Like dogs who sniff each other when meeting, chess players have a ritual at first acquaintance: they sit down to play speed chess.

I don't pretend to anything more than harmony.

But how difficult it can be to gain the desired full point against an opponent of inferior strength, when this is demanded by the tournament position!

Chess is a very tough game, and psychologically a tough game. And of course chess needs a lot of qualities, human qualities. And so you must have very strong nervous system and then you must be well prepared, you must be able to work a lot.

Pawns not only create the sketch for the whole painting, they are also the soil, the foundation, of any position

It doesn't require much for misfortune to strike in the King's Gambit - one incautious move, and Black can be on the edge of the abyss.

To be champion requires more than simply being a strong player; one has to be a strong human being as well.