People ask what my goal is. I don't have a goal.

If you want to get to the top, there's always the risk that it will isolate you from other people.

I think with chess as with everything, marketing is the main issue.

Of course, analysis can sometimes give more accurate results than intuition but usually it’s just a lot of work. I normally do what my intuition tells me to do. Most of the time spent thinking is just to double-check.

I can’t count the times I have lagged seemingly hopelessly far behind, and nobody except myself thinks I can win. But I have pulled myself in from desperate [situations]. When you are behind there are two strategies - counter-attack or all men to the defences. I’m good at finding the right balance between those.

Chess only appeals to quite a small minority. It does not have the cachet of a mainstream popular sport.

I get more upset at losing at other things than chess. I always get upset when I lose at Monopoly.