One comforting thing about the Trump White House is that you aren't forced to choose between malice and incompetence.

I've met enough KGB colonels in my life.

If you wish to succeed, you must brave the risk of failure.

A grandmaster needs to retain thousands of games in his head, for games are to him what the words of their mother tongue are to ordinary people, or notes or scores to musicians.

It was not about losing my mental power; it's about not feeling good about my contribution to the game.

I think Russians today have a distorted picture of capitalism, liberal democracy and market economy.

Losing can persuade you to change what doesn't need to be changed, and winning can convince you everything is fine even if you are on the brink of disaster.

At the end of the day, it's all about money.

Excelling at chess has long been considered a symbol of more general intelligence. That is an incorrect assumption in my view, as pleasant as it might be.

Chess helps you to concentrate, improve your logic. It teaches you to play by the rules and take responsibility for your actions, how to problem solve in an uncertain environment.

When I was preparing for one term's work in the Botvinnik school I had to spend a lot of time on king and pawn endings. So when I came to a tricky position in my own games I knew the winning method.

Success in marriage does not come merely through finding the right mate, but through being the right mate.

Thoughts and feelings change sometimes, as one crosses the frontiers.

The applause of a single human being is of great consequence.

Here is the devil-and-all to pay.

Runners are the ultimate celebration people. Running is just so intense, you're really experiencing life to the fullest.

You do not stop losing power by refusing to recognize your fear, by anesthetizing yourself to what you feel. The road to authentic power is always through what you feel through your heart.

Is it not strange that mankind should so willingly battle for religion and so unwillingly live according to its precepts?

I look at emotional pain as something we need to go through in order to grow and learn.

Art matters because it is the one true great connector in a world that seems to be very unconnected.

I have a very healthy appetite for good writing and good characters. Having weak writing is my biggest fear.