The importance of Khalifmanand of Anand Ponomariov Kazimzhinov and Topalovin being world champions during a time of crisis for FIDEcannot be overstated   They represent the rule of law  the functioning of the world title cycle  at a time when it was under direct attack by persons who viewed the title as private property rather than as a sports title bestowed upon a player by a public cycle as it had been from  onward  To say that Fischer Kasparov or Alekhine were greater playersand therefore of more importanceoverlooks this important aspect of Khalifmans title reign   One could say that Fischer Kasparov and Alkehine were stronger than Euwe and Smyslov toobut that doesnt get us anywhere   We dont rank US presidents by reputation  we list them all equally yes  Khalifman himself  in  in interviews  said that although he was not the strongest player in the world being th by ratinghe was clearly the world champion having won the title in the open public cycle run by FIDE   That stand  that position  is what makes his title reign important  BTW before anyone denigrates the FIDE Title Champions it should be noted that at least two could be considered superGMs Anand and Topalov and that one Anand regained the title via the classical method  Chesspride