More Chess and Football

At Mr. Blonde's Garage, Jay gives his analysis of why the Patriots will win the Superbowl (a very astute guy, that Jay). However, in making a chess analogy I think he chooses the wrong world champion:

Football can indeed often be like a chess match, and Belichick is the Bobby Fischer of football coaches.

To my mind, Bill Belichick doesn't remind me of a raving anti-semitic lunatic who refused to defend his championship unless he was provided special rules and considerations. I think a better choice might be Botvinik with his scientific approach to the game (assuming you can overlook his participation in Soviet political machinations) or Steinitz who just understood more about the game than any of his contemporaries.