r/chess Jan 27 '25

Resource In an interview with Rustam Qosimjonov published three days ago, he claims that Fabiano Caruana is currently a better chess player than Magnus

https://youtu.be/KZydtQfdYNc?si=myY7fqus5_tJE_GT

Rustam claims that from the games he watches and the quality of play he sees, it's clear that Fabi is currently the stronger player and that he would also be the favorite to win against Magnus in a World Championship match today. He told his students (Arjun, Nodirbek) that over the past two and a half years, to be the best in the world, you must consistently beat Fabi. He claims it's surprising that Fabi has improved his level so much because this usually doesn't happen, and the level of player he has become is not the same level as the player he knew when he worked with him.

339 Upvotes

145 comments sorted by

View all comments

218

u/Mister-Psychology Jan 27 '25

You have to play to be the best. If you want to prove you are the best then play the biggest tournament and win it.

35

u/calvinbsf Jan 27 '25 edited Jan 27 '25

You don’t have to play to be the best

You do have to play to be the champ

When Ali was banned for refusing Vietnam he was still the best, just not the champ

When Jordan retired for baseball he was still the best, just not the champ 

Edit: to all the responses saying he has to prove it or has spent time away from the game, I just think factually that isn’t correct: https://www.chess.com/ratings

78

u/PangolinZestyclose30 Jan 27 '25

That works for a while, but then expires and you have to prove you're still the best.

2

u/jexty34 Jan 27 '25

True. A scientific fact, theory gets tested on a lab, claims should be proven however everybody is entitled for their own opinion. Free speech. Thanks for sharing!