Garry Kasparov

I think our chances are not looking great today but the only way to fail for me is just not to try.

— Garry Kasparov

Women, by their nature, are not exceptional chess players: they are not great fighters.

— Garry Kasparov

In conclusion, if you want to unravel the multitude of secrets of chess then don't begrudge the time.

— Garry Kasparov

My nature is that I have to excite myself with a big challenge.

— Garry Kasparov

Every country has its own mafia. In Russia, the mafia has its own country.

— Garry Kasparov

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.

— Garry Kasparov

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.

— Garry Kasparov

This obligation to move can be a burden to a player without strategic vision.

— Garry Kasparov

You must also have a sense of when to stop.

— Garry Kasparov

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.

— Garry Kasparov

Everyone, at any age, has talents that aren't fully developed-even those who reach the top of their profession.

— Garry Kasparov

We think about time as something not to waste, not as something to invest.

— Garry Kasparov

In chess, bigamy is acceptable but monarchy is absolute.

— Garry Kasparov

I like to say that the attacker always has the advantage.

— Garry Kasparov

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.

— Garry Kasparov

Question the status quo at all times, especially when things are going well.

— Garry Kasparov

Solving new problems is what keeps us moving forward as individuals and as a society, so don't back down.

— Garry Kasparov

Caissa, the goddess of chess, had punished me for my conservative play, for betraying my nature.

— Garry Kasparov

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.

— Garry Kasparov

We have to always look ahead enough moves to be well prepared, even for victory!

— Garry Kasparov

Each victory pulls the victor down slightly and makes it harder to put in maximum effort to improve further.

— Garry Kasparov

Anatoly Karpov and I donated the prize fund from our 1986 world championship match to the Chernobyl victim relief fund.

— Garry Kasparov

Communism is like an autoimmune disorder; it doesn't do the killing itself, but it weakens the system so much that the victim is left helpless and unable to fight off anything else.

— Garry Kasparov

We must decide what we value and decide what is worth fighting for and then–the most important part–we must fight for it.

— Garry Kasparov

Reforms are only institutional if they have a real effect on how people live.

— Garry Kasparov

It's not common, in our age, for someone to retire while still at the top, but I'm a man who needs a goal, and who wants to make a difference.

— Garry Kasparov

Great leaders are formed only by taking on great challenges.

— Garry Kasparov

The NSA is to the Stasi what a bad hotel is to a maximum security prison.

— Garry Kasparov

The point of modern propaganda isn't only to misinform or push an agenda. It is to exhaust your critical thinking, to annihilate truth.

— Garry Kasparov