“A draw may be the beautiful and logical result of fine attacks and parries; and the public ought to appreciate such games, in contrast, of course, to the fear-and-laziness draws.”

Had I not played the Sicilian with Black I could have saved myself the trouble of studying for more than 20 years all the more popular lines of this opening, which comprise probably more than 25 percent of all published opening theory!

A chess player never has a heart attack in a good position.

Most of all I like “bad” lines, that is those considered bad, in my opinion unjustly, by theory. The reason for the last quotation marks is that most so-called theory is only a collection of examples from master practice.

The books say that it is not so serious to lose time in a closed position; I am lucky, since these comments have not harmed me too much.

Chess is a beautiful mistress.

All chess masters have on occasion played a magnificent game and then lost it by a stupid mistake, perhaps in time pressure and it may perhaps seem unjust that all their beautiful ideas get no other recognition than a zero on the tournament table.

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

The stomach is an essential part of the Chess master

A gambit never becomes sheer routine as long as you fear you may lose the king and pawn ending!

One charming characteristic of many flank attacks I could mention is that they do not very often lead to simplification: if the attack is parried, there usually are still opportunities left for initiating action in another sector.

I often play a move I know how to refute.

For me, chess is at the same time a game, a sport, a science and an art. And perhaps even more than that,. There is someting hard to explain to those who do not know the game well. One must first learn to play it correctly in order to savor its richness.

Lack of patience is probably the most common reason for losing a game, or drawing games that should have been won.

China has great potentials; the people are hard-working and focused. But they have to close the gap as far as the pace of the game is concerned. Football in the future will get faster and faster.

Children were strangers you loved because you could love. If they gave back love when they were grown you were ahead of the game.

In the end the great truth will have been learned that the quest is greater than what is sought, the effort finer that the prize (or rather, that the effort is the prize), the victory cheap and hollow were it not for the rigor of the game.

Don’t be afraid to ask people ‘why,’ ‘what if.’ Don’t be afraid to attack your career. Get in the game, don’t stay on the sidelines.

Playing the game is far more satisfying than reading the rules.

Every game is an away game. Sometimes its hard to keep up with real life.

So it would be a good thing for Chinese parents to instill enthusiasm among their kids for football. It’s a great game, not only regarding the emotions behind it, but it’s also a game for young people to gain experience of working in a bigger group and work to achieve goals.

In a Game Community, the rules and officials decide if the players are good enough to play. If not, they change players. In a Play Community, the players decide if the game is fun enough to play. If not, they change rules.