Great chess quotes

[Frank Dixon]

Re: Great chess quotes

Yes, Dan Scoones is right, and I realized this a few minutes after I posted. Thank you for the correction.

Reshevsky defeated Al Horowitz in a U.S. Championship match in 1941, not in 1942, as I wrote. In 1942, Reshevsky defeated Isaac Kashdan in a U.S. Championship match, as Mr. Scoones pointed out. The incident involving Reshevsky, Denker and the TD Stephens is correct, however; described in the great book "The Bobby Fischer I Knew And Other Stories." Also correct is: Reshevsky saved an endgame two pawns down against Horowitz in the last round of the 1942 event, creating the tie with Kashdan.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Great chess quotes

Great Chess Quotes

October 28, 2015

Jan Gustafsson and Lawrence Trent are commentating on the games of the Bilbao Masters 2015. With only two games they have a lot of airtime to kill.

During the game Ding Liren – Anish Giri in Round 3, Ding plays 24.b4 and Jan says, “It is one of my rules, ‘Don’t play b4 before b4 is any good’”

This move becomes a running joke which continues for several minutes – much like one of those Abbott and Costello interchanges in their old movies.

Lawrence says that during the New York 1924 tournament, Tartakower visited the Bronx Zoo and encountered Suzan the orangutan. The next day, in the 4th round, he played 1.b4 against Maroczy and called it the Orangutan. (It was a draw) Some people today call it the Polish or Sokolsky.

[Dan Scoones]

Re: Great chess quotes

...when Reshevsky also managed to save a very bad endgame, two pawns down, into a draw, in the last round against IM Al Horowitz, he and Horowitz had tied. Their playoff match went to Reshevsky. Despite the incident, Denker and Reshevsky remained good friends, although there was an interruption after this incident.

Reshevsky did not tie with Al Horowitz; he tied with Isaac Kashdan. The playoff match was won by Reshevsky, 7 1/2 to 3 1/2 (Chess Review, January 1943). Still, the Denker forfeit incident was shameful conduct by Reshevsky.

[Frank Dixon]

Re: Great chess quotes

"I am not the tournament director."
(GM Samuel Reshevsky, 1911-1992, many-time U.S. Champion. The line comes from an incident at the 1942 U.S. Championship, involving Reshevsky, his opponent Arnold Denker (1914-2005, later U.S. champion 1944-46), and tournament director L. Walter Stephens, who made his living managing the Manhattan Chess Club, and who had been a collegiate chess star at Princeton. Denker had a drawn endgame, and Reshevsky's flag fell. It was during the era when flag falls HAD to be called by the TD, apparently. Many spectators saw the flag fall, as did Denker! Stephens, who was watching the game, picked up the clock, turned it around so that the fallen flag was on Denker's side, and declared Denker lost on time!! Denker appealed to Reshevsky, who replied as above. Stephens, who is described by Denker and Larry Parr in their book "The Bobby Fischer I Knew And Other Stories" as an autocratic jerk, and Denker didn't get along, a situation dating back many years, apparently. The reverse forfeit stood, and when Reshevsky also managed to save a very bad endgame, two pawns down, into a draw, in the last round against IM Al Horowitz, he and Horowitz had tied. Their playoff match went to Reshevsky. Despite the incident, Denker and Reshevsky remained good friends, although there was an interruption after this incident.

[Frank Dixon]

Re: Great chess quotes

"In Fischer's hands, a slight theoretical advantage is as good as being a Queen ahead." :) (GM Isaac Kashdan (1905-1985), highly respected world-class player, writer, and organizer, expressing his admiration for GM Bobby Fischer, circa late 1960s.)

[Frank Dixon]

Re: Great chess quotes

"It was an agonizing experience and in the newspapers they called it the 'match of hate.' We did not speak to each other, did not shake each other's hand, did not allow our gazes to cross. Through the arbiter, Kazic, a draw was offered. It was as well that the chessboard was the only battlefield. My nerves were, however, somewhat stronger. The standard of play was awfully low. In the difficult circumstances mistake just followed mistake."

(GM Viktor Korchnoi, 1931--, describing his 1977 Candidates match with former World Champion Tigran Petrosian. Korchnoi had defected from the Soviet Union in 1976. The quote is from Korchnoi's book "Chess is My Life." Korchnoi won the match against Petrosian, played at Il Ciocca, Italy, by two wins to one and nine draws. He then defeated GMs Polugaevsky and Spassky, to advance to the 1978 World Title match against holder Anatoly Karpov, losing 6-5 with 21 draws.)

[Frank Dixon]

Re: chess and politics quote

Thanks to Dan Scoones for correcting my error regarding praise for Steinitz's teachings.

New quote:
"One thing seems clear to me: five Soviet Grandmasters cannot be weaker than one Fischer." (GM Svetozar Gligoric, when asked the likely outcome of the 1962 Curacao Candidates Tournament. Fischer had won the 1962 Stockholm Interzonal rather easily, and he would be facing five Soviets -- GMs Tal, Geller, Petrosian, Korchnoi, and Keres -- along with GMs Pal Benko and Miroslav Filip) at Curacao, which started shortly afterwards. Gligoric's prediction proved true, as Petrosian won, while collusion among the Soviets, suspected at the time and later acknowledged, played a major role in determining the outcome.

[Dan Scoones]

Re: chess and politics quote

"This little man has taught all of us how to play chess." (Aron Nimzowitsch, 1886-1935, speaking about former World Champion Wilhelm Steinitz, who essentially founded the positional school of chess. Nimzowitsch himself made many vital contributions.)

Not Aron Nimzowitsch, but Adolf Schwarz (pointing out Steinitz at the Vienna tournament of 1882).

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Great chess quotes

Great Chess Quotes

October 22, 2015

In the central match of the European Club Cup between Siberia and SOCAR in Skopje, on Board 1, Vladimir Kramnik was White against his old implacable rival Veselin Topalov.

Many players and arbiters had pointed out that the playing hall is too dark. The organizers had failed to anticipate it; even several days before the beginning it turned out to be too late for a complete solution.

Kramnik joined the play in Round 3. Before his first game in the ECC, he asked Ashot Vardapetyan, the chief arbiter, to set an extra table lamp on his table. The arbiter permitted it under the condition that Kramnik's opponents wouldn't object. Both of the previous Kramnik's opponents, Svidler and Nepomniachtchi, were okay with that.

However, today Veselin Topalov was against the extra lighting. Kramnik just smiled, saying:

"That's okay, I'm even better in blindfold!"

As usual, the rivals avoided the handshake.

Oh, and Kramnik won the game!

[Frank Dixon]

Re: Great chess quotes

"Tal plays the opening like a good Grandmaster, the middlegame better than a good Grandmaster, and the endgame like an ordinary Master." (GM Mato Damjanovic, 1927-2011. This episode is described by Tal in his amazing book "The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal", from 1966, in a tournament where Tal defeated Damjanovic in an ending, showing that, in fact, he could play endgames quite well!) :)

[Frank Dixon]

Re: Great chess quotes

"On the chessboard, the pieces should work together in harmony. One piece should help another." (GM Vassily Smyslov, 1921-2010, World Champion 1957-58. In addition to being a world-class player for more than 40 years, from the early 1940s into the 1980s, Smyslov was an outstanding vocalist, who considered a musical career. So he knew something about harmony! The quote is from his Best Games collection, recommended to everyone.)

[Frank Dixon]

Re: Great chess quotes

When asked why he enjoyed sacrificing pieces so much, GM Mikhail Tal (1936-1992, World Champion 1960-61) replied: "The opponent can only capture one piece at a time!" :)

[Frank Dixon]

Re: Great chess quotes

"When you don't know what to do, wait for your opponent to get an idea. It's sure to be wrong!" :) (GM Savielly Tartakower, 1887-1956)

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Great chess quotes

Great Chess Quotes

1. P-K4
Best by test.

You can actually see the quote at:

http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/w...3.html#CN_4423

Edward Winter writes this in Chess Note 4423:

‘Fischer Talks Chess’ was the title of a column, which began in the June 1963 Chess Life. Some of the material was subsequently used, in revised form, in My 60 Memorable Games. On pages 302-303 of the December 1963 issue Fischer wrote up his win over Bisguier at that year’s New York State Open Championship (game 45 in the book). Thus his famous remark about 1 e4 (‘Best by test’) appeared in print in 1963.

[Frank Dixon]

Re: Great chess quotes

"1.P-K4: Best by test." :) GM Robert Fischer, 1943-2008, World Champion 1972-75.