President Jacob Zuma Quotes on Chess
Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) 2013
Hi everyone,
South African President Jacob Zuma has lauded Indian chess player Abhijit Gupta for winning the Commonwealth Championships in the coastal city of Port Elizabeth in Eastern Cape Province of the country. For a report on the event read this Chess Blog post. Here are some nice Jacob Zuma quotes on chess from the event:
Zuma earlier drew a game after 20 minutes against the youngest player in the championships, five-year-old Keagan Rowe from East London in South Africa, later saying he had sacrificed some pieces “to balance the game.”
Zuma learnt to play chess while imprisoned on Robben Island alongside former president Nelson Mandela.
“Chess provided a solace to us that we needed in those conditions of isolation and deprivation. It propelled our minds beyond the confines of the prison walls and allowed us to reflect and to position our thoughts strategically to fight the (apartheid) regime,” Zuma said as he explained how prisoners had made chess sets out of soap and driftwood.
Zuma also called for chess to be encouraged as a serious sport in schools.
“(Chess) promotes latent skills among the children, patience, quick wit, decisiveness and confidence arising from competition with counterparts, including those from outside the country,” he said.
He also said: As a country we will also count on the LOC’s commitment to supporting chess development programmes in underprivileged communities.
"We are hopeful that our collective efforts will advance chess a great deal in this country. South Africa is the custodian of chess in the country. They have brought great pride to this country and in the last All African Games they brought back ten medals."
"I have also been informed that a young lady from these parts Ms Charlize van Zyl has been beating her opponents handsomely and won a strong event in Botswana and has become a women international master. The story of Charlize must serve as an inspiration to all the juniors here."
You can succeed if you have the commitment, dedication and passion. If you do not do well in athletic sports, chess can provide an interesting area as well. Please get involved and encourage others.
Please travel safely and to all of you that competed here, I want you to know that you are all winners.
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Labels: abhijeet gupta, chess quotes, commonwealth chess championship 2013, jacob zuma
Cool Chess Quotes Video Montage
12th Women's World Chess Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog for Chess Daily News and Trivia (c) 2013
Hi everyone,
We found this nice chess quotes video montage with some great slides and background music. Sit back and enjoy, even though you just might not agree with some of the chess quotes! A nice video created by a chess fan for sure. You could send us your own creative videos for sharing with Chess Blog readers as well.
Labels: chess quotes, Chess video
Top chess quotes for the weekend
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hi everyone,
We thought it was time to enjoy the weekend with some popular chess quotes. Enjoy reading, email and text them to friends or even greet your next opponent with a chess quote. Happy Chess Weekend.
CHESS QUOTES
 "All I want to do, ever, is to play chess."
Bobby Fischer, Harper's Magazine, 1962
"I love all positions. Give me a difficult positional game, I will play it. Give me a bad position, I will defend it. Openings, endgames, complicated positions, dull draws, I love them and I will do my very best. But totally won positions, I cannot stand them."
Hein Donner, Clubblad DD, 1950
"Chess is so inspiring that I do not believe a good player is capable of having an evil thought during the game."
Wilhelm Steinitz, interview with J. Moquette, 1896
"Oh! this opponent, this collaborator against his will, whose notion of Beauty always differs from yours and whose means (strength, imagination, technique) are often too limited to help you effectively! What torment, to have your thinking and your phantasy tied down by another person!"
Alexander Alekhine, foreword to Mes Problèmes et études d'échecs, Fred. Lazard, 1929
"My life has been determined by the move e2-e1N."
Johan Barendregt, interview with Max Pam, 1972
"When you absolutely don't know what to do anymore, it is time to panic."
John van der Wiel
"I have not given any drawn or lost games, because I thought them inadequate to the purpose of the book."
Jose Capablanca, My Chess Career, 1920
"Chess problems demand from the composer the same virtues that characterize all worthwile art: originality, invention, conciseness, harmony, complexity, and splendid insincerity."
Vladimir Nabokov, Poems and Problems, 1969
"You know, comrade Pachman, I don't enjoy being a Minister, I would rather play chess like you, or make a revolution in Venezuela."
Che Guevara, quoted in Ludek Pachman, Checkmate in Prague, 1975
"In chess, as it is played by masters, chance is practically eliminated."
Emanuel Lasker, Brettspiele der Völker, 1930
"And his six pawns were scattered like the ships of the Armada that should have conquered England; the Lord blew, and they were all isolated."
Hans Kmoch, Groningen 1946 tournament book
"It is always better to sacrifice your opponent's men."
Savielly Tartakower
"Nowadays, when you're not a grandmaster at 14, you can forget about it."
World Champion Anand Viswanathan
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Labels: chess quotes
Top quotes from celebrities at 2010 Chess Olympiad
Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess News & Trivia (c) 2010
Main playing hall at the Olympiad
Hi Everyone,
The official press conferences and the interviews were very cool. We had some great answers by all the fantastic people who are here at the 39th Chess Olympiad. Here is a special pick of all the interesting answers that we spotted. Enjoy.!
Bulgarian GM Veselin Topalov's answer
Q. What is the secret of success?
Veselin Topalov: You need to believe in yourself, and everything will be okay!
Spanish team and their captain's answers
Q. Do you have any idols among the Grandmasters?
Daniel Alsina: Since I was a child I admired the Hungarian Grandmaster Peter Leko. I even tried to repeat his openings. Magnus Carlsen deserves to be an idol now, because he is number one in the FIDE Rating List.
Jesus De la Villa Garcia: Garry Kasparov was the idol at my time. As for today, I follow the games of Vassily Ivanchuk now.
Francisco Vallejo Pons: I wouldn’t not say that I have an idol, my attitude towards it is too subjective. In the past several years I have met almost all famous chess players of our time. They are more opponents for me than idols. I can say that the only idol for me is Rybka (the strongest computer program in the world)
Jamaican team's answers
Q. What do you learn from chess?
Deborah Richards: Chess teaches us such qualities as patience, decisiveness and determination. We learn how to reach our goals whatever the price it would be. For me chess is life. Playing at the chess board gives me strength and belief in dreams.
Aneesha Smith: As for me, chess teaches me to be calm since I am rather aggressive and I lack patience. Playing chess is very positive for my nerves and makes me look at it in a different way.
Q. If it suddenly snows in Khanty-Mansiysk – will you experience it for the first time?
All together:Yes!!!
Aneesha Smith: We have never seen snow in our life and if it snows, it will be unforgettable for us!
Italian team captain Artur Kogan's answers
Q. How do you motivate your players?
Artur Kogan: This is a small secret of our team. My system is based on positive thinking. I have faith in my players and instill hope in them.
Q. You mean that the players must visualize their opponents resigning on the 10th move or something like that?
Artur Kogan: This is actually pretty close. Positive thinking is based on believing in your own strength and fearlessness. My players do not fear their opponents and are always motivated.
Armenian team member Gabriel Sargissian's answer
Q. Your team is famous for its unity and friendship. Do you feel the teammates’ support?
– Yes. There are no conflicts in our team; we never count how many times someone had White or Black, for example. We play together for many years and know each other well – this is also very important.
Ukrainian GM Ruslan Ponomariov's answer
– I relax while cooking. And it is always pleasant to cook for someone. But I cook once a week to enjoy it, because I don’t want to turn everything into routine.
Australian GM David Smirdon's answer
Q. What kind of food do you like?
– Hot – like everything in life.
Georgian GM Baadur Jobava's answer
Q. Baadur, the first board competition is very tough. You will face Aronian, Kramnik, Ivanchuk... Do you fear any of these people?
I have never been afraid to play stronger and more experienced opponents. Maybe it helped me to become a professional player. Now I have experience too. You should never play scared!
Chief arbiter Sava Stoisavljevic's answer
Q. You are the first woman working as a Chief Arbiter at the Olympiad. Were you surprised when the organizers invited you to Khanty-Mansiysk?
– Yes and no. Many women occupy highly responsible posts, for instance, the local Governor Natalya Komarova. For a long time chess was an exception, but not anymore. I am grateful to Kirsan Ilyumzhinov for supporting my candidacy. I realize that being a Chief Arbiter at the Olympiad is a career summit for an arbiter. However, the time will pass and bring new motivation, while now I am simply enjoying myself and my favorite job.
If we missed any quote don't forget to send it to us.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's Also see her personal blog at Labels: chess quotes
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