is he the greatest, in terms of legacy

1. Jose Raul Capablanca
2. Garry Kasparov
3. Emory Tate
4. Magnus

seems about right to me.

He has a decent chance at surpassing Tate with another WC defense or two.

Don't see how he could be the greatest already. Take Kasparov for example. What has Carlsen done at this point that Kasparov didn't do longer or better? Kasparov was more dominant in tournaments, was world #1 for I think 18 or 19 years total, defended the world championship five times..

How much more competitive is chess now with the internet? You can probably play as many games in 1 week as they used to in a year.

Whatever disadvantages there were back then applied to Kasparov too.

Yeah but isn't the recognition of elite talents a more efficient process these days? With an astronomically larger sample of contests and trials than the old days across a similar time?

Like how dwan was better than Doyle after like 1 year of nlhe? Can't punish Doyle for the climate in which he played but Internet players were suddenly more tested within like a year compared to 50 for doyle.

Not saying magnus is the answer. Just pointing out how the market has evolved.

The internet's chief benefit is the proliferation of knowledge. You can play a lot more blitz and 30-minute chess these days, but it's not like you can play 50 slow games a week. Engines, databases, resources like ChessTempo, and so on.

I know. Playing more games isn't precisely how players get better. The information exchange went without saying. Also been phone posting so keeping it short.

Anyway there are far more people alive today who have spent far more time on (slightly more advanced?) chess than in kasparov years. When someone asks "what has magnus done yet?" I would say "that. Been by far the best in the world with the above facts being said." That fact stands for a lot. Just like if everyone in the world spent every waking resource on chess and trying to be the best...the world champ would impress me slightly more than magnus currently, if all else was equal. Because the market is more competitive and efficient.

Still not saying magnus is better, as I have no idea. Just think magnus doesn't need to dominate this Era for 19 years to equal kasp.

Yeah I think that's true.