The Sequel – Learn from the GREATS

Then Tal to Kasparov...

Studying games played by masters of the past and thorough analysis of one's own games provide the foundation for the continuous development of chess mastery.

Moving on, one should pay attention to what past "Champions" had remarked.

Mikhail Tal –

" I go over many games collections and pick up something from the style of each player. I believe most definitely that one must not only grapple with the problems on the board, one must also make every effort to combat the thoughts and will of the opponent."

Tigran Petrosian –

" In general I consider that in chess everything rests on tactics. If one thinks of strategy as a block of marble, then tactics are the chisel with which a master operates, in creating works of chess art. The criterion of real strength is a deep penetration into the secrets of a position."

Boris Spassky –

" The best indicator of a chess player's form is his ability to sense the climax of the game. My forte was the middlegame. I had a good feeling for the critical moments of the play. This undoubtedly compensated for my lack of opening preparation and, possibly, not altogether perfect play in the endgame. In my games things often did not reach the endgame!"

Robert James Fischer –

" A strong memory, concentration, imagination, and a strong will is required to become a great chess player. Chess is a matter of delicate judgement, knowing when to punch and how to duck. Your body has to be in top condition. Your Chess deteriorates as your body does. You can't separate body from mind."

Anatoly Karpov –

" Chess is everything: art, science, and sport. By all means examine the games of the great chess players, but don't swallow them whole. Their games are valuable not for their separate moves, but for their vision of chess, their way of thinking."

Garry Kasparov –

" Enormous self-belief, intuition, the ability to take a risk at a critical moment and go in for a very dangerous play with counter-chances for the opponent - it is precisely these qualities that distinguish great players. The highest art of the chessplayer lies in not allowing your opponent to show you what he can do."

Stay tuned for more advice and ideas...