"Now dear, never run out alone while the other players remain at home"
–with apologies to Lewis Carroll
Advice thru Humor
All I need is a little position. – Charles de la Bourdonnais
No chess grandmaster is normal; they only differ in the extent of their madness. – Viktor Korchnoi.
Every time I win a tournament I have to think that there is something wrong with modern chess. – Viktor Korchnoi
Staunton was the most profound opening analyst of all time. He was more theorist than player, but nonetheless he was the strongest player of his day. Playing over his games, I discover that they are completely modern; where Morphy and Steinitz rejected the fianchetto, Staunton embraced it. In addition, he understood all of the positional concepts which modern players hold so dear, and thus - with Steinitz - must be considered the first modern player. – Bobby Fischer
Morphy was probably the greatest genius of them all. – Bobby Fischer
Capablanca was possibly the greatest player in the entire history of chess. – Bobby Fischer
That's what chess is all about. One day you give your opponent a lesson, the next day he gives you one. – Bobby Fischer
I don’t fear any opponent, only myself. When I’m in good form I’m not afraid of anybody. When I’m in bad form, I can lose to anybody. – Anatoly Karpov
When one plays with Morphy the sensation is as queer as the first electric shock, or first love, or chloroform, or any entirely novel experience. – Henry Bird
Place the contents of the chess box in a hat, shake them up vigorously, pour them on the board from a height of two feet - and you get the style of Steinitz. – Henry Bird
Attack! Always attack! – Adolf Anderssen
I keep on fighting as long as my opponent can make a mistake. – Emanuel Lasker
The hardest game to win is a won game. – Emanuel Lasker
If you see a good move, sit on your hands. You will find a better one. – Emanuel Lasker
I detest the endgame. A well-played game should be practically decided in the middlegame. – David Janowsky
I have always liked a wide open game and tried to knock out my opponent with a checkmate as quickly as possible. I subscribe to the old belief that offense is the best form of defense. – Frank Marshall
60 days a year I play in tournaments, 5 days I rest, and 300 days I work on my game. – Akiba Rubinstein
Tonight, I am playing against the Black pieces. – Akiba Rubinstein (on being asked who his opponent was)
I always play carefully and try to avoid unnecessary risks. I consider my method to be right as any superfluous ‘daring’ runs counter to the essential character of chess, which is not a gamble but a purely intellectual combat conducted in accordance with the exact rules of logic. – Jose R. Capablanca
When a match is over I forget it. You can only remember so many things, so it is better to forget useless things that you can’t use and remember useful things that you can use. For instance, I remember and will always remember that in 1927 Babe Ruth hit sixty home runs. – Jose R. Capablanca
You cannot play chess unless you have studied his games. – Mikhail Botvinnik (on Capablanca)
To win against me, you must beat me three times: in the opening, the middlegame and the endgame. – Alexander Alekhine
It is better to have a bad plan than no plan at all. – Alexander Alekhine
Yes, I have played a blitz game once. It was on a train, in 1929. – Mikhail Botvinnik
He played from the very first move for the better ending. – Mikhail Botvinnik (on Reshevsky)
Strategy requires thought; tactics requires observation. – Max Euwe
Tactics is what you do when there is something to do; strategy is what you do when there is nothing to do. – Savielly Tartakower
The older I get, the more I value pawns. – Paul Keres
There are two kinds of sacrifices; correct ones and mine. – Mikhail Tal
Some sacrifices are sound; the rest are mine. – Mikhail Tal
It does not really matter, as long as it is an extra one. – Tigran Petrosian (on which was his favorite chess piece)
Men want to beat you up, but women want to take care of you. Personally I prefer a beating, because there's an end of it. – Jan Hein Donner
There are some studies which I like to play through again and again. – Garry Kasparov
Talent? What is talent? It is 99 percent labor and one percent natural. – Gata Kamsky
Tactics is 99 percent of chess. – Richard Teichmann
Even a poor plan is better than no plan at all. – Mikhail Chigorin
Openings teach you openings, endgames teach you chess! – Stephan Gerzadowicz, US Postal Chess Master
First-class players lose to second-class players because second-class players sometimes play a first-class game. – Siegbert Tarrasch
Following are the reminiscences of the Reverend Roger John Wright of a blindfold simultaneous display (13 boards) given by Zukertort in Norwich, England in 1872: ‘On this occasion a very amusing incident occurred, for one of our best players, anxious to perpetrate “a bit of Morphy”, solemnly announced mate in five moves. “Ah, ha!”, cried the blindfold savant as quick as thought (the very tone of his voice betraying how irrepressibly he was tickled at the idea), “is zat so? Good, very good; but I will give you ze mate in three! Paw-rn to Rook’s fo-urth, sheck!” etc., giving the would-be Morphy the coup de grâce in splendid style, and leaving him dumbfounded. Before this blindfold performance commenced, I had the pleasure of conversing with Zukertort for some time tête-à-tête. He was frank enough to tell me that his proficiency in chess was the result of hard and prolonged study – in fact, that he had practised chess six or eight hours a day, almost continuously, for ten years! As the result of his play against us at Norwich, he won every game except one, which was drawn. It was a splendid achievement, but he was considerably overcome by the great mental strain, drops of perspiration hung on his forehead, and the veins in his head and neck stood out in a way painful to behold – sad omens of the melancholy end which ultimately befell him. He did us the honour of saying that he had never previously encountered such tough antagonists.’ The Chess Bouquet by F.R. Gittins, London 1897.