Reddit’s Who Would Win community creates the fictional and real-world battles everyone is clamoring for and then asks the most important question: Who would win? At Upvoted, we’ve chosen some of these match-ups, and use the comments and other evidence to pick a winner.

The Challenge: Emperor Palpatine vs. Bobby Fischer in Chess

Lucasfilm/Dutch National Archives, The Hague, Fotocollectie Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau/Creative Commons/Wikimedia

Reddit user NewbRule suggested this showdown with one vital rule in place: The Force could not be used (neutralized by a ysalamiri, a creature that can repel the Force, because you can’t trust a Sith Lord). That means mind tricks and even lightsaber play would be off limits.

With that in mind, does Emperor Sheev “Darth Sidious” Palpatine—a man who orchestrated the overthrow of the Galactic Republic only to be defeated by his own wingman—have a shot at winning a chess match against Bobby Fischer, a grandmaster considered to be the greatest player of all time only to be defeated by his own ego, mental problems and legal troubles?

The Match

Even without using the Force, the Emperor was a genius manipulator and shrewd strategist. He also specialized in playing the long game to achieve his political and military goals. That’s how he was able to create a Clone Army that not only help defeat the Separatists (an enemy of Palpatine’s own creation) but also became the weapon that wiped out a good portion of the Jedi.

Of course, that longterm planning also came back to bite him on the ass when Darth Vader, his apprentice who he basically used the Force to immaculately conceive, tossed him down an exhaust shaft.

Fischer didn’t invent chess, but he did redefine it. He started down the road of self-taught chess prodigy at age 6 and became the youngest grandmaster ever by the time he was 15 years, 6 months and 1 day old.

His most famous match—and victory—came in 1972 against Soviet chess champion Boris Spassky. In that World Chess Championship in Reykjavík, Iceland, named the Match of the Century, Fischer demonstrated his mastery of the chess game as well as his mastery of mind games, using his erratic behavior to psych out Spassky.

Plus, the match also inspired the musical Chess, something Murray Head will be ever thankful about.

When it comes to strategy and psychological warfare, the players match up well. But Reddit user foxsci astutely points out that’s not all it takes to win at chess.

The Winner: Bobby Fischer

As foxsci observes, if the Emperor is playing the game without being aided by the Force, he’s no match for Fischer’s talent and lifetime of training.

In fact, user hyoubal suggests a possible case that Fischer might even be able to beat a Palpatine who had at least a little help from the midi-chlorians in his blood:

(That’s what Zack Snyder’s next DC Universe movie should be: Bobby Fischer vs. Batman.)

Unfortunately, the only way the Emperor is going to beat Fischer is if he orders the 501st Legion to open fire on the grandmaster before the match ends.

And given the reputation Stormtroopers have when it comes to shooting living targets, even that’s not a sure bet.

Know Your Meme