During a Chess competition a Chessmaster should be a combination of a beast of prey and a monk
Interpretation
A chessmaster must balance instinctive aggression with calm, focused strategy.
This quote emphasizes the dual nature required to excel in chess: one must possess the savage tenacity of a predator while also embodying the disciplined patience of a monk. It highlights that success in chess, much like in life, requires both fierce determination and serene contemplation.
In practice
During a motivational speech to aspiring chess players.
I do not play chess β I fight at chess. Therefore, I willingly combine the tactical with the strategic, the fantastic with the scientific, the combinative with the positional, and I aim to respond to the demands of each given position.
I consider chess an art, and accept all those responsibilities which art places upon its devotees.
Capablanca was snatched too early from the chess world. With his death we have lost a great chess genius, the like of whom we will never see again.
You can become a big master in chess only if you see your mistakes and short-comings. Exactly the same as in life itself.
For my victory over Capablanca I am indebted primarily to my superiority in the field of psychology. Capablanca played, relying almost exclusively on his rich intuitive talent. But for the chess struggle nowadays one needs a subtle knowledge of human nature, an understanding of the opponent's psychology.
During a chess tournament a master must envisage himself as a cross between an ascetic monk and a beast of prey.
I have seen slower people than I am and more deliberate... and even quieter, and more listless, and lazier people than I am. But they were dead.
When I was in graduate school, I had a teacher who said to me, 'Women writers should marry somebody who thinks writing is cute. Because if they really realised what writing was, they would run a mile.'
Asana done from the brain makes one heavy and done from the heart makes one light.
Advice is like snow - the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind.
No accidents are so unlucky [bad] but that the wise may draw some advantage [good] from them.
First appearance deceives many.
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