All the Chess Quotemasters (QMs)
Confusion is a great state of mind. It leads you to question things, sometimes even assumptions. – KevinChessSmith
We are in truth but pieces on this chess board of life, which in the end we leave, only to drop one by one into the grave of nothingness. (c 1120) – Omar Khayyam Chess Quotes On Losing
No fool can play chess, and only fools do. – German proverb
We do not see things as they are. We see things as we are. – probable Talmudic origin
The battle for the ultimate truth will never be won. And that's why chess is so fascinating. – Hans Kmoch
Of chess, it has often been said that life is not long enough for it – but that is the fault of life, not chess. William Ewart Napier
This concludes a series of twelve blogs about chess players who have had some absolutely amazing things to say about the Royal Game, sayings good enough to earn them the title of QuoteMaster (QM). The first in this dozen-long series introduced 23 QMs, all under consideration to be the first class to enter the Chess QM Hall of Fame (HoF). Blogs two through eleven presented that first class of quotemasters, starting with #10, GM and QM, Andy Soltis, and culminating with the top QM, GM Savielly Tartakower. For each QM, I explained, rationalized, and waxed whimsy regarding why they had earned their specific ranking.
In this post-post, I present a curated selection of the ten best quotes, imo, of all 23 QMs initially identified. Why bother, you ask? Well, some well-intentioned individuals, if perhaps inadequately informed or simply injudicious, expressed their own opinions along the way regarding who should be in a particular spot in the queue. Now they can see the quotes of those individuals who didn't show up where they expected (i.e., among the Top Ten) and argue their case with facts, not opinions.😉 If turnabout truly is fair play, this is the reader's shot to compare over 230 quotes and make their own decisions on who should have been among the Top Ten QMs. (I still stacked the deck for #1 and #2 on my list. They ended up with at least twenty quotes each. Whether or not that's fair, is an argument for another day.)
The 23 QMs:
Alekhine, Bronstein, Capablanca, Dvoretsky, Fischer, Kasparov, Kotov, Lakdawala, Emanuel Lasker, Mednis, Nimzowitsch, Nunn, Pachman, Romanovsky, Seirawan, Silman, Soltis, Spielmann, Steinitz, Tal, Tarrasch, Tartakower, and Znosko-Borovsky
Quod Erat Demonstrandum (Q.E.D.) – Final Words
Links to Blogs in the QM Series Biographies, books, and other tidbits about the Top Ten QMs, plus, at least ten quotes each.
So, who are the GOATs of chess quotes? Do you have an opinion? Hey, it's no problem if you haven't considered the issue! I'm more than willing to fill that particular void in your thoughts with my own opinions!!
What makes my opinions better than thine? Well, it's an opinion informed by decades of chess and a (diminished) chess library that takes up multiple shelves in my library. Plus, I'm the one who took time to put some thought into this sorely overlooked aspect of chess history, a Top Ten ranking of the greatest Chess QuoteMasters (QMs) of all time. Besides, if you don't fully agree with my opinions, though I can hardly imagine such a state of mind, then chess.com generously provided a comments section so you can express your agreements, disagreements, quibbles, corrections, expansions, nominations, and questions. Some of which I will respond to!
Quotes were gathered from my chess library, archived news articles, individuals' websites, FIDE, Chess Notes by Edward Winter, my faulty memories, and so forth and so on. Errors should be deemed the fault of gremlins in the system or glitches in the matrix.
Let's get to the QuoteMasters, in alphabetical order.
#5 chess.com Hall of Fame: Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine was born on Halloween 1892 and died in March 1946, but avoided an ending on the Ides of March, succumbing to unknown causes on the 26th. The fourth World CC defeated José Raúl Capablanca in 1927 to wrest the title from a man many considered undefeatable, and then assiduously avoided a rematch, with both sides making numerous claims about why a rematch never occurred.
ChessMetrics assessed his peak rating at 2860 in May 1931 and places him #1 in 122 different months. A staggeringly brilliant player, even when intoxicated, Alekhine supposedly sobered up for his rematch against Euwe in 1937.
Ten of Alekhine’s quotes are presented below. Where did these quotes come from? They seem to have entered the social stream of consciousness and now exist in endless echo chess chambers that repeat the same messages again and again...and again. But I list the sources I used, even if I don't necessarily trust them to have done accurate research. Most just repeat the posts of others...as I did in some cases, but not all.
A lifetime is not enough to learn everything about chess. TOP 25 QUOTES BY ALEXANDER ALEKHINE | A-Z Quotes
When asked, "How is that you pick better moves than your opponents?", I responded: "I'm very glad you asked that, because, as it happens, there is a very simple answer. I think up my own moves, and I make my opponent think up his." Humourous Chess Quotes
Play on both sides of the board is my favourite strategy. Chess Quotes - Strategy
The fact that a player is very short of time is to my mind, as little to be considered as an excuse as, for instance, the statement of the law-breaker that he was drunk at the time he committed the crime. Chess Quotes - Time
I do not play chess – I fight at chess. Therefore, I willingly combine the tactical with the strategic, the fantastic with the scientific, the combinative with the positional, and I aim to respond to the demands of each given position. Chess Quote - Style
(My first tournament victory) endowed me with a curious psychological weakness which I have had to work long and hard to eradicate - if indeed I have eradicated it! - the impression that I could always, or nearly always, when in a bad position, conjure up some unexpected combination to extricate me from my difficulties. A dangerous delusion. Chess Quotes - Psychology
Chess, like other arts, must be practiced to be appreciated. TOP 25 QUOTES BY ALEXANDER ALEKHINE | A-Z Quotes
You can become a big master in chess only if you see your mistakes and shortcomings. Exactly the same as in life itself. TOP 25 QUOTES BY ALEXANDER ALEKHINE | A-Z Quotes
As a rule, so-called "positional" sacrifices are considered more difficult, and therefore more praise-worthy, than those which are based exclusively on an exact calculation of tactical possibilities. Chess Quotes - Sacrifices
The first-listed quote above is either a bit lacking in originality or a fine spin on another's work. Alekhine might well have been aware of Talbot's line "Life’s too short for chess", in Act I of Our Boys by H.J. Byron. The play was first performed in London on 16 January 1875, and the text was published in 1880. (For members of The Blogger Awards v2.0 - Chess Club, I didn't add this just to win a medal in the Research category of our December 2025 contest. Not a bad idea, mind you.🤔)
#25 chess.com Hall of Fame: David Bronstein
David Bronstein (Russian: Дави́д Ио́нович Бронште́йн; February 19, 1924 – December 5, 2006) was a Soviet GM and two-time joint Soviet CC. He almost became the World CC in 1951 after tying Botvinnik 12 -12, 5W-14D-5L each, but the reigning champion prevailed in the case of a tied match. Bronstein managed to lose four equal endgames after adjournment.
Because FIDE’s rating system did not go into effect until 1970, they list Bronstein’s peak rating as 2595 in May 1974 with a peak ranking of #17 in July 1971. Just another case where ChessMetrics offers more useful measurements! That site suggests the most accurate quantitative measurement of his rating was 2792 in June 1951 and they placed him #1 in the world for 19 months, from June 1950 through December 1951.
Bronstein had numerous tournament and Interzonal victories and played for the Soviet team in four Olympiads in the 1950s, winning board prizes each time, losing only one game, and securing four team golds.
Some of Bronstein’s most famous quotes can be found everywhere, all at once. That doesn't detract from his thoughts, nor even dilute them, but it renders one discontent to pretend that some single online source deserves more credit than the ten thousand tee-shirts found in casual chess settings dispensing the same advice.
What the devil possessed me to reply 1. ... e5?? I completely forgot that Spassky, like Spielmann in the past, very much likes to play the King's Gambit. Quotes On Chess Openings
Theory regards this opening as incorrect, but it is impossible to agree with this. Out of the five tournament games played by me with the King's Gambit, I have won all five. Quotes On Chess Openings
The most powerful weapon in chess is to have the next move. Humourous Chess Quotes
When everything on the board is clear it can be so difficult to conceal your thoughts from your opponent. Chess Quotes - Strategy
Chess is infinite, and one has to make only one ill-considered move, and one's opponent's wildest dreams will become reality. Chess Quotes - Chess
A strong player requires only a few minutes of thought to get to the heart of the conflict. You see a solution immediately, and half an hour later merely convince yourself that your intuition has not deceived you. Chess Quotes - Time
It would be as naive to study the song of the nightingale, as it would be ridiculous to try and win a King's Gambit against a representative of the old chess guard. Quotes On Chess Openings
When you play against an experienced opponent who exploits all the defensive resources at his command you sometimes have to walk time and again, along the narrow path of 'the only move'. Chess Quotes - Strategy
A game of chess is not an examination of knowledge; it is a battle of nerves.
#7 chess.com Hall of Fame: José Raúl Capablanca
José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera (19 November 1888 – 8 March 1942) was a Cuban master, the third World CC, and notable chess author. He defeated Lasker in 1921 to claim the title, then lost it in 1927 to Alekhine despite entering the match as a heavy favorite.
Capablanca placed first in many world-class tournaments including San Sebastián 1911, St. Petersburg 1914, London 1922, and New York 1927. ChessMetrics estimates his highest rating at 2877 in May 1921 and placed him at #1 globally for 85 different months.
Search for just a few moments online and you can find examples of pithy Capablanca-isms in a hundred locations, ranging from book reviews to chess.com blogs to videos that echo one or more of his aphorisms and then play out a game to demonstrate the verity of his assertions. There's nothing wrong with that, I suppose, but attribution becomes a nuisance.
Excellent! I will still be in time for the ballet! - (upon defeating Ossip Bernstein in the famous 29 move exhibition game played in Moscow in 1914, before setting off to the Bolshoi Theatre in horse-drawn carriage) Humourous Chess Quotes
You may learn much more from a game you lose than from a game you win. You will have to lose hundreds of games before becoming a good player. Chess Quotes On Losing
Most players ... do not like losing, and consider defeat as something shameful. This is a wrong attitude. Those who wish to perfect themselves must regard their losses as lessons and learn from them what sorts of things to avoid in the future. Chess Quotes On Losing
People who want to improve should take their defeats as lessons, and endeavor to learn what to avoid in the future. You must also have the courage of your convictions. If you think your move is good, make it. Quotes About Learning Chess
Endings of one rook and pawns are about the most common sort of endings arising on the chess board. Yet though they do occur so often, few have mastered them thoroughly. They are often of a very difficult nature, and sometimes while apparently very simple they are in reality extremely intricate. Chess Quotes - Endings
Ninety percent of the book variations have no great value, because either they contain mistakes, or they are based on fallacious assumptions; just forget about the openings and spend all that time on the endings. Chess Quotes - Endings
A good player is always lucky. Chess Quotes - Success
Chess books should be used as we use glasses: to assist the sight, although some players make use of them as if they thought they conferred sight. Chess Quotes - Theory
None of the great players has been so incomprehensible to the majority of amateurs and even masters, as Emanuel Lasker. TOP 25 QUOTES BY JOSE RAUL CAPABLANCA | A-Z Quotes
Mark Izrailevich Dvoretsky (Russian: Марк Изра́илевич Дворе́цкий; December 9, 1947 – September 26, 2016) was a Russian IM, chess trainer, and writer. Considered by most to have been of GM strength, he chose to focus on his role as a trainer. This despite having a peak rating of 2540, placing him at #37 in the world in 1976.
He may have been the world’s best trainer to the elite. The list of chess superstars who were his students at one time seems almost endless: Kasparov, Anand, Topalov, Bareev, Lautier, Dreev, Inarkiev, and on, and on, and on.
Dvoretsky is credited, and sometimes blamed, for his opining on the "Two Weaknesses Rule." His students (a cadre of clever and very talented GMs and IMs) even extended his rule to three and four weaknesses! But that's not what we'll discuss here, sorry. 🤔
Some of Dvoretsky’s most famous quotes were:
Black is now in desperate need of a good idea. Or, to put it standard chess notation, +-.
I do not know to whom the aphorism 'There are no sound studies, only ones that haven't been busted yet' belongs, but it has measure of truth in it. Chess Quotes - Studies
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.
It is hardly useful if you trustingly play through variation after variation from a book. It is a great deal more useful and more interesting if you take part actively in the analysis, find something yourself, and try to refute some of the author's conclusions. Quotes About Chess Analysis
I feel that it is no less interesting to be a trainer than to play oneself. I even take greater delight in the tournament successes of my lads than I do in my own. Chess Quotes - Coaches
Emotional instability can be one of the factors giving rise to a failure by chess players in important duels. Under the influence of surging emotions (and not necessarily negative ones) we sometimes lose concentration and stop objectively evaluating the events that are taking place on the board. Chess Quotes - Psychology
It is very important to learn to weigh up objectively (or assess intuitively) the totality of the competitive and psychological factors. Chess Quotes - Psychology
Training in analysis (like any other form of chess training) should be treated very seriously. Quotes About Chess Analysis
As a rule, pawn endings have a forced character, and they can be worked out conclusively.
GM, 11th World CC, eight-time U.S. CC, writer, controversial figure#3 chess.com Hall of Fame: Bobby Fischer
Some of Fischer’s more famous quotes...will not be presented here. We'll focus on his chess thoughts:
Chess is war over the board. The object is to crush the opponent's mind. Chess Quotes - Chess
I like to make them squirm. Chess Quotes - Psychology
I don't believe in psychology. I believe in good moves. Chess Quotes - Psychology
I give 98 percent of my mental energy to Chess. Others give only 2 percent. Chess Quotes - Success
The turning point in my career came with the realization that Black should play to win instead of just steering for equality. Chess Quotes - Success
Don't even mention losing to me. I can't stand to think of it. Chess Quotes On Losing
My opponents make good moves too. Sometimes I don't take these things into consideration. Chess Mistakes
Genius. It's a word. What does it really mean? If I win I'm a genius. If I don't, I'm not. Chess Quotes - Success
If you don't win, it's not a great tragedy - the worst that happens is that you lose a game. Chess Quotes On Losing
#1 chess.com Hall of Fame: Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born Garik Kimovich Weinstein on 13 April 1963) is a Russian GM, FIDE and PCA World CC, the youngest ever undisputed World CC at age 22 until Gukesh Dommaraju won the title at age 18 in 2024, and held the record for the world’s peak ELO at 2851 until Magnus Carlsen passed that mark in 2013.
The #1 ranked player for 255 months, he still retains records for winning fifteen consecutive tournaments and for receiving eleven consecutive Chess Oscars as the world’s best player. Oh, and he won the World Junior CC, and shared in the USSR CC as a teen. He won 19 medals in Olympiads, including eight team golds that were earned every time he competed. His individual medals included three board golds, one board silver, two board bronzes, three performance golds, and one performance silver.
Garry has had a lot to say, much of it about chess! Some of Kasparov’s most famous quotes were:
My love of dynamic complications often led me to avoid simplicity when perhaps it was the wisest choice. Chess Mistakes
A master looks at every move he would like to make, especially the impossible ones.
Sometimes the hardest thing to do in a pressure situation is to allow the tension to persist. The temptation is to make a decision, any decision, even if it is an inferior choice. Chess Quotes - Success
Losing can persuade you to change what doesn't need to be changed, and winning can convince you everything is fine even if you are on the brink of disaster. Chess Quotes On Losing
When your house is on fire, you can’t be bothered with the neighbors. Or, as we say in chess, if your King is under attack, don't worry about losing a pawn on the queenside. Chess Quotes - Strategy
The highest art of the chess player lies in not allowing your opponent to show you what he can do. Chess Quotes - Success
Ultimately, what separates a winner from a loser at the grandmaster level is the willingness to do the unthinkable.
Attackers may sometimes regret bad moves, but it is much worse to forever regret an opportunity you allowed to pass you by. Chess Mistakes
The worst enemy of the strategist is the clock. Time trouble... Reduces us all to pure reflex and reaction, tactical play. Emotion and instinct cloud our strategic vision when there is no time for proper evaluation. Chess Quotes - Strategy
Garry on politics! Sure, he included chess in the mix, but I felt two quotes in particular deserved a breakout section...so twelve quotes it is!
In chess the rules are fixed and the outcome is unpredictable, whereas in Putin's Russia the rules are unpredictable, and the outcome is fixed. Chess Quotes - Politics
It's true that in chess as in politics, fund-raising and glad-handing matter. Chess Quotes - Politics
Alexander Alexandrovich Kotov (Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Ко́тов; (12 August [O.S. 30 July] 1913 – 8 January 1981) was a renowned Soviet GM, one-time Soviet CC, two-time world title Candidate, and chess author. He also earned team gold medals at the 1952 and 1954 Olympiads.
Because FIDE developed and unveiled their rating system so late in his career they offer a peak rating of 2510 in July 1971 when he was almost 68-years-old. ChessMetrics rides to the rescue! Again!! They offer a more meaningful depiction of his peak strength, listing him at 2753 in April 1950 and ranking him #3 globally in September of that year.
One of his most fantastic results was winning the 1952 Saltsjöbaden Interzonal, three points clear of the second-place finishers Tigran Petrosian and Mark Taimanov. His performance rating was 2832 according to ChessMetrics.
Relatively unknown, despite writing several important books, some of Kotov’s more notable quotes were:
Time trouble is blunder time. Chess Quotes - Time
There is no doubt that the reason for my awful oversight was over-confidence that sapped my sense of danger. So that is where to look for the cause of bad blunders - in the exulting feeling of self-congratulation. Chess Mistakes
I can remember a case where Capablanca worked out an impressive combination but then chose to make a simple move in answer to which his opponent resigned at once!
The masters and grandmasters can be divided into three groups - the inveterate time trouble merchants, those who sometimes get into trouble, and those for whom the phenomenon is a very rare occurence. Chess Quotes - Time
If you can play the first ten or fifteen moves in just as many minutes, you can be in a state of bliss for the rest of the game. If, on the other hand, Bronstein thinks for forty minutes about his first move, then time trouble is inevitable. Chess Quotes - Time
Once there is the slightest suggestion of combinational possibilities on the board, look for unusual moves. Apart from making your play creative and interesting it will help you to get better results. Chess Quotes - Combinations
If you study the classic examples of endgame play you will see how the king was brought up as soon as possible even though there seemed no particular hurry at the time. Chess Quotes - Endings
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. Chess Quotes - Strategy
Experience and the constant analysis of the most varied positions builds up a store of knowledge in a player's mind enabling him often at a glance to assess this or that position. Quotes About Learning Chess
Cyrus Lakdawala (10 October 1960) is an Indian-born, American IM, coach, and author of more than sixty chess books. His peak rating of 2442 was achieved in October 2001. He retired from active play in 2019. His list of victories include the 1998 American Open, the US G/60 CC, and the US G/30 CC three times.
He can be found on chess.com as @Lakofdawalapment, but I found no games after April 2024.
When it comes to chess teachers and writers, most believe they know what is best for students and readers. Lakdawala proposes a fascinating alternative approach with Composed Chess Studies: The Hidden Path To Improving.
One of my two favorite authors, his words haven't yet migrated into memes. So, I had to go to his books to select a set of quotes. I certainly haven't done justice to him, as I filled his quote quota from just one book, Clinch It!, and could stop after just twenty pages!
Losing, unlike ingesting gradually increasing doses of a toxin, doesn't make us immune to its pain. Instead, the memory of our losses lives on in our psyches, as a microscopic version of the death of a loved one. [Introduction]
When the opponent is clearly worse or losing, everything his psyche fears lives here: uncertainty, loss, failure – and so they are on high alert. A busted player is entitled to impossible dreams and the most dangerous opponent we face is the one who plays with purpose, combined with a disregard for consequences. [Ibid]
Planning and chaos don't work well together. Be aware that reckless abandon rarely triumphs over logic and common sense, unless you are Tal, which most of us are not. [p.9]
Nobody's perfect, so factor in mistakes. In this way we don't get rattled when we make one. We are unable to alter history, so stop dwelling on past mistakes and start working to alter the present. [Ibid]
Don't live an aimless existence. When we are planless, we are like a person who is perpetually on his or her way somewhere. But just where that somewhere is, nobody can say. [Ibid]
Keep it simple and avoid the situation when our complex, multi-tiered plan is humiliatingly dismantled by our opponent's simple response, which everyone in the room saw, except one person: you. [p.10]
When we proceed the way our opponent expects, then expect him or her to respond exactly opposite to what we expected. [p.11]
Don't get overconfident, because when you do, you become like a bank robber who successfully pulls off a heist and then proceeds in celebration to get drunk in the bar and boast about it. [Ibid]
Review a single issue from opposing perspectives, yours and your opponents, since looking at the problem exclusively from our own narrow perspective tends to point to the conclusion we want to see. [Ibid]
Speaking of tin soldiers well, there's one in the image above) here's a video for a song I always liked. Just to break things up a bit.
#4 chess.com Hall of Fame: Emanuel Lasker
Emanuel Lasker (December 24, 1868 - January 11, 1941) was the second World CC, holding the title from 1894 – 1921. He learned the game from his older brother, Berthold. From 1890 – 1893 Emanuel played and won a series of matches against many of the best players of his time, including von Bardeleben, Mieses, Bird, Englisch, Blackburne, and Showalter. In 1894 he capped off his string of successes by claiming the crown from Steinitz by a score of 10W-4D-4L. In the 1896-97 rematch, he won more convincingly with 10W-5D-2L.
The rest of his career in tournaments and matches is well discussed elsewhere, so we shall move on. Lasker was also a first-class contract bridge player who represented Germany at international events in the early 1930s.
Ha! Gotcha! Zugzwang!!!
Lasker recognized that science represented one aspect of chess, but he was equally insightful regarding the psychological aspects of chess, extolling its combative nature.
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. Humourous Chess Quotes
Chess is neither a science nor an art. It is what human nature most delights in--a fight. Chess Quotes - Chess
I keep on fighting as long as my opponent can make a mistake.
Vanity should never tempt a player to engage in a combat at the risk of loss of health. It is bad enough to lose without the additional annoyance of paying doctors' bills. Chess Quotes On Losing
On the chessboard, lies and hypocrisy do not survive long. Chess Quotes - Truth
I believe in magic...There is magic in the creative faculty such as great poets and philosophers conspicuously possess, and equally in the creative chessmaster. Quotes About Beauty inChess
To find the right plan is just as hard as looking for its sound justification. Chess Quotes - Strategy
Education in Chess has to be an education in independent thinking and judging. Chess must not be memorized.
He who has a slight disadvantage plays more attentively, inventively, and more boldly than his antagonist who either takes it easy or aspires after too much. Thus a slight disadvantage is very frequently seen to convert into a good, solid advantage. Chess Quotes - Psychology
Edmar John Mednis (Latvian: Edmārs Džons Mednis; March 22, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was a Latvian-born, American GM and author who finished second behind Spassky in the 1955 World Junior CC. FIDE lists his peak rating at 2510 in January 1979 so we’ll once again defer to ChessMetrics for a more measured sense of his playing strength at his peak. ChessMetrics determined that his peak rating was 2584 In August 1986, but places his highest world ranking at #78 in November 1956.
Mednis never competed for a World CC (barring his second-place finish in the 1955 World Junior CC), but he was an indefatigable writer who produced innumerable valuable insights for the chess amateur's consumption.
After a bad opening, there is hope for the middle game. After a bad middle game, there is hope for the endgame. But once you are in the endgame, the moment of truth has arrived. Chess Quotes - Endings
Give me a difficult positional game, I will play it. But totally won positions, I cannot stand them.
Winning isn't everything … but losing is nothing. Chess Quotes On Losing
In Chess, at least, the brave inherit the earth.
Your practical results will improve when you play what you know, like and have confidence in. Chess Quotes - Success
Only play into a variation in which your opponent is strong if you have your own personal novelty ready! Chess Quotes - Strategy
The key to ultimate success is the determination to progress day by day. Quotes About Learning Chess
The number of 'unnecessary' errors that have been committed on move 41 are legion. Chess Mistakes
The amount of points that can be gained (and saved) by correct endgame play is enormous, yet often underestimated by youngsters and amateurs. Chess Quotes - Endings
HoF #50: Nimzowitsch –"The Stormy Petrel"
Aron Nimzowitsch (Latvian: Ārons Nimcovičs; Russian: Аро́н Иса́евич Нимцо́вич) was born in Riga, Latvia on 7 November 1886, but played and wrote as a Danish GM and was a two-time Nordic CC. ChessMetrics estimates his peak rating at 2780 in September 1929, placing him at #3 globally. One of the great personalities in chess history, his best playing years were in the late 1920s, although he had achieved earlier successes as seen in a tie for first with Alekhine at St. Petersburg 1914. Then a war interrupted the royal game.
He is well-known as one of the leading practitioners of hypermodernism, and some deign to nominate him as the founder.
Nimzowitsch is the cheeky author of quotes such as seen below. This stuff gets ground into our brains by chess coaches, books, itinerant poseurs who pretend to have mastered the game, the internet, and even our friends who gave up the game years ago but still can't dredge these ideas out of their thick skulls (me amongst them...partially...not the giving up part...the thickness).
The threat is stronger than the execution. "Aron Nimzowitsch 1928-1935: Annotated Games & Essays”, p.272, New In Chess
First restrain, next blockade, lastly destroy. Chess Quotes - Strategy
How can I lose to such an idiot? Aron Nimzowitsch by Edward Winter
In a rook and pawn ending, the rook must be used aggressively. It must either attack enemy pawns or give active support to the advance of one of its own pawns to the queening square. Chess Quotes - Endings
No pawn exchanges, no file-opening, no attack. Chess Quotes - Pawns
The defensive power of a pinned piece is only imaginary. Chess Quotes - Tactics
The main objective of any operation in an open file is the eventual occupation of the seventh or eighth rank. Aron Nimzowitsch Quotes About Chess | A-Z Quotes
The best variation to use in a tournament is not a merely good line, but more exactly a line which, though good, is considered to be bad. (Carlsbad, 1929, p.64)
Even the laziest King flees wildly in the face of a double check! Aron Nimzowitsch Quotes About Chess | A-Z Quotes (image below)
The beauty of a move lies not in its appearance but in the thought behind it. Aron Nimzowitsch Quotes About Chess | A-Z Quotes
Many men, many styles; what is chess style but the intangible expression of the will to win. Chess Quote - Style
Ridicule can do much, for instance embitter the existence of young talents. Aron Nimzowitsch Quotes About Chess | A-Z Quotes
In the middlegame, the king is merely an extra, but in the endgame, he is one of the star actors. Aron Nimzowitsch Quotes About Chess | A-Z Quotes
How vain are our fears! I thought to myself. "Sometimes we fear that which our opponent (or fate) had never even considered! After this, then, is it any longer worthwhile to rack one's brain to find new ghosts to fear? No, indeed: All hail optimism! - upon his opponent Mattison missing an unusual knight maneuver. Chess Quotes by Nimzowitsch
Chess strategy as such today is still in its diapers, despite Tarrasch's statement 'We live today in a beautiful time of progress in all fields.' Not even the slightest attempt has been made to explore and formulate the laws of chess strategy. Chess Quotes - Strategy
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. Chess Quotes - Endings
The great mobility of the King forms one of the chief characteristics of all endgame strategy. In the middlegame the King is a mere 'super', in the endgame on the other hand - one of the 'principals'. We must therefore develop him, bring him nearer to the fighting line. Chess Quotes - Endings
If in a battle, I seize a bit of debatable land with a handful of soldiers, without having done anything to prevent an enemy bombardment of the position, would it ever occur to me to speak of a conquest of the terrain in question? Obviously not. Then why should I do so in chess? Chess Quotes - Strategy
No matter how much we have tried to convince Spielmann of the impossibility of surviving on nothing more than developing and attacking moves (and I have tried hardest of all, through my books and our conversations), still he tries, almost as a matter of principle, to avoid the necessity of defense! (Carlsbad, 1929, p.32)
John Denis Martin Nunn, b. 25 April 1955, is an English GM, two-time Senior World CC, three-time problem solving World CC, one-time British CC, writer, publisher, and mathematician (he earned his PhD at age 23). He has also won two individual Olympiad gold medals.
With a peak rating of 2630 in January 1995 and a peak global ranking of #9 a decade earlier he spent considerable time placed among the world’s elite. ChessMetrics estimated his peak rating at 2715 in September 1985, #10 by their methodology. Nunn’s timing wasn’t the best in terms of the British chess hierarchy. There were two players ranked ahead of him, #3 Nigel Short and #5 Jonathan Speelman. Nunn still plays actively and his rating stood at 2528 entering March 2025, having lost five rating points in February.
Some Nunn quotes for your delectation. I particularly relish his quote about myths that have arisen surrounding middle game play!
While it is a cause for regret that Fischer did not continue to produce scintillating games, he perhaps had a greater impact on chess than any other twentieth century player. QUOTES BY JOHN NUNN | A-Z Quotes
The main line of the [Sicilian Defense] Yugoslav Attack has become just too vast for most players to study in depth, and anyone intending to venture into such tricky waters needs to have an intimate knowledge of all the hidden reefs. Quotes On Chess Openings
At lower levels the quickest way for most players to achieve better results is to improve their tactical ability. Quotes 2 | 3Cs Chess Club
The attacker must always be on the lookout for ways in which the defender can surrender some material to “buy off” the attack, in order to avoid them. Quotes 2 | 3Cs Chess Club
If it is possible to decide on your move on purely positional grounds, then you should do so; it is quicker and more reliable. There are, of course, many positions in which concrete analysis is essential, but even in those cases you should not analyse specific variations more than necessary. Quotes 2 | 3Cs Chess Club
When you see a chance to simplify into a position you can be certain of winning, go for it. Quotes 2 | 3Cs Chess Club
If your position is objectively lost, the most important rule is 'keep the game going'. This doesn't mean that you should play on for a long time in a resignable position; it means 'do not allow your opponent a simple forced win'. The longer you can force your opponent to work, the greater the chance that he will eventually go wrong. Quotes 2 | 3Cs Chess Club
There are many myths about middle game play. Influenced by some notable writers, generations of players have come to believe principles that are at best partly true and at worst largely false. [Understanding Chess Middlegames, p.9]
...practically all features of the middle-game have a good side and a bade side and that to distinguish between these requires an examination of the actual position. By all means have a knowledge of chess principles, but these should only be regarded as guidelines. [Understanding Chess Middlegames, p.9]
Luděk Pachman (German: Ludek Pachmann, May 11, 1924 – March 6, 2003) was a Czechoslovak-German GM, chess writer, and politician. A seven-time Czechoslovak CC he won the German chess CC six years after emigrating. He usually played first board in the eight consecutive Olympiads he played for Czechoslovakia.
FIDE lists his peak rating as 2520 in January 1976, but this clearly diminishes the figure he cut on the chess world stage, given that he was already 46 when FIDE instituted an ELO rating system. ChessMetrics offers a far more illuminating estimate of Pachman’s strength, listing him at 2695 in December 1959 and #14 globally in October 1959.
I quoted liberally from Pachman's favorite book...it seemed appropriate!
The ability to calculate correctly is undoubtedly a necessity for the top-class player but it is not the only one, and certainly not the most important difference between the master and the average player. Modern Chess Strategy p.1
There are many players who have a good command of the art of accurate combinations but who will never reach master strength; for they lack the ability to conduct the entire game on the basis of a correct plan. Modern Chess Strategy p.1
The choice of plan is in every case dependent on the concrete position on the board. Modern Chess Strategy p.2
But a word of warning: the plan should always be kept under control in case a change in the position should occur; even a very slight change may necessitate an immediate alteration to the strategical plan. Modern Chess Strategy p.5
A beginner may be able to get along for a while on a system that prescribes exchange on simple arithmetical calculation, but the advanced player knows that this method fails even when comparing a Rook and a minor piece. Modern Chess Strategy p.11
The struggle of Bishop against Knight is one of the most interesting problems in chess strategy...to assess which really is superior we should bear in mind the character, and particularly the pawn formation, of the individual position. Modern Chess Strategy p.24-25
Of all the pieces the Rook is the most difficult to bring into play: its development necessitates, amongst other things, carefully planned pawn advances, well-chosen exchanges, and correct timing in castling. Modern Chess Strategy p.24-25
Of all pieces the King occupies a special position. On the one hand it is the focal point of the game; on the other hand it must for long periods confine itself to a sad and modest role and shelter from attacks by enemy pieces. Modern Chess Strategy p.73
Experience shows that the power exerted by the King [in the endgame] is then greater than that exerted by a minor piece but less that that by a Rook. Modern Chess Strategy p.73
Pyotr (Peter) Arsenyevich Romanovsky (Russian: Пётр Арсеньевич Романо́вский; 29 July 1892 – 1 March 1964) was a Russian and Soviet IM and IA, two-time Soviet CC (shared in 1927), and author. ChessMetrics estimates his peak rating at 2647 in April 1926 and saw his star rising as high as #12 globally in six different months between December 1925 and July 1935, so he was among the elite for over a decade!
Romanovsky would certainly have received the GM title except for an unfortunate event. Part of his submission was based on being co-champion of the 1927 Soviet CC. However, his co-champion, Fedir Bohatyrchuk, had since been relegated to the Soviet trash bin of history for defecting. No surprise that Fedir defected given he was a rabid anti-Communist. Since Romanovsky's co-champion had also been nominated for the title, the Soviets decided to withdraw both applications. Now that's frustrating!
Romanovsky wrote, and then extensively revised, a seminal book that effectively laid out many precepts of the Soviet school of chess. He also contributed to a number of other books covering major tournaments and World CC matches. Some quotes from Soviet Middlegame Technique:
It is the middlegame struggle that most fully and dramatically brings out the creative substance of the art of chess. [Introduction]
The paramount creative factor in chess – combination – manifests itself directly in the central phase. [i.e., the middle game. Introduction]
It goes without saying that the limited amount of forces in action in the endgame noticeably narrows the circle of creative ideas. [Introduction]
The ideas of the opening are basically centered on achieving full mobilization, whereas the plans in the middlegame arise from the possibility of actions with pieces already mobilized – which immeasurably widens the creative horizon of the ideas. [Introduction]
A skillfully devised and purposefully executed plan amounts to a sure guarantee of success. [p.8]
Formulating a plan is not enough – you still have to solve the no-less-serious problem of implementing it. [p.8]
It may happen that your opponent's counteraction forces you to change your plan and even go over to defence. [p.8]
If an aim is wrongly chosen or the means to its attainment are wrapped in an obscure haze, then the scheme lacks concreteness and is almost certainly doomed to failure. [p.10]
In the process of the struggle, you sometimes reach positions where it is hard to identify a realistic goal and hence to draw up a concrete scheme. In these cases, you have to be content with judgements of a general nature; your specific thoughts, on the whole, will be directed to forestalling your opponent's threats – until suitable targets for a plan come to light. [p.11]
Yasser Seirawan (Arabic: ياسر سيروان; born March 24, 1960) is a Syrian-born American GM, four-time U.S. CC, and 1979 World Junior CC. FIDE lists his highest rating a 2658 in Nobember 2011 but placed him at #10 globablly over 20 years before that, in July 1990. ChessMetrics was completed in 2005 and estimates his peak rating at 2711 in September 1987, with a peak rank of #14 at that point.
Yasser served in a training role for Korchnoi in the 2001 World CC match against Karpov. Viktor had been impressed when Yasser defeated him in a game.
Chess historian Edward Winter cites him as one of the top five Internet broadcasters.
He also invented a chess variant in collaboration with Bruce Harper, aka Seirawan chess or SHARPER chess. You can read my sardonic take on chess variants at 101 Reasons I Hate Chess #76 - 98: Variants.
This former Bachelor of the Month (Cosmopolitan magazine) has had a few things to say about chess. He's equally entertaining when providing live commentary during games!
How come the little things bother you when you are in a bad position? They don't bother you in good positions. Chess Quotes - Psychology
Let the perfectionist play postal. Chess Quotes - Chess
Protect your children – don’t show them the games of MVL. (Yasser Seirawan’s Memorable Quotes – Chandra Alexis Chess Club)
Some games are more drawn than others. (Yasser Seirawan’s Memorable Quotes – Chandra Alexis Chess Club)
I think a player constantly improves his understanding of chess with experience. Chess Quotes - Practice & Study
Though most people love to look at the games of the great attacking masters, some of the most successful players in history have been the quiet positional players. They slowly grind you down by taking away your space, tying up your pieces, and leaving you with virtually nothing to do! Chess Quotes - Success
It has no fear. [Describing one competitive advantage of IBM's Deep Blue chess computer.]
[on Bobby Fischer] ...he magnifies his problems out of proportion. He takes his problems and puts them on the world stage. (Yasser Seirawan by Edward Winter)
In 1999 I chaperoned the Malaysian businessman Dato Tan Chin Nam on his visit to Seattle. He asked my permission to have a racehorse named after me, and I happily assented, asking if he had others named after leading chessplayers. Dato stated that his stable included a racehorse called Kasparov. “In that case”, I said, “just make sure my horse is faster than Kasparov. (Yasser Seirawan by Edward Winter)
Jeremy Silman (August 28, 1954 – September 21, 2023) was an American IM, columnist, chess consultant, and author. His peak rating was 2420 in January 1996. ChessMetrics placed him at 2486 in September 1992 and at #413 globally in May 1978. All these facts point out is that rating and ranking don’t always coincide. This is also known as, it’s easier to be a shark in a small pool.
Silman’s students realized quickly that he was a proponent of understanding the imbalances of a position. In an article from Chess Life, May 2008, and available online only to USCF members (sorry about that), NM Dana Mackenzie pointed out that Silman focused, in roughly descending order, on: the superior minor piece; pawn structure; space, material (duh…but he means more than the obvious!); control of lines and squares; development; and the initiative. I’ve modified and added to that in my analytic approach, KIMPLODES! Cogito ergo sum: An Explosive Analysis Approach. However, the underlying concepts would be familiar to any Silman fan. (That said, I put king safety as the most important element. Sure, it should be obvious. But it doesn’t seem to be when you look at tens of thousands of games and ask yourself what the defenders could have been thinking. Then again, stupid is easy, thinking is hard.)
His chess.com home page is @Silman. Don’t expect to find any games. but it does provide links to his blogs and his two websites, Jeremy Silman website one and J Silman's Asian Movie Reviews.
You can read more about Silman at:
- @TarjeJS Jeremy Silman (1954-2023)
- IM Jeremy Silman (1954-2023) | US Chess.org by IM John Donaldson
- Top Blogger @Englix’s Player Profiles: Jeremy Silman
The second of my two favorite authors. Regaled by many, derided by a few, the bottom line is you cannot evade Silman's thoughts.
Every threat should initially be looked at with a derisive attitude. [How to Reassess Your Chess: 4th Edition, p.159]
Who said that it's not possible to study chess, learn advanced concepts, and laugh at the same time? [Ibid, Introduction, p.XIV]
Stopping a fake threat is akin to stopping your opponent from losing the game! [Ibid, p.161]
If there's a move you want to play, push fear and doubt aside and try hard to make it work! [Ibid, p.170]
You will gain huge dividends by creating an "I'll do what I want no matter what you say" attitude in chess. [Ibid, p.176]
Before playing a move, always ask, "What wonderful thing does this do for my position?" If you can't answer that question, or if the answer has more negatives than positives, one is left wondering how you can justify playing it. [Ibid, p.198]
Don't hesitate to exchange your bad pieces for the opponent's good ones! [Ibid, p.66]
In an age where every serious player has a powerful chess engine, I've watched a chess pandemic appear that's unlike anything that's ever been seen before: While following live grandmaster games, the masses of chess fans all suffer from a shared psychosis-they think they know what's going on. [Ibid, p.22]
At times, Knights...are very much like clowns. They leap over pieces, they prance about in a strange drunken gait, their movements make the seem almost alien compared to the other chessmen, and they can even make us laugh when we see a Knight do an octopus imitation by forking the whole royal family and estate (attacking King, Queen, and both country homes/Rooks al at once.) However, as any clown-wise child will tell you, there is also something scary about them. They seem docile, but behind the facade and horse-like grin is a psychopath, and nothing is safe. [Ibid, p.31]
Andrew (Andy) Eden Soltis (born May 28, 1947) is an American GM, US Chess Hall of Fame inductee and author. His peak world ranking was #74 in January 1971. FIDE lists his peak rating at 2480 and he has been inactive in tournaments since 2002, finishing with a 2407 rating. ChessMetrics offers a better estimate of his peak rating, placing him at 2596 in January 1971.
Andy earned a team gold and two team silvers in three World Student Team CCs. He also won the Marshall Chess Club CC a record nine times.
A very insightful guy, Andy Soltis. I went through some of what I consider his best books (well, they were relevant for me) and found plenty of material that can improve almost anyone's game.
Most chess games are not won; they are lost. [The Art of Defense in Chess, Introduction, p.viii]
...defense pays off repeatedly because it is difficult to master. [Ibid, p.xiv]
...counterplay is the No. 1 priority of defense–even at the expense of other values such as king safety, pawn structure, material, and development. [Ibid, p.6]
Most players don't know why they lost a particular game. We blame an oversight, a surprise move, a misconception, when the real culprit is a series of errors–some mistakes of attitude, some of strategy, and some of tactics. [Ibid, p.viii]
When you can't change the pawn structure favorably, you should make the most of your pieces. [What it Takes to Become a Chess Master, p. 23]
A master makes his pieces work harder. A master isn't satisfied with a bishop that controls a nice diagonal or a rook that dominates an open file or a knight that occupies a central outpost. There pieces have to do something, not just look good. [Ibid, p.36]
Bad pawns can support a good center. [What it Takes to Become a GrandMaster, p.18]
In "the tree of analysis" you don't need to scan for the longest branches. You need to look at one of the lowest branches. The best branch to look at is often an alternative at the third move. [Ibid, p.40]
In general, middlegame attacks with bishop of opposite color are more likely to succeed than attacks with bishops of the same color. This is particularly true when the bishops are the only minor pieces. [Ibid, p.48]
Rudolf Spielmann (5 May 1883 – 20 August 1942) was an Austrian master of the Romantic school and author. His nicknames were “The Master of Attack” and “The Last Knight of the King's Gambit”. ChessMetrics estimates his peak strength at #6 globally with a peak rating of 2716.
You can learn more about his history at the links below. His background and games are not our focus in this blog, it's all about the "quotology"!
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- Rudolf Spielmann by Edward Winter
- NM @SamCopeland's Spielmann Sacrifices For Gorgeous Zugzwang - Best Of The 1910s - Spielmann vs. Rubinstein, 1911
- @kahns' post A Century of Chess: Rudolf Spielmann (from 1910-1919)
- @kahns' post A Century of Chess: Rudolf Spielmann (1920-29)
- @kahns' post Teichmann-Spielmann 1914
- @vitualis' post Englund Gambit Queen Sacrifice Line | GLORIOUS! ❤️🔥
- @simaginfan looks at three of his favorite Spielmann games in Rudolf Spielmann. Three games. Chosen Just Because I Like Them!!
Spielmann himself believed,
We cannot resist the fascination of sacrifice, since a passion for sacrifices is part of a Chessplayer's nature. Chess Quotes - Sacrifices
A good sacrifice is one that is not necessarily sound but leaves your opponent dazed and confused. Chess Quotes - Sacrifices (Kevin: Sounds like something Tal would say! But Spielmann said it first.)
The glowing power of a sacrifice is irresistible; enthusiasm for sacrifice lies in man's nature. [The Art of Sacrifice in Chess, Introduction]
If each and every sacrifice had to be of that cast-iron soundness which can be verified by analysis, it would be necessary to banish from the game of chess that proud and indispensable prerogative of the fighter: enterprise.
In real sacrifices the player gives up material but is unable to calculate the consequences with accuracy; he has to rely on his judgment. He obtains dynamic advantages, which he can realize gradually. [The Art of Sacrifice in Chess, p.5]
Unlike the sham sacrifice, in which the aims are clear as day, the real sacrifice has vaguely defined goals; the result lies in the lap of the gods and at most can be formulated only intuitively. [Ibid, p.5]
Sacrificing opportunities are usually fleeting and must be seized at the right moment. [Ibid, p.26]
Sacrifice-a hallowed, heroic concept! Advancing in a chivalrous mood, the individual immolates himself for a noble idea. [Ibid, Introduction]
...a positional sacrifice need not necessarily lead to an advantage in position. Undertaken in a bad position, it may barely save the game or merely prolong existence. [Ibid, p.11]
#13 chess.com Hall of Fame: Wilhelm Steinitz
Steinitz was a typical, Romantic-era attacking player when he first gained the chess world's attention. But in 1873 he switched his style of play to a more positional approach that formed the foundations of modern chess play. And he vigorously defended his approach in bitter diatribes in print media against Johannes Zukertort, a firm defender of the Romantic attacking era of chess, that became known as the "Ink War." This happened while he was the chief chess correspondent for The Field from 1873 - 1882. Steinitz also annotated and published a book of all 432 games from the 1889 New York tournament.
Anyone who was a principle in The Ink Wars is, by definition, quotable. He and Johannes Zukertort had quite the ongoing dialogue, even after Steinitz relocated across the Atlantic. Unfortunately for you, we'll be focusing on other material here. Sorry 'bout that.😉
A sacrifice is best refuted by accepting it. Chess Quotes - Sacrifices
I am not a chess historian - I myself am a piece of chess history, which no one can avoid. I will not write about myself, but I am sure that someone will write.
Chess is not for the faint-hearted; it absorbs a person entirely. To get to the bottom of this game, he has to give himself up into slavery. Chess is difficult, it demands work, serious reflection and zealous research. Chess Quotes - Success
A win by an unsound combination, however showy, fills me with artistic horror. Chess Quotes - Combinations
I have never in my life played the French Defense, which is the dullest of all openings. Quotes On Chess Openings
Only the player with the initiative has the right to attack. Chess Quotes - Strategy
Capture of the adverse King is the ultimate but not the first object of the game. Chess Quotes - Strategy
The task of the positional player is systematically to accumulate slight advantages and try to convert temporary advantages into permanent ones, otherwise the player with the better position runs the risk of losing it. Chess Quotes - Strategy
Chess is so inspiring that I do not believe a good player is capable of having an evil thought during the game. Chess Quotes - Chess
#15 chess.com Hall of Fame: Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Nekhemyevich Tal, aka Misha or The Magician from Riga, (9 Nov 1936) was a Soviet and Latvian GM known for brilliancies, even if it took decades for the computers to put a stamp of approval on some of his combinations! Vladislav Zubok said of him, "Every game for him was as inimitable and invaluable as a poem" The eighth World CC had a peak rating of 2705 in 1980, though that was well after his best playing years. ChessMetrics places his peak rating at 2799 in September 1960, #1 globally, and well before FIDE instituted a rating system.
For 44 years, 1974 – 2018, Tal held the longest unbeaten streak in chess history at 95 games. More amazing was his winning 46 of those games, a truly majestic winning percentage of almost 50%.
Misha was a phenomenal writer. No surprise given his Literature degree and his time teaching in Riga in his early 20s. I particularly relish that his thesis was on two Soviet satirical writers from the 1920s and 1930s, Ilf and Petrov. Satirists are a rare breed and some of that inevitably comes through in various Tal publications, particularly in his autobiography where he brought in Chukovsky’s famous couplet, “Oh, what a difficult job it was. To drag out of the marsh the hippopotamus.”
So, it should be no surprise that he was in the initial tranche to enter the QM Hall of Fame.
There are two types of sacrifices: correct ones and mine. Chess Quotes - Sacrifices
Just as one's imagination is stirred by a girl's smile, so is one's imagination stirred by the possibilities of chess. Mikhail Tal Quotes About Chess | A-Z Quotes
I will not hide the fact that I love to hear the spectators react after a sacrifice of a piece or pawn. I don't think that there is anything bad in such a feeling; no artist or musician is indifferent to the reactions of the public. Chess Quotes - Sacrifices
As long as my opponent has not yet castled, on each move I seek a pretext for an offensive. Even when I realize that the king is not in danger. Chess Quotes - Strategy
In my games I have sometimes found a combination intuitively simply feeling that it must be there. Yet I was not able to translate my thought processes into normal human language. Chess Quotes - Combinations
I'd like to always be romantic in chess. Sadly, this doesn't always work like that. Mikhail Tal Quotes About Chess | A-Z Quotes
It's funny, but many people don't understand why I draw so many games nowadays. They think my style must have changed but this is not the case at all. The answer to this drawing disease is that my favorite squares are e6, f7, g7 and h7 and everyone now knows this. They protect these squares not once but four times! TOP 25 QUOTES BY MIKHAIL TAL | A-Z Quotes
I prefer to make my annotations ‘hot on the heels’, as it were, when the fortunes of battle, the worries, hopes and disappointments are still sufficiently fresh in my mind. 40 Best Chess Books [Your Ultimate Guide to Chess Mastery]
Later, I began to succeed in decisive games. Perhaps because I realized a very simple truth: not only was I worried, but also my opponent. Mikhail Tal Quotes About Chess | A-Z Quotes
#34 chess.com Hall of Fame: Siegbert Tarrasch
Siegbert Tarrasch (5 March 1862 – 17 February 1934) was a German master, M.D., and one of the most influential theoreticians of the late 19th and early 20th century known in Germany as Praeceptor Germaniae for his efforts to make chess concepts accessible to the average player. ChessMetrics estimates his peak rating at 2824 in June 1895 and lists him at #2 globally for 111 different months between October 1890 and November 1906.
However, he was no match for Lasker whose scores against top competition were better than Tarrasch could achieve. When matched in the 1908 World CC, Lasker won with 8W-5D-3L (see @kahns A Century of Chess: Lasker-Tarrasch 1908). Tarrasch lost even more resoundingly in a 1916 match with Lasker winning five games and only one draw between them.
x
On principle, I accept no gambit as the first player, for if I must defend myself as the second player and should also defend myself as the first player, when should I then really enjoy the pleasure of attack? [St Petersburg 1914 International Chess Tournament, p.177]
Tarrasch’s most famous quotes can be found repeated endlessly across tens or perhaps hundreds of websites. Like the author Ernest Hemingway, Tarrasch even inspired ribald and meme-like takes patterned after his utterances. So, be careful when looking for his actual words...and choose your own poison when crediting so-called sources.
Tempo is the soul of chess. [Tarrasch’s Schachzeitung, 15 November 1933, p.56]
Up to this point White has been following well-known analysis. But now he makes a fatal error: he begins to use his own head. Humourous Chess Quotes
When you don’t know what to do, wait for your opponent to get an idea — it’s sure to be wrong! Humourous Chess Quotes
What is the object of playing a gambit opening?... To acquire a reputation of being a dashing player at the cost of losing a game. Chess Quotes - Gambits
One doesn't have to play well, it's enough to play better than your opponent. Chess Quotes - Success
I believed that to win it was quite sufficient for me to sit down at the board and make moves. [Dreihundert Schachpartien, Tarrasch, 1895, p.206]
I have always a slight feeling of pity for the man who has no knowledge of chess. [Das Schachspiel, Tarrasch, 1931, preface]
Any moderately talented player, he need not be exceptionally gifted, can become a master. But really, there is no need for that. The right standpoint is to play for pleasure – and do not think that pleasure is proportional to skill. The greatest bunglers are constantly deriving the greatest pleasure from chess – they go into ecstasies of delight when their knight forks a king and queen. [The Game of Chess, Tarrasch, London, 1935, p.xi]
First-class players lose to second-class players because second-class players sometimes play a first-class game. Chess Quotes by Siegbert Tarrasch
There was a certain measure and rhythmic pattern to many of Tarrasch's quotes (and numerous variants thereof that he threw out as he felt the occasion demanded). They're almost Yoda-like for fellow Star Wars fans. Just consider the following.
It is not enough to be a good player, you must also play well. [Dreihundert Schachpartien, Tarrasch, 1895, p.206]
It is not enough to have a won game: one must also win it.
One doesn't have to play well, it's enough to play better than your opponent. Chess Quotes - Success
First-class players lose to second-class players because second-class players sometimes play a first-class game. Chess Quotes by Siegbert Tarrasch
As a result, many have developed similar quotes that were often attributed to Tarrasch as lazy authors (I can be as guilty as the rest of them) often chose not to look for source documents. It reminds me of the International Imitation Hemingway Competition (also known as the Bad Hemingway Competition). Below are a few samples of Tarrasch-like sayings...perhaps they should be referred to as The Trash Quotes! or Trash-isms! Feel free to add to the collection that continues to gather momentum on the internet.
It is not enough to sacrifice: one must also sacrifice enough.
It is not enough to write down one’s games: one must also write them up.
To win, it is not enough that your opponent be a weak player: he must also play weakly.
It is not enough to compose a maxim: one must also be Tarrasch.
Savielly Tartakower (also known as Xavier or Ksawery Tartakower, less often Tartacover or Tartakover; 21 February 1887 – 4 February 1956) was a Polish GM and author/journalist in the 1920s and 1930. ChessMetrics estimates his peak rating at 2719 in January 1921 and finds him at #3 globally for the March 1921 list. Twice the Polish CC he represented the nation in seven Olympiads winning one gold and two bronze individual medals to go with a team medal count that included one gold, two silvers, and two bronzes. In the 1950s Tartakower relocated to France where he won the 1953 French CC.
A significant contributor to opening theory, there are variations named after him in the Dutch, QGD, Torre Attack, Caro-Kann, and he may have originated the Catalan Opening in 1929.
Numero uno in the QM Hall of Fame. If you don't agree after reading the best quotes of all 23 QMs, I'll simply point to the quote above. With eight simple words, Tartakower wrapped up all the humor, pain, joy, and agony of a hundred chess lifetimes.
Stalemate is the tragicomedy of chess.
Some part of a mistake is always correct. Chess Mistakes
The blunders are all there on the board, waiting to be made. Chess Mistakes (image below)
The winner of the game is the player who makes the next-to-last mistake. Chess Mistakes
It's always better to sacrifice your opponent's men. Chess Quotes - Sacrifices
To avoid losing a piece, many a person has lost the game. Chess Quotes - Sacrifices
A draw can be obtained normally by repeating three moves, but also by playing one bad move. Chess Quotes - Draws
The tactician must know what to do whenever something needs doing; the strategist must know what to do when nothing needs doing. Chess Quotes - Strategy
A game of chess has three phases: the opening, where you hope you stand better; the middlegame, where you think you stand better; and the ending, where you know you stand to lose. Humourous Chess Quotes
As indicated throughout this series, the sheer quality of great quotes by Nimzowitsch and Tartakower required a 'quote-off'. I would have shirked my obligations as an analyst had I stopped at their first ten. If you read this series in sequence, you already enjoyed Nimzo's Top Twenty. Now, it's time for ten more Tartakower-isms! Perhaps then you'll agree that these two topple the rest.
Played 'a la Morphy'. What greater praise can be given? Chess Quotes by Savielly Tartakower
Moral victories do not count.
Chess is a struggle against one's own errors.
Every chessplayer should have a hobby. TOP 25 QUOTES BY SAVIELLY TARTAKOWER | A-Z Quotes (image below)
No game was ever won by resigning. Chess Quotes On Losing
I never defeated a healthy opponent.
A Queen's sacrifice, even when fairly obvious, always rejoices the heart of the chess-lover. Chess Quotes - Sacrifices
The first essential for an attack is the will to attack. Chess Quotes - Strategy
It is well known that Capablanca was very popular in Buenos Aires; and, after I visited that city in 1931, my name often appeared in the newspapers there. Later on, we each had a racehorse named after us. It was gratifying to learn that “Tartakower” (the racehorse) chalked up more victories than his equine rival, “Capablanca”. (per Yasser Seirawan, as found in an Edward Winter article)
A thorough understanding of the typical mating continuations makes the most complicated sacrificial combinations leading up to them not only not difficult, but almost a matter of course. Chess Quotes - Sacrifices
Eugene Znosko-Borovsky (Russian: Евге́ний Алекса́ндрович Зноско-Боро́вский, romanized: Yevgeny Alexandrovich Znosko-Borovsky; 16 August 1884 – 31 December 1954) was a Russian GM, music and drama critic, teacher and author. ChessMetrics establishes his peak rating at 2613 in December 1914 and ranked him #17 globally between May and July 1916. He was in the top fifty for most of the period from February 1904 until August 1926. He returned to the top fifty four years later. His time in the top twenty lasted eight years, from August 1914 until August 1922.
His playing career was frequently interrupted by other activities. That included time as a critic, hanging out with Russian poets and writers, and military service in the 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War and World War One.
You can read more about him at some of the following links:
- Eugène Znosko-Borovsky by Edward Winter
- @tartajubow also offered a very brief history and one game at Tartajubow On Chess II: Znosko-Borovsky.
- Wikipedia offers a decent amount of material as well, Eugene Znosko-Borovsky - Wikipedia.
Znosko-Borovsky’s book The Art of Chess Combination should be mandatory material for would-be masters, imo. He wrote far more extensively than that, but I would digress were I to mention other books of his. Because of that one book, I appreciated his sagacity sufficiently to look for quotes of his in the wild. My expectations were rewarded!
The middlegame I repeat is chess itself, chess with all its possibilities, its attacks, defences, sacrifices, etc. Quotes about Chess Middlegames
Haste is never more dangerous than when you feel that victory is in your grasp. Chess Mistakes
It is not a move, even the best move that you must seek, but a realizable plan. Chess Quotes - Strategy
Avoidance of mistakes is the beginning, as it is the end, of mastery in chess. Chess Mistakes
Haste, the great enemy. Chess Mistakes
Chess is a game of understanding and not of memory.
... though combinations are without number, the number of ideas are limited. Chess Quotes - Combinations
To find the best moves great Masters, with years of experience, engage in laborious research, and the moves thus found are blindly repeated by amateurs without any attempt to fathom their real meaning and how and why they stand in their context. Chess Mistakes
We should praise, rather, the courage of the player who, relying only on his intuition, plunges into a brilliant combination of which the issue does not appear to him too clear. Chess Quotes - Combinations
Quod Erat Demonstrandum – Final Words
That's a wrap, it's time to exit stage left. Hope you enjoyed the journey, and take the time to comb over these quotes again another day. You'll almost always find something that you missed the first time. I'll close with a few more quotes I liked.
The laws of chess are as beautiful as those governing the universe–and as deadly. Katherine Neville
People sometimes complain that there are fewer 'brilliant' sacrifices than there used to be in the past. However, the point is that players just don't allow them anymore! – Alexander Grischuk
No price is too great for the scalp of the enemy King. – Koblentz
When the chess game is over, the pawn and the king go back to the same box. – Irish proverb
I remember our class working on algebra. All the boys were quiet ... Suddenly Alekhine stood up excitedly, his face radiant ..."Well, Alekhine, did you solve it?' teacher Bachinsky asked him. "I did ... I sacrifice the knight, and the bishop moves ... And White wins!". – Georgy Rimsky-Korsakov (classmate)
No fantasy, however rich, no technique, however masterly, no penetration into the psychology of the opponent, however deep, can make a chess game a work of art, if these qualities do not lead to the main goal – the search for truth. – Vasily Smyslov
Don't be afraid of losing, be afraid of playing a game and not learning something. – NM Dan Heisman Chess Quotes On Losing
I am one of those unlucky skeptics who never overlook the dark side of even the happiest experience. – Tartakower, Chess Review, June 1951, page 170 Savielly Tartakower by Edward Winter
I like to play against people who are alive
– ( In response to the question: "Which of the great dead players would you like to play?") - Judit Polgar Humourous Chess Quotes
– ( In response to the question: "Which of the great dead players would you like to play?") - Judit Polgar
You say you'd like to go back to the Table of Contents? Your wish is my command. The link is provided below. Links to prior blogs in this series are shown below.
Prior Blogs in the Quotemaster Series
ANNOUNCMENT! The Top Ten Chess Quotemasters (QMs)
Chess QuoteMaster #10: GM Andrew Soltis
Chess QuoteMaster #9: GM Rudolf Spielmann
Chess QuoteMaster #8: GM Garry Kasparov
Chess QuoteMasters #7: GM David Bronstein
Chess QuoteMasters #6: IM Jeremy Silman
Chess Quotemasters #5: GM Robert (Bobby) James Fischer
Chess QuoteMasters #4: GM Mikhail Tal
Chess QuoteMasters #3: Siegbert Tarrasch
