It has been stated that a characteristic mark of a combination is surprise; surprise for the defender, not for the assailant, since otherwise the combination will probably be unsound.
Age brings wisdom to some men, and to others chess.
I learnt an enormous amount, but there came a point where I found there was too much stress. It was no fun any more. Outside of the chessboard I avoid conflict, so I thought this wasn't worth it.
Dazzling combinations are for the many, shifting wood is for the few
The system set up by F. I. D. E. . . . Insures that there will always be a Russian world champion. . . The Russians arranged it that way.
I'll take my five positions per second any day, thank you
My style is somewhere between that of Tal and Petrosian
For me art and chess are closely related, both are forms in which the self finds beauty and expression.
I have nothing to do with politics. I came here [Yugoslavia] to play chess and nothing else.
To play a match for the World Championship is the cherished dream of every chess player.
Here and there in the ancient literature we encounter legends of wise and mysterious games that were conceived and played by scholars, monks, or the courtiers of cultured princes. These might take the form of chess games in which the pieces and squares had secret meanings in addition to their usual functions.
Don't worry about your rating, work on your playing strength and your rating will follow.
Believe firmly that in chess there are no rules without exceptions.
Many have become chess masters - no one has become the master of chess.
But it's also because of something personal. My mother and father met while playing chess, so I've always had a fondness for the game. If it weren't for chess, I might not be here.
It is well-known that chess and music go well together, and many are those who have achieved unusual proficiency in both.
No one has ever played these endgames with such elegant ease as Capablanca.
Poets do not go mad, but chess players do.
Once you're a chess player, you spend a lot of time thinking about the game and you can't get it completely out of your head.
The concept of 'talent' is formed under completely abstract criteria, having nothing in common with reality. But the reality is such that I don't understand chess as a whole. But then again no one understands chess in its entirety. Perhaps talent is something else, in chess it is conditionality.