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Despite Anand's World Championship tenure and Carlsen's climb to #1 (and subsequent world title victory), it's really hard for me to imagine that anyone in the last 14 years is better than a top-form Kramnik. Such tremendous creativity, technique, opening ideas and preparation, culture, experience, etc. Of course, I'm not a strong enough player to truly judge, but when he plays at his best he seems to be leaps and bounds above everyone, barring Carlsen.
I've always felt that his poorer results were the result of health problems and lack of energy than actual chess ability. On the other hand, health and energy play a huge role, and I doubt that Kramnik will have enough to unseat the young Carlsen.
Perhaps I think that Kramnik is the "best" player on any given day, but over the course of a long match or tournament? He hasn't been the same since Toilet Gate, and his health problems have been talked about a lot in the past and began in the early 2000s. It's a shame, really, as I think that he could have been another Karpov or Kasparov, head-and-shoulders above everyone else for a decade or so, but that wasn't to be.
I could be wrong, but that's my take. Maybe he has more energy and his health under control, but he isn't a 23-year old with boundless energy like Carlsen. Ahh, to be 23 again...
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Who will win this year's Candidates' Tournament! (Read 103537 times)
