mangler wrote on 04/11/10 at 17:24:13:
LeeRoth wrote on 04/11/10 at 14:05:49:
I need only 2 votes:
1. Botvinnik
2. Korchnoi
In my database, Botvinnik scores 65% from the Black side of the French. Korchnoi scores 60% with a performance rating close to 2600 (which is more akin to 2700 today).
Uhlmann deserves credit for playing the French often and popularizing it in his book, but if the idea is to pick the strongest French players, he doesn't make the cut. His performance rating in the French is in the high 2400s and, at least according to my database, he never beat a player rated above 2600 from the Black side of the French.
I don't understand the comment about Uhlmann. He has wins vs Bronstein, Geller, Stein, Boleslavsky, Kotov, all of whom are very strong players. Using rating as cutoff is not fair, as many of these wins were prior to the ELO system being created.
Oh, and he beat some guy named Fischer....
You make a good point about the ELO system starting in the middle of his career. Thanks for pointing that out.
But the fact remains that I find 354 rated games for Uhlmann on the Black side of the French, with a performance rating of 2459. Quite a bit below, say, Korchnoi's performance rating on the Black side of the French over the same period.
As for Uhlmann's results against the strongest players, if I sort by White rating, the first screen I get has 38 games, in which Uhlmann has 18 losses, 18 draws, and 2 wins for a performance rating of 2436.
Yes, ok, prior to the rating system, he beat Fischer (who in 1960 was still some ways away from the player he would become) and he has wins against the strong GMs you mention, but his record with the French against the top players -- even in that earlier period --doesn't appear to be any better or worse than his normal standard of play.
So, overall, Uhlmann wasn't as strong as Botvinnik, Korchnoi or Petrosian (three of the greatest ever) and Uhlmann's record in the French seems to be on par with his normal standard. I may be doing something wrong, but he doesn't appear to be a 2500 who played the French like a 2700, he appears to be a 2500 who played the French like a 2500.
Uhlmann's a great player and a great French player, but, if you're ranking the players based on strength of play alone, I just don't see ranking him above Botvinnik or Korchnoi. But if you're ranking based on other factors, then OK, you can make a better case for Uhlmann.
Pages: [1] 
Top Ten French Players Poll (Read 51503 times)
