Garry Kasparov
Chess grandmaster and one of the strongest chess players in history.
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The public must come to see that chess is a violent sport. Chess is mental torture.
It's not enough to be talented. It's not enough to work hard and to study late into the night. You must also become intimately aware of the methods you use to reach your decisions.
Millions like me in Russia want a free press, the rule of law, social justice, and free and fair elections. My new job is to fight for those people and to fight for these fundamental rights.
You must also have a sense of when to stop.
We have to always look ahead enough moves to be well prepared, even for victory!
For inspiration I look to those great players who consistently found original ways to shock their opponents. None did this better than the eighth world champion, Mikhail Tal. The "Magician of Riga" rose to become champion in 1960 at age twenty-three and became famous for his aggressive, volatile play.
With each success the ability to change is reduced. My longtime friend and coach Grandmaster Yuri Dokhoian, aptly compared it to being dipped in bronze. Each victory added another coat.
In chess, bigamy is acceptable but monarchy is absolute.
This obligation to move can be a burden to a player without strategic vision.
We think about time as something not to waste, not as something to invest.
If you're already in a fight, you want the first blow to be the last and you had better be the one to throw it.
Question the status quo at all times, especially when things are going well.
Having spent a lifetime analyzing the game of chess and comparing the capacity of computers to the capacity of the human brain, I've often wondered, where does our success come from? The answer is synthesis, the ability to combine creativity and calculation, art and science, into a whole that is much greater than the sum of its parts. Chess is a unique cognitive nexus, a place where art and science come together in the human mind, and are then refined and improved by experience.
I like to say that the attacker always has the advantage.
In conclusion, if you want to unravel the multitude of secrets of chess then don't begrudge the time.
Everyone, at any age, has talents that aren't fully developed-even those who reach the top of their profession.
My nature is that I have to excite myself with a big challenge.
Caissa, the goddess of chess, had punished me for my conservative play, for betraying my nature.
Solving new problems is what keeps us moving forward as individuals and as a society, so don't back down.
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