Magnus hits 2846!

[EGarrett]

http://www.2700chess.com/

As of his victory today, his live rating is 2846.4. He's within 6 points of the highest FIDE rating ever achieved.

Can't wait to see Kasparov's reaction if/when it occurs. He's always been very protective of his legacy, so I assume he will go on a publicity tour talking about ratings inflation.

[networth]

Last weekend I laughed as I was walking through the Univ Toledo campus. Sign on the side of the library says: Carlson Library 2975.

[KyleJRM82]

I'm pretty sure I could beat him with pawn odds.

[Do it Right]

I hope he stays in chess. Would be amazing to see where he can take it. 21 and about to be the highest rated player in history. For a baseline of those who are of the "After 12, it's all downhill in chess" persuasion - how old was Kasparov when he hit his peak lifetime rating?

Spoiler:

37

On the other hand I wonder how he'll maintain motivation. He's already the strongest player in the world by a wide margin. Even the title of world champion is going to be more of a formality than an accomplishment for him.

[Devilz]

I think he will be the first player ever to hit 2900. It'll probably be a question of when, not if.

He's among the younger generation of players at the top right now, he's gonna keep getting better while the other guys like Anand, Kramnik, etc. will get worse. Caruana and Giri also show some promise to become top players within the next few years and have potential to challenge Carlsen for the top spot.

[Dynasty]

Originally Posted by EGarrett

Can't wait to see Kasparov's reaction if/when it occurs. He's always been very protective of his legacy, so I assume he will go on a publicity tour talking about ratings inflation.

Kasparov's primary legacy is being World Champion for fifteen years.

Ratings achievments just aren't that big a deal.

[Do it Right]

I think Kasparov's legacy isn't just being world champion for 15 years, it's being the world's undisputed strongest player for 15 years. Important distinction as now a days we have the #5 player in the world facing the #20 as the world's clear #1 opts out of the flawed system that led to that matchup in the first place.

I doubt Kasparov is going to go into full blown damage control mode but it's definitely going to smart when he was so far ahead of everybody else yet his rating falls so rapidly after he retires. I wouldn't be surprised to see some accolades paired with him subtly trying to take some credit for it: "I am not at all surprised by this. When I was coaching Magnus I could tell he had great potential and I'm pleased to see he's been able to to start fulfilling it now."

[mightytiny]

Without the title, the number is just a number....

[MUFFBLASTER]

3000 in 5-min would be more impressive imo

[EGarrett]

Originally Posted by Dynasty

Kasparov's primary legacy is being World Champion for fifteen years.

Ratings achievments just aren't that big a deal.

I've read several of Kasparov's books, and I never quite got a handle on his personality in the same way I get Fischer's, but at no point has Kasparov ever struck me as a man who doesn't care about little things like that. In fact, he has always come off to me as a hyper-competitive person who fought and clawed for every possible measure of success. This was a guy who made no bones about accusing people of cheating if they gave him trouble in meaningless exhibition games...including a 17-year-old girl. (that's not to say they WEREN'T cheating, just that's a glimpse into his refusal to allow something to cast any doubt in any measurement of his chess ability)

It's like Gelfand said, Kasparov doesn't miss any opportunity to remind everyone that he used to be the best chess player alive.

That being said, the 2851 is a super-impressive achievement of his. It being surpassed I would imagine would be seen as a major event and would draw quite a few headlines, and I'm guessing that it's the exact type of thing that would cause Kasparov to make a "defensive move" in order to defend his stature. Probably something subtle, as has been said, but something unmistakeable.

[Gorgonian]

Not impressed with rating acheivements. Rankings, sure. Being ranked #1 of all the players in the world is awesome and impressive. That could be done with a rating of 84 or 5100 and it wouldn't make much difference. It isn't on an absolute scale.

[MUFFBLASTER]

Originally Posted by Gorgonian

Not impressed with rating acheivements. Rankings, sure. Being ranked #1 of all the players in the world is awesome and impressive. That could be done with a rating of 84 or 5100 and it wouldn't make much difference. It isn't on an absolute scale.

The ELO gap between, e.g., #1 and #2 is also important. A 2850 #1 is more impressive than a 2820 #1 when #2 is 2800.

[Gorgonian]

Agree, gap is important.

[Montrealcorp]

Originally Posted by EGarrett

http://www.2700chess.com/

As of his victory today, his live rating is 2846.4. He's within 6 points of the highest FIDE rating ever achieved.

Can't wait to see Kasparov's reaction if/when it occurs. He's always been very protective of his legacy, so I assume he will go on a publicity tour talking about ratings inflation.

if this happen it would be the greatest BS ever...

i mean when fisher hit 2785 he had over 125 rating point over second place !! and 140 points over 3rd and 4th player in the world ,
while kaspy had like what 80 over anand wihtout accounting like 2 other players were in the 100 rating points...talk about inflation.

rating doesnt mean much, its the gap like others already said wich is impressive.

no disrespect for magnus , is amazing but lets face it, 16 players are in the 100 rating points while fisher had 1 ....

[Do it Right]

Chess was a different game today than in Fischer's era and as strange as it sounds, chess today is even a different game than in Kasparov's era. In Fischer's era knowledge was scarce. He mentions at one time learning enough Russian to be able to learn from Russian media sources. When knowledge is hard to come by, those that do rise far above the rest. Even in Kasparov's era - he, and others, often improved at chess through admittance into super exclusive schools.

Today you can receive world class chess instruction from any place in the world with an internet connection. You can also study more or less every single game that's ever been played and recorded from the comfort of your own home. You can even have any book, printed in any language, delivered to your door step. That's naturally going to lead to vastly more people rising to the top. The competition will always grow more fierce and while Carlsen may not be as relatively dominant as earlier champions were - the fact he is able to be at all dominant over an ever strengthening average field is very impressive. And it's not like he isn't extremely dominant. His rating may not have caught up to his skill yet but in today's tournaments, much like during Kasparov's era, you can't help but feel a bit surprised if Carlsen's in a tournament and doesn't come out on top.