Best 681 quotes in «chess quotes» category

In general there is something puzzling about the fact that the most renowned figures in chess - Morphy, Pillsbury, Capablanca and Fischer - were born in America.

In Kansas I have a chess school.

In mathematics, if I find a new approach to a problem, another mathematician might claim that he has a better, more elegant solution. In chess, if anybody claims he is better than I, I can checkmate him.

In modern praxis lost positions are salvaged most often when the play is highly complicated with many sharp dynamic variations to be calculated.

In my opinion the Open variation is absolutely correct - and more interesting than the Closed.

In positions of strategic manoeuvring (where time is not of decisive importance) seek the worst-placed piece. Activating that piece is often the most reliable way of improving your position as a whole.

Intellectual activity is perhaps the greatest pleasure of life; chess is one of the forms of intellectual activity.

In the ending the king is a powerful piece for assisting his own pawns, or stopping the adverse pawns.

Intuition in chess can be defined as the first move that comes to mind when you see a position.

In this respect, I suppose I'm the total opposite of Garry [Kasparov]. With his very emotive body language at the [chess]board he shows and displays all his emotions. I don't.

I played like a child!

I often play a move I know how to refute.

I played Chess with him and would have beaten him sometimes only he always took back his last move, and ran the game out differently

I played tournament chess from fifth grade up into high school.

I study chess eight hours a day, on principle.

I see my own style as being a symbiosis of the styles of Alekhine, Tal and Fischer.

I still remember Botvinnik's reaction to each of my games, right from the opening moves. At first he would express amazement, then annoyance, and, finally irritation.

Is Bobby Fischer quite sane?

I still hope to kill Fischer

I thought I was playing the world champion, not some 27-eyed monster who sees everything in all positions.

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.

I think that by and large chess players have been very kind. Like I said there have been a few incidents, but they certainly didn't serve to bring me down any.

I think with chess as with everything, marketing is the main issue.

It is a gross overstatement, but in chess, it can be said I play against my opponent over the board and against myself on the clock.

It is always advantageous to exchange your king's bishop pawn for the king's pawn, since this leads to the seizure of the centre and, in addition, to the opening of a file for the rook.

It is annoying that the rules of chess do not allow a pawn to take either horizontally or backwards, but only forwards ... This psychological tuning is ideal for attacking purposes, but what about for defence?

It is dangerous to maintain equality at the cost of placing the pieces passively.

It is a well known phenomenon that the same amateur who can conduct the middle game quite creditably, is usually perfectly helpless in the end game. One of the principal requisites of good chess is the ability to treat both the middle and end game equally well.

It is better to follow out a plan consistently even if it isn't the best one than to play without a plan at all. The worst thing is to wander about aimlessly.

It is a well known fact that almost all the outstanding chess-players have been first-class analysts.

It is rightly said that the most difficult thing in chess is winning a won position

It is impossible to ignore a highly important factor of the chess struggle - psychology.

It is peculiar but a fact nevertheless, that the gamblers in chess have enthusiastic followers.

It is said that an ounce of common sense can outweigh a ton of 'variations'.

It is the aim of the modern school, not to treat every position according to one general law, but according to the principle inherent in the position

It must be clearly understood that Soviet players do not seek simple systems in the opening, but try to formulate opening systems in which everything is complicated, distinctive, or new.

It is unjust, and sometimes very untrue, though it is a common theory, to hold that it is sacrifices which make the beauty of a combination, and that the combination is prettier by the magnitude of the sacrifices.

It is true that even across the Himalayan barrier India has sent to the west, such gifts as grammar and logic, philosophy and fables, hypnotism and chess, and above all numerals and the decimal system.

It is well-known that chess and music go well together, and many are those who have achieved unusual proficiency in both.

It often happens that a player is so fond of his advantageous position that he is reluctant to transpose to a winning endgame.

It's little quirks like this that could make life difficult for a chess machine.

I try to help developing junior chess. When I lived in USSR, I got a lot of free help from very good coaches - now I am trying to repay that debt.

It's a shame to be the face of chess and to play chess badly.

It's easy for me to get along with chess players. Even though we are all very different, we have chess in common.

It so often happens that, after sacrificing a pawn, a player aims not to obtain the initiative for it, but to regain sacrificed material.

It's quite difficult for me to imagine my life without chess.

It was Steinitz who was the first to establish the basic principles of general chess strategy. He was a pioneer and one of the most profound researchers into the thruth of the game, which was hidden from his contemporaries.

It was clear to me that the vulnerable point of the American Grandmaster (Bobby Fischer) was in double-edged, hanging, irrational positions, where he often failed to find a win even in a won position

It's true that in chess as in politics, fund-raising and glad-handing matter.

I would never suggest to anyone that they drop school for chess. First of all even if you can make it in chess, your social skills need to be developed there.