Fischer Number, Kasparov Number, etc.

[BobMessenger]

@ericmark

If you take the viewpoint that you only need to play—not defeat—an opponent to join the number game, it’s amazing how few steps most veteran tournament players take to get to Morphy. The standard route is:

Morphy/Bird/Lasker/Reshevsky/someone/maybe someone else/you. For me “someone” was Michael Rohde. The most common someone is likely Bisguier.

I played bridge against Bisguier. Does that count?

[jwiewel]

@BobMessenger

@ericmark

If you take the viewpoint that you only need to play—not defeat—an opponent to join the number game, it’s amazing how few steps most veteran tournament players take to get to Morphy. The standard route is:

Morphy/Bird/Lasker/Reshevsky/someone/maybe someone else/you. For me “someone” was Michael Rohde. The most common someone is likely Bisguier.

I played bridge against Bisguier. Does that count?

I played Denker in a National Open. I once beat Yury Shulman (well, okay, it was the board game acquire and not chess, but if a card game like bridge can count then a board game should as well).
I beat Ray Doyle Satterlee, who drew Denker. I beat Blair Machaj, who beat Pavel Blatny.

[relyea]

I’m sure any of my paths to, ahem, greatness go through IM Keaton Kiewra, who I beat when he was rated 1141. He gave me a heck of a game, though.

Alex Relyea

[kevin_bachler]

@jwiewel

@BobMessenger

@ericmark

If you take the viewpoint that you only need to play—not defeat—an opponent to join the number game, it’s amazing how few steps most veteran tournament players take to get to Morphy. The standard route is:

Morphy/Bird/Lasker/Reshevsky/someone/maybe someone else/you. For me “someone” was Michael Rohde. The most common someone is likely Bisguier.

I played bridge against Bisguier. Does that count?

I played Denker in a National Open. I once beat Yury Shulman (well, okay, it was the board game acquire and not chess, but if a card game like bridge can count then a board game should as well).
I beat Ray Doyle Satterlee, who drew Denker. I beat Blair Machaj, who beat Pavel Blatny.

Hmmm…I’m sure I must have defeated someone who defeated someone who defeated Blair Machaj who defeated Pavel Blatny who defeated - ME! Oh wait! I’ve defeated myself!

[jwiewel]

@kbachler

@jwiewel

@BobMessenger

@ericmark

If you take the viewpoint that you only need to play—not defeat—an opponent to join the number game, it’s amazing how few steps most veteran tournament players take to get to Morphy. The standard route is:

Morphy/Bird/Lasker/Reshevsky/someone/maybe someone else/you. For me “someone” was Michael Rohde. The most common someone is likely Bisguier.

I played bridge against Bisguier. Does that count?

I played Denker in a National Open. I once beat Yury Shulman (well, okay, it was the board game acquire and not chess, but if a card game like bridge can count then a board game should as well).
I beat Ray Doyle Satterlee, who drew Denker. I beat Blair Machaj, who beat Pavel Blatny.

Hmmm…I’m sure I must have defeated someone who defeated someone who defeated Blair Machaj who defeated Pavel Blatny who defeated - ME! Oh wait! I’ve defeated myself!

Looking only at MSA Pavel beat Joel Benjamin, Yudasin, Goldin and A Ivanov, all of whom are among those that beat Bisguier.

Since Blair started play as in K-3 sections (and since I’ve lost to Blair in non-rated ladder games), there are a lot of IL players who have Morphy and Fischer numbers even if only looking at wins.

PS Since Shulman beat Bisguier my win over Yury (it may not have been chess but it was a win) might be said to get me even closer.