this eventually, right before she died. Boy, she’s one to talk. As an old man, Fischer is still reeling from her melodramatic snit in Washington when she chained herself to the White House fence. ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-fischer-deportation-chess-in-yugoslavia-under-sanctions/256021/50 "2004-07-26T15:36:50Z")
> [@Chunky Bum](#): > > The best _chess_ player of all-time is still playing competitive chess: **Garry Kasparov**! Again, I think it’s not so easy to compare the strengths of players from different times. If you’re saying that Kasparov 2002 would beat Fischer 1972 in a match, then I would probably agree. Kaspy probably wins just on opening knowledge alone. I would also say that this is a poor way to compare them. Under this type of comparison, Steinitz probably isn’t in the top 200 players of all time. It’s like saying that every person alive with a math degree is a better mathematician than Newton, because he didn’t know epsilon-delta proofs or group theory. Such comparisons say more about the progression of the entire field than they do about individuals’ strength and contributions. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-fischer-deportation-chess-in-yugoslavia-under-sanctions/256021/51 "2004-07-27T04:36:40Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Boy, she’s one to talk. As an old man, Fischer is still reeling from her melodramatic snit in Washington when she chained herself to the White House fence. Perhaps she was speaking from experience, then? **Lib** , I know you admire the man’s skills, but let’s face it-he needs serious help, not more people fawning all over him. He’s not someone I would want to be friends with. That doesn’t take away from his ability to play chess. It’s just a fact. I can admire someone’s work, yet not admire the person himself. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-fischer-deportation-chess-in-yugoslavia-under-sanctions/256021/52 "2004-07-27T08:24:39Z")
Oh, I agree. I don’t think I fawn. But it isn’t like he’s another Hilter or Jackson either. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-fischer-deportation-chess-in-yugoslavia-under-sanctions/256021/53 "2004-07-27T11:29:45Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Oh, I agree. I don’t think I fawn. Of course not. > [@liberal](#): > > I would have got on my knees. I would have massaged his tired feet and cleansed them with my tears. I would have fallen prostrate before him and offered my life as his slave if he would have returned. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-fischer-deportation-chess-in-yugoslavia-under-sanctions/256021/54 "2004-07-27T11:41:48Z")
Well, touche. Indeed I fawn. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-fischer-deportation-chess-in-yugoslavia-under-sanctions/256021/55 "2004-07-27T12:07:36Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Well, touche. Indeed I fawn. That’s better. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-fischer-deportation-chess-in-yugoslavia-under-sanctions/256021.md?page=2)