Two passed pawns advancing on the enemy pieces have brought me more than a dozen points in tournaments.

Independence of thought is a most valuable quality in a chess-player, both at the board and when preparing for a game.

Sometimes at lectures I am asked: how would the champions of the last century play today? I think that, after making a hurried study of modern openings, and watching one or two tournaments, the champions of the last century, and indeed the century before that, would very quickly occupy the same place that they occupied when they were alive.

Chess is infinite, and one has to make only one ill-considered move, and one's opponent's wildest dreams will become reality.

It is annoying that the rules of chess do not allow a pawn to take either horizontally or backwards, but only forwards ... This psychological tuning is ideal for attacking purposes, but what about for defence?

When everything on the board is clear it can be so difficult to conceal your thoughts from your opponent.

Nowadays grandmasters no longer study their opponent's games so much, but they study his character, his behaviour and his temperament in the most thorough fashion.