Moderator Mode: On
I have received 2 complaints on this post attacking Bill Brock.
I agree that Mr. Bacon is attacking Bill Brock for a reason that is not apparent to me, a forum moderator.
With that though, I feel that Bill Brock and others have answered the above quoted post.
I am not pulling it because the person attacked has answered and did not complain about it, officially or unofficially.
We must be sure to not attack, denigrate or otherwise disrespect other forum members.
It’s cool: no big deal.
I believe you misspelled “South Beach”.
Alex Relyea
I fail to see the connection between Hikaru’s public image (which IMO is fantastic) and his earning potential. His earnings are based on rating and results, and he’s obviously liked well enough by organizers considering the invitations he receives. I don’t see Nike beating down his door for endorsements b/c he has a squeaky clean Twitter stream 
.
Golf might be the best analogue for chess endorsements. Nakamura’s name & status already means something to many readers of Forbes, for example.
Having said that, I accept your point…
I have long doubted that Harper Lee wrote ‘Mockingbird’.
There is someone who who frequents the ‘Politics’ forum who met Fischer and spent meaningful time with him (several evenings). Maybe they will find this thread and chip in.
Bobby Fischer had the impact that he had because of both his brazen personality and his awesome ability to win against all odds, as well as the Cold War setting of having to go alone against the Russians.
In that same era, Joe Namath was likewise the leading personality that drove the rise of pro football: brash and outspoken, and able to lead an entire upstart league (the AFL) to parity and merger with the megalithic NFL.
Ditto in so many ways for Muhammad Ali (originally known by his birth name, Cassius Clay), who fought against not only every great boxer across several eras (after bringing Gold to the US in the Olympics), but also against the US government that wanted him to kill enemy soldiers (his application for exemption as a conscientious objector went all the way to the Supreme Court before being granted; he sat in prison and was stripped of his title along the way).
It takes an outsize personality, as well as an outsize talent and determination, to change the world. Fischer, Namath, Ali all had it. Kasparov had it. Hikaru may well have it too - time will tell if he, too, changes the world.
I agree that Nakamura could possibly change the world, IF, he beats Klitschko for the WHBC and then takes the Packers to the SB. In chess Fischer was/is the world changer.
Serena Williams is a great tennis player, but the parallel with Judit Polgar should be made here: neither Serena nor Judit are the best in the world at what they do; they are in the top tier, but there are a number of male competitors who are better than they are.
@hmb
Uh - oh, are you saying that women are not equal to men, that they do not have the ability to play and have an impact on the spread of chess? Hou Yifan is better known in China than H. Nakamura and any number of other GMs. Her celebrity is already having an impact.
I believe that this is at the root of USCF’s “messiah complex” - the wish that Bobby had stayed and “done it all for us” - and also why USCF was easy prey for Susan Polgar and her husband, and why some still wish for her return to “do it all for us”, too.
Hmmm…I don’t know what you mean by the concept of “are or are not equal”.
I am saying that the best in the world is the person who can triumph over everyone else. In chess, I do not yet understand any reason why that cannot someday be a woman, though I am aware that some folks think that some subtle biological difference in how male and female brains handle three dimensional transformations may make a difference. In tennis, the difference between male and female physiques is more pronounced than any possible difference between male and female brains (if there really is a difference, which I cannot judge), so it may well be much harder or unlikely in tennis than in chess. That being said, sheer muscle mass may not always allow the best male to play more effectively than the best female in any case.
Did I answer your question, Tom?
PS - This thread has been very enjoyable reading, though it took a good while to work through it all (up to this point, at least). Great discussions!
Ah, so you are qualifying your statement regarding female players. Why can’t a woman have a greater impact than Fischer? Being the world champion or the highest rated does not necessarily lead to having the biggest impact on a game. During several periods in tennis, the women have had more stars and drew in more fans. As a result more people started to play and the top women players were able to ask for similar conditions and equal prizes. On numerous occasions, there have been arguments concerning the lack of women in sports and in chess. Once given the opportunity, women have shown thay they can excel and become superstars.
Hou Yifan is not brash or arrogant. And yet she is having an impact on the game in thousands of towns in China, little known because the Western media rarely get to see inside that country. The Chinese women’s team is a powerhouse. Its players are as well known as the men in their country. What China does other nations are following. Perhaps we do not need arrogant superstars or even a male figure to cause an explosion in the popularity of the game. That would be quite a surprise to the West.
Tom - My comment was in response to the following:
I read this as referring to “best” as a player, not best as a role model, inspiration, promoter, etc. I expressed nothing regarding impact, so I think you are reading something I did not write.
Emily Litella to the rescue now?
@hmb
This thread was going just fine until you had to mention she who shall not be named. Why does everything have to be twisted to come back to her? She had nothing to do with this thread. Now it is spoiled. All your fault. 
He’s competing in the London grand prix starting tomorrow.
Some day, when we all grow up, we’ll delete our Twitter accounts. Twitter is one of the most frivolous, shallow, time-wasting activities you can involve yourself with. It’s been responsible for more mischief and regrets than perhaps even Facebook (another huge time-waster). I don’t think enough of anyone in the world – not Nakamura, not Eli Manning, not the pope, to give a crap what’s on their minds 24/7.
Nakamura-Gelfand 0-1 
Other games were drawn.
Very nice ending by Gelfand.
He swindled Kasimdzhanov today. Leko beat Ivanchuk. Others drew.