Great chess quotes

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Great chess quotes

Great Chess Quotes

July 12, 2017

“What do you know, you never played Kasparov”

Jul 10, 2017

Alexander Grischuk is always entertaining speaker in the press meetings. As he became co-leader in the Geneva Grand Prix, Grischuk was interviewed by WGM Anna Burtasova.

After explaining why it is good to be tempo down in the reversed Dragon Sicilian, and why do Russians swim in Wijk aan Zee in the middle of winter, Grischuk was asked about the upcoming Sinquefield Cup in Saint Louis.

Q: What do you think about the announcement that Garry Kasparov will play in Saint Louis?

A: It is fantastic for me as a spectator. For me it is by far the most interesting event this year, obviously apart from the tournaments I play in. The only thing that I don’t like is that I can no longer say to Nepomniachtchi, Aronian and others “What do you know, you never played Kasparov”, as now this is going to change. So that’s the only thing that makes me unhappy.

http://www.chessdom.com/what-do-you-...ayed-kasparov/

__________

Why Russians swim in the cold ocean in the middle of winter is answered in the summary of Round Five of The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

http://forum.chesstalk.com/showthrea...327#post115327

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Great chess quotes

Great Chess Quotes

July 1, 2017

From one of the kibitzers at chess.com commenting on the last round of rapids at Leuven 2017:

Being a chess professional is a tough profession. Since few win elite tournaments, the rest of them must play Open Tournaments to survive (with few if any guarantees.)

At the end of the rainbow there is no pension, no health plan, no nest egg to speak of; and looking for a job after 40+ yrs. and little job experience is daunting.

Cynn at chess.com, June 30, 2017

https://www.chess.com/news/view/2-po...ven-blitz-6730

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Great chess quotes

Great Chess Quotes

June 26, 2017

From: Reflections after Reykjavik by Gerald Abrahams on pages 84-90 of Encounter, March 1973:

• ‘Fischer’s play was described as “relentless” and “ruthless”. This is a splendid example of what Ruskin called “The Pathetic Fallacy”, as when the would-be poet speaks of the “cruel Sea” or the “kindly Vales”. Chess moves are effective or ineffective. A chess move is not cruel when it is good; nor is a bad move intended as an act of kindness.’

• As to practice, I only know one great player who behaved as if chess was completely “objective”. That was Akiva Rubinstein – a talmudist turned chessplayer. He was been called the “Spinoza of Chess”. But if you told this to the average super grandmaster (who has no metaphysics in his mind or music in his soul) he would ask “What tournaments did Spinoza win?” ...’

Quoted in Chess Notes by Edward Winter CN 10497, June 26, 2017

http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/i...the_1972_v_Fis

[Steve Douglas]

Re: Great chess quotes

I've never really followed this thread much, but I've never understood why "Resign, moron!" has never been mentioned in it.

Steve

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Great chess quotes

Great Chess Quotes

June 15, 2017

Why should I study Alekhine’s games?

From Studying the Classics by Mikhail Shereshevsky in Training for the Tournament Player, Dvoretsky and Yusupov, Batsford (1993):

I recently asked a certain talented player her opinion of Alekhine’s games. She replied: ‘Why should I study Alekhine’s games when I shall never need to play him?’ It appears that she only studies the games of her opponents. I am sure that this player’s prospects are greatly reduced by such an approach.

Why do we need to study classical games? I shall try to explain.

Modern chess began with Steinitz. There were some very strong players before him, such as Philidor, La Bourdonnais and Morphy, but it was Steinitz who laid the foundations of modern positional play.

As a trainer I am primarily interested in the practical results of my pupils. Hence it is natural that the study of the classics should interest me from the practical chessplayer’s point of view. I give all the children I train a definite programme – which may perhaps be subjective – of work involving the study of classical games.

[Peter McKillop]

Re: Great chess quotes

Sounds like he was mecking time with Botterill. : l

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Great chess quotes

Great Chess Quotes

June 11, 2017

Henrique Mecking

The best player Brazil ever produced was Henrique Mecking, one of the giants of the seventies. Tragically his career was cut short by illness, but whilst he was around he was a fearsome opponent and not just because of his chess skill. When he played a match with Korchnoi he fidgeted so much the table shook, and during the Hasting tournament of 1971-72 he tried a novel tactic against future Welsh international George Botterill, when they were both in time trouble, Henrique pressed his clock, then kept it pressed down so poor old George couldn’t stop his ticking. The result – a loss on time for Botterill, and third place for the (if you’ll excuse the expression) irrepressible Brazilian.

From: The Complete Chess Addict by Mike Fox and Richard James, 1987, p. 161

Wikipedia - Illness (myasthenia gravis) forced his withdrawal from the Interzonal in Rio de Janeiro 1979 after a first round draw with Borislav Ivkov. His illness was so severe that it was widely believed he would soon die. He survived but did not play chess during the 1980s. While he was able to recover and to resume his chess career in 1991 with matches against Predrag Nikolić and (in 1992) Yasser Seirawan, followed by intermittent tournament appearances, his chance at the world title had passed and he did not reach the Candidates matches again.

- Mecking has started to play chess competitively in recent times. And he attributes his health recovery due his religious faith. I see his rating is 2620 (as at April 2015)

[Hans Jung]

Re: Great chess quotes

Lovely just lovely and whats more I believe that she has lived them all. When I thought about the list I realized what a poor student I am (sobering thought)

[Nigel Hanrahan]

Re: Great chess quotes

Below are some of my quotes over the years! Enjoy!

* Win with grace, lose with dignity!

* Life is like a chess game. Every decision, just like every move, has consequences. Therefore, decide wisely!

* Every defeat is an opportunity to learn from our mistakes! Every victory is a confirmation of our hard work!

* A chess player uses his/her knowledge to prepare for next game while a passionate coach prepares for next generation!

* Winning is about commitment, discipline, hard work, dedication, determination, courage and sometimes even luck!

* Champions play to win while others play not to lose!

* Passion is infectious! But passion alone isn’t enough. You also need hard work, dedication & sacrifice every day!

* What you lack in natural chess talent can be compensated by 110% of 3 D’s: Dedication, Determination & Discipline!

* Winning is a habit but so is losing! It is up to you to pick the right road to winning! Choose wisely!

* Chess is a game of war but a peaceful war where no human lives are at stake!

* Don’t wait for success to come to you. You have to knock down all obstacles & barriers every single day to find it!

* You have 2 choices in life: Either build your own beautiful dreams or others will hire you to build theirs!

* Don’t wait until tomorrow to do what you can accomplish today! Get on the road to success now!

* You can’t get to the other side of the sea by just staring at the waves. Be brave and take that first step!

* You can’t control your opponent’s playing style but you can dissect his weaknesses & exploit them to your advantage

* Some don’t reach their chess goals because of fear of losing. Learn from your mistakes & keep on improving daily!

* Follow your values & principles, and stay strong. Be who you are and not what others want you to be!

* The meaning of life is to find your true passion. The purpose of life is to share it.

* You can’t buy integrity! Practice your values every day instead of just talking about it!

* Don’t judge a person based on wealth, but instead on integrity and the positive impact he/she makes.

* It’s never too late to set new goals and dream new dreams. Just don’t procrastinate!

* What could you accomplish if you have no fear? Don’t be afraid to achieve your dreams because of your fear!

* Don’t wait for opportunities to come to you. Go create your own path and opportunities!

* People usually don’t succeed unless they’re passionate about what they do. Go find your passion. I found mine at 4!

* Success is the result of small efforts, every day, over the years. Don’t make excuses for your failure

* You can be as great as you want. Set realistic goals & give 110% to accomplish those goals. Never give up!

* When people tell me that something can’t be done, they motivate me even more to prove them wrong!

* The road to the top is seldom traveled because it’s hard, but the big prize at the pinnacle can be quite rewarding!

* Hard work does not guarantee you victory. But it WILL give you a better chance to be in the position to win!

* Success does not come from luck. It takes hard work, determination and perseverance!

* You cannot sustain greatness if you are too comfortable! To remain at the top, you constantly have to stay hungry and motivated!

June 1, 2017
St. Louis, MO, USA

See https://www.facebook.com/susanpolgar...68299909883142

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Great chess quotes

Great Chess Quotes

May 26, 2017

The Genesis of Smerdon’s Scandinavian

How he came to write a 496-page book on this opening

Way back in 2000, my high school chess team unexpectedly qualified for the final of the World Schools Chess Championships. This was quite an astonishing achievement for an unassuming school from Brisbane, Australia, and even more so given that our team’s boards two to six had an average rating of around 1800. As the only experienced player, it was my job to come up with a complete opening repertoire for both colours to teach my teammates before the final. The criteria were that it had to be narrow enough that it was guaranteed to get my teammates into ‘our’ book from the first move, easy to learn quickly, and also tricky enough that there were decent chances our much higher-rated opponents might fall into a fatal opening trap.

This was a tough task for only a month’s preparation, but at least against 1 e4, I thought to myself, there seemed a worthy candidate. I decided on an offbeat sideline in the Scandinavian that I knew as the ‘Portuguese’, starting with 1 e4 d5 2 exd5 Nf6 3 d4 Bg4!. As time was of the essence, I completed the repertoire against 1 e4 with the Icelandic Gambit (3 c4 e6), as well as the unnamed 3 Nf3 Bg4. Before I could teach these variations to my teammates, though, I had to learn them myself, and so I began an intense study of these obscure gambits.

Unfortunately, our crusade in the final was unsuccessful. (Incidentally, the Norwegian school that defeated us had just acquired a new student who, at the time, was too weak to make the team: a certain Magnus Carlsen.) On the positive side, the preparation had inspired me that there was more to these so-called dubious gambits than met the eye.

After finishing high school, I started playing 1…d5 in tournament games, and in 2002 I used it as my main weapon against 1 e4 in the World Junior (U20).

From the Introduction to Smerdon’s Scandinavian by David Smerdon, 2015.

496 pages!

[Mathieu Cloutier]

Re: Great chess quotes

"Damn, I'm in Zugzwang! - Pass"
"Pass"
"Pass"
"Pass"
"Damn!"

My thinking as well. If one of the opponents wants to, he can bring that back to regular chess.

[Garland Best]

Re: Great chess quotes

"Damn, I'm in Zugzwang! - Pass"
"Pass"
"Pass"
"Pass"
"Damn!"

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

Re: Great chess quotes

Great Chess Quotes

May 25, 2017

Rauf Mamedov, the Azerbaijani GM, tweeting today:

A new proposal to the rules of chess: Every opponent has the opportunity, two times per game, to pass.
________

Is this a rule in any variant of chess?

Can anyone tell me what the benefits of this would be?

For fight Zugzwang

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Great chess quotes

Great Chess Quotes

May 25, 2017

Rauf Mamedov, the Azerbaijani GM, tweeting today:

A new proposal to the rules of chess: Every opponent has the opportunity, two times per game, to pass.
________

Is this a rule in any variant of chess?

Can anyone tell me what the benefits of this would be?

[Frank Dixon]

Re: Great chess quotes

"My friend [GM] Mendel Najdorf claims that during the Margate tournament of 1938, he mentioned to [world champion Alexander] Alekhine that they had crossed swords 11 years earlier in a simultaneous in Warsaw, Poland.
'I won our game', said Najdorf.
'So, you're the one who gave me the Rook', replied the world champion who played blindfolded against Najdorf." :)
:GM Arnold Denker
Source: The Bobby Fischer I Knew And Other Stories", by Denker and Parr, 1995.