I believe in magic ... There is magic in the creative faculty such as great poets and philosophers conspicuously possess, and equally in the creative chessmaster.

Chess is neither a science nor an art. It is what human nature most delights in--a fight.

Steinitz was a thinker worthy of a seat in the halls of a university. A player, as the world believed he was, he was not; his studious temperament made that impossible; and thus he was conquered by a player and in the end little valued by the world, he died.

On the chessboard, lies and hypocrisy do not survive long

Vanity should never tempt a player to engage in a combat at the risk of loss of health. It is bad enough to lose without the additional annoyance of paying doctors' bills.

The hardest game to win is a won game

I have known many chess players, but among them there has been only one genius - Capablanca!