I'm not as soft or as generous a person as I would be if the world hadn't changed me.

Too many times, people don't try their best. They don't have the keen spirit; the winning spirit. And once you make it you've got to guard your reputation - every day go in like an unknown to prove yourself. That's why I don't clown around. I don't believe in wasting time. My goal is to win the World Chess Championship; to beat the Russians. I take this very seriously.

There's no one alive I can't beat.

I could give any woman in the world a piece and a move; to Gaprindashvili even, a knight.

Well, I kind of split my life into two pieces. One was where my chess career lies. There, I kept my sanity, so to speak, and my logic. And the other was my religious life. I tried to apply what I learned in the church to my chess career too. But I still was studying chess. I wasn't just "trusting in God" to give me the moves.

There's no luck involved in chess. You just have to work at it.

When I was eleven, I just got good.