"Chess is a foolish expedient for making idle people believe they are doing something very clever, when they are only wasting their time." - George Bernard Shaw
Dayum!!
I don't think anyone can argue with that. lol. I've always liked this quote, even if it hurts my feelings.
@Trulte Podolski is born in Polen but has a German nationality(becose they have a better footballteam, die mannschaft).
I have always liked this one by film director Stanley Kubrick: “You sit at the board and suddenly your heart leaps. Your hand trembles to pick up the piece and move it. But what chess teaches you is that you must sit there calmly and think about whether it's really a good idea and whether there are other, better ideas.”
Chess fills the idle mind. 
Checkers is for tramps - Paul Morphy
Don't even mention losing to me. I can't stand to think of it -
Bobby Fischer
A favourite of mine, because I too hate excessive slow play:
The slowness of genius is hard to bear, but the slowness of mediocrity is intolerable. HT Buckle.
Blackburne, after being caught stealing an opponent's drink:
He left it en prise and I took it en passant
A favourite of mine, because I too hate excessive slow play:
The slowness of genius is hard to bear, but the slowness of mediocrity is intolerable. HT Buckle.
Blackburne, after being caught stealing an opponent's drink:
He left it en prise and I took it en passant
Wow...I love both of these. Thanks.
@Trulte Podolski is born in Polen but has a German nationality(becose they have a better footballteam, die mannschaft).
That's right - I'm sorry! But it's a great quote anyway ;)
"Chess is like a box of chocolates, except it's not food, you can't eat it, it's not sweet, it's not a dessert, it's not better than sex...where was I going with this?"
- my friend being an idiot
"The threat is stronger than the execution"
Don't know who quoted that
"The threat is stronger than the execution."
The story I read is that it was Nimzowitsch when playing in a tournament game against a guy who always smoked at the board. Nimzowitsch hated cigar smoke and prevailed upon the tournament directors to ask the guy to agree not to smoke during their game, and he agreed. As soon as the game began, however, he takes out a cigar and puts it by the side of the board, at which Nimzowitsch went straight to the directors to complain. They said "What's the problem, he isn't smoking it?", and Nimzowitsch replied "Yes, but he's threatening to smoke it, and everyone knows that in chess the threat is stronger than the execution."
Yes! I do remember hearing that story YEARS ago. Again thank you for the explanation.
Ernie
"Devastating moves are like dissonant sounds; they shatter the eardrums. Their appeal is to an atavistic brutality in our natures, not to our finer sensibilities. In contrast, a "quiet" move is the epitome of finesse. A soft answer turns away wrath, but its subdued quality makes it no less efficient" - fruitloop and chess genius Hans Kmoch.
"They go that low?"--Bobby Fischer upon being told that someone's rating was 1200.
If your opponent offers you a draw, try to work out why he thinks he's worse off - Nigel Short.
The stomach is an essential part of the Chess master
Bent Larsen
Two of my favorites:
Which do I prefer? Sex or chess? It depends on the position -- Boris Spassky
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 -- Mikhail Tal
"Chess is a foolish expedient for making idle people believe they are doing something very clever, when they are only wasting their time." - George Bernard Shaw
Dayum!!