Who is the best human chess player in history?
Paul Charles Morphy. Actually, among those who’ve officially held the title of World Champion, Garry Kimovich Kasparov, Jos Ral Capablanca, Robert James “Bobby” Fischer, and Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine are the four who are most often cited as having had the best all-around understanding of the game. Morphy was the last of the unofficial champions, before chess became organized and was considered a respectable profession. Based on achievement and O.T.B. game quality, it’s difficult to argue against Kasparov, but there’s really no way to accurately compare players of different eras. The comparisons make for fun discussions, but they are purely academic and largely subjective.
