Like some professional sports, chess seems to be in a state of parity. It has not always been this way. Bobby Fischer’s decisive victory over Boris Spassky in the 1972 world chess championship match confirmed what many people assumed: that he had long been the best chess player in the world. After Anatoly Karpov became champion in 1975, some questioned his worthiness because Fischer had not defended the title. But, over the next decade, Karpov proved himself by regularly beating his rivals and winning almost every chess match and tournament he played. Karpov’s successor, Garry Kasparov, was even better. After winning the title in 1985, Kasparov ...

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