From: cuffell@spot.Colorado.EDU (CUFFELL TIMOTHY MICH)
Subject: Re: who is world champion
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1992 22:46:30 GMT

In article <hbppzfn@lynx.unm.edu> blowfish@carina.unm.edu (rON.) writes:
>In article <1992Oct14.005143.29396@ucsu.Colorado.EDU> cuffell@spot.Colorado.EDU (CUFFELL TIMOTHY MICH) writes:
>>In article <d+npgv@lynx.unm.edu> blowfish@carina.unm.edu (rON.) writes:
>>>I agree Fischer will have to 'prove' that his
>>>game is back to the level it once was, but making him go through the the
>>>interzonals and whatnot is silly.
>>Why the hell not?  What if Spassky, or, for goodness sakes, Botvinnik, wanted
>>a world champion match? 
>
>Because they don't, or didn't ever have, the same sort of rating that Fischer
>commanded. Read what I said above- I agree that Fischer will have to prove
>his playing is back up to where it once was- if he can do this outside of
>the FIDE system, good for him. And if (or when) he does, he will have as
>much claim to the title of World Champion as does Kasparov, and that will
>make a title match between F and K for the title a legitimate thing.
>
>>Fischer is somehow "outside" of the current system (which make suck, but is
>>better than the match ducking days of old), then I claim the world championship
>>for myself, and will consider my self such until beaten.  Of course, there
>>will be a few terms to the match....
>
>Congratulation on your World Championship, then.
>Of course, Fischer earned his WC, albeit 20 years ago, but he did earn the
>title. Personally, I don't view Fischer as the World Champion- that honor
>belongs to Kasparov, but what I am saying is that if Fischer can prove that
>his game is back up to par (and he is, I must say, off to a pretty good
>start- all the Fischer-bashers around here yelp about how he is beating up
>a 'poor helpless old man', but I would imagine there is a very very very
>small percentage of people in this group who could beat Mr. Spassky at any
>time), then he will have added a big chunk of legitimacy to his claim that
>he is still World Champion, and the World Champion don't need to play in
>the beginning rounders :)
>
>r.

So what you are saying is the since Fischer is beating Spassky, and Spassky
can be me and a lot of other people, he deserves special consideration.
Rubbish.  The Croation National basketball team can be me and my buddies
too, but do they deserve a place in the NBA finals?  So Fischer can beat
Spassky.  Big deal.  Spassky is rated about 100th in the world, so that
means probably at least fifty players could do what Fischer has been.
Do they deserve to skip ahead as well?  And as for Fischer getting by on
his rating, a twenty year old rating really doesn't mean a lot.  I'm
sure I could dredge up somebody from the distant past who still has a decent
rating (Botvinnik come to mind) who probably could even make it to Interzonals.
FIDE was have its problems, but it still seems to be the best way to see who
the best players in the world are.  Unless you want the sort of factionalizationand chaos you have in boxing, I suggest people work with the system rather than
against it.

-T (Current World Chess Champion)