Grandmasters are not just calculators; they are philosophers.
Often, a single sentence from a World Champion can teach you more about the nature of the game than a thousand variations.
"Pawns are the soul of chess."
β FranΓ§ois-AndrΓ© Danican Philidor
"Play the opening like a book, the middlegame like a magician, and the endgame like a machine."
β Rudolph Spielmann
"Help your pieces so they can help you."
β Paul Morphy
"When you see a good move, waitβlook for a better one."
β Emanuel Lasker
"The winner of the game is the player who makes the next-to-last mistake."
β Savielly Tartakower
"I don't believe in psychology. I believe in good moves."
β Bobby Fischer
"The hardest game to win is a won game."
β Emanuel Lasker
"Of course, errors are not good for a chess game, but errors are unavoidable and in any case, a game without errors, or as they say 'flawless game' is colorless."
β Mikhail Tal
"Chess is 99% tactics."
β Richard Teichmann
"You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one."
β Mikhail Tal
"The blunders are all there on the board, waiting to be made."
β Savielly Tartakower
"A sacrifice is best refuted by accepting it."
β Wilhelm Steinitz
"Chess is life in miniature. Chess is a struggle, chess is battles."
β Garry Kasparov
"Chess is everything: art, science, and sport."
β Anatoly Karpov
"Avoid the crowd. Do your own thinking independently. Be the chess player, not the chess piece."
β Ralph Charell
"It is not enough to be a good player... you must also play well."
β Savielly Tartakower