99 Quotes by Bobby Fischer
Bobby Fischer, an American chess prodigy and grandmaster, made an immense impact on the world of chess and became a symbol of genius and competitive spirit. Fischer's rise to prominence came in the 1970s when he defeated Boris Spassky in the World Chess Championship, capturing the attention of the world. Known for his exceptional analytical skills, strategic thinking, and relentless pursuit of perfection, Fischer revolutionized the game of chess and raised its profile to new heights.
His deep understanding of the game, coupled with his unwavering dedication to study and preparation, set him apart from his contemporaries. Fischer's contributions to chess theory and his uncompromising approach to the game continue to inspire chess players and enthusiasts around the globe. Despite his later years being marred by controversy and seclusion, Fischer's impact on the world of chess remains unparalleled, cementing his status as one of the greatest chess players in history.
Bobby Fischer Quotes
Chess is war over the board. The object is to crush the opponents mind.
The United States is an illegitimate country, just like Israel. It has no right to exist. That country belongs to the Red man, the American Indian... It's actually a shame to be a so-called American, because everybody living there is a usurper, an invader taking part in this crime, which is to rob the land, rob the country and kill all the American Indians.
My main interest right now is to expose the Jews. This is a lot bigger than me. They're not just persecuting me. This is not just my struggle, I'm not just doing this for myself... This is life and death for the world. These God-damn Jews have to be stopped. They're a menace to the whole world.
The turning point in my career came with the realization that Black should play to win instead of just steering for equality.
I object to being called a chess genius because I consider myself to be an all around genius who just happens to play chess, which is rather different. A piece of garbage like Kasparov might be called a chess genius, but he's like an idiot savant. Outside of chess he knows nothing.
Chess is a matter of delicate judgement, knowing when to punch and how to duck.
They're all weak, all women. They're stupid compared to men. They shouldn't play chess, you know. They're like beginners. They lose every single game against a man. There isn't a woman player in the world I can't give knight-odds to and still beat.
Capablanca was among the greatest of chess players, but not because of his endgame. His trick was to keep his openings simple, and then play with such brilliance in the middlegame that the game was decided - even though his ooponent didn't always know it - before they arrived at the ending.
Karpov, Kasparov, Korchnoi have absolutely destroyed chess by their immoral, unethical, prearranged games. These guys are really the lowest dogs around, and if people knew the truth about them, they would be held in more contempt than Ben Johnson, the runner, and they're going to know the truth when I do this book!
America is totally under control of the Jews, you know. I mean, look what they're doing in Yugoslavia...
I give 98 percent of my mental energy to Chess Others give only 2 percent
A strong memory, concentration, imagination, and a strong will is required to become a great Chess player
The United States is evil. It has to be brought down, it has to be eliminated from the world scene. They are the ones who have made the world the hell that it is.
In chess so much depends on opening theory, so the champions before the last century did not know as much as I do and other players do about opening theory. So if you just brought them back from the dead they wouldn't do well. They'd get bad openings.
You know I'm finished with the old chess because it's all just a lot of book and memorization you know.
You can only get good at Chess if you love the game
Morphy was probably the greatest genius of them all
Most people are sheep, and they need the support of others.
Psychologically, you have to have confidence in yourself and this confidence should be based on fact.
Its just you and your opponent at the board and you're trying to prove something
They're lying bastards. Jews were always lying bastards throughout their history. They're a filthy, dirty, disgusting, vile, criminal people.
First of all, we have to understand what communism is. I mean, to me, real communism, the Soviet communism, is basically a mask for Bolshevism, which is a mask for Judaism.
Chess demands total concentration
In my opinion, the King's Gambit is busted. It loses by force.
Blitz chess kills your ideas.
As Olafsson showed me, White can win... It's hard to believe. I stayed up all night analysing, finally convicing myself, and, incidentally, learning a lot about Rook and Pawn endings in the process.
My opponents make good moves too. Sometimes I don't take these things into consideration
You are never too old to play chess!
I want to see the U.S. wiped out. Death to the U.S.
Don't even mention losing to me. I can't stand to think of it
That's what Chess is all about. One day you give your opponent a lesson, the next day he gives you one
The U.S. and Israel have been slaughtering the Palestinians, just slaughtering them, for years. Robbing them and slaughtering them.
When I used to go to the Manhattan Chess Club back in the fifties, I met a lot of old-timers there who knew Capablanca, because he used to come around to the Manhattan club in the forties - before he died in the early forties. They spoke about Capablanca with awe. I have never seen people speak about any chess player like that, before or since.
Too many times, people don't try their best. They don't have the keen spirit; the winning spirit. And once you make it you've got to guard your reputation - every day go in like an unknown to prove yourself. That's why I don't clown around. I don't believe in wasting time. My goal is to win the World Chess Championship; to beat the Russians. I take this very seriously.
If you don't win, it's not a great tragedy - the worst that happens is that you lose a game.
Patzer sees a check, gives a check.
Concentrate on material gains. Whatever your opponent gives you take, unless you see a good reason not to.
I add status to any tournament I attend.
Your body has to be in top condition. Your Chess deteriorates as your body does. You can't separate body from mind
I'm not as soft or as generous a person as I would be if the world hadn't changed me.
Ultimately the white man should leave the United States and the black people should go back to Africa.
Every chess game is like taking a five-hour final exam.
Vacations are designed to refresh the outlook of everyone. No matter how tired they may be when they return to work, vacationers have been refreshed emotionally and intellectually. Their effectiveness in their job has probably improved, and they are, generally speaking, better employees for the time off.
Tactics flow from a superior position (Meaning)
It's the fault of the chess players themselves. I don't know what they used to be, but now they're not the most gentlemanly group. When it was a game played by the aristocrats it had more like you know dignity to it. When they used to have the clubs, like no women were allowed and everybody went in dressed in a suit, a tie, like gentlemen, you know. Now, kids come running in their sneakers. Even in the best chess club-and they got women in there. It's a social place and people are making noise, it's a madhouse.
Sometimes girls write me. One girl in Yugoslavia sent me a whole slew of love letters. I don't know how she got my address. She was in a crowd watching me play. She says when I left there the stars fell out of the sky over Yugoslavia, or something like that.
If I win a tournament, I win it by myself. I do the playing. Nobody helps me
Is it against the law to kill a reporter?
All that matters on the Chessboard is good moves.
There are tough players and nice guys, and I'm a tough player
You have to have the fighting spirit. You have to force moves and take chances
Well, you know, in America everybody is interested in making the dollar fast. In Yugoslavia no matter how much you hustle you're not going to get rich, so you might as well play chess.
Chess and me, it's hard to take them apart. It's like my alter ego.
I really love the dark of the night. It helps me to concentrate.
Alekhine developed as a player much more slowly than most. In his twenties, he was an atrocious chessplayer, and didn't mature until he was well into his thirties.
Nothing is so healing as the human touch.
I love the game - and I hate the Russians because they've almost ruined it. They only risk the title when they have to, every three years. They play for draws with each other but play to win against the Western masters. Draws make for dull chess, wins make for fighting chess.
I grew up with the concept of freedom of speech. So I'm too old, it's too late for me to adjust to the new world, the new world order.
I felt that chess... is a science in the form of a game... I consider myself a scientist. I wanted to be treated like a scientist.
But the thing that was great about Capablanca was that he really spoke his mind, he said what he believed was true, he said what he felt. He [Capablanca] wanted to change the rules [of chess] already, back in the twenties, because he said chess was getting played out. He was right. Now chess is completely dead. It is all just memorisation and prearrangement. It's a terrible game now. Very uncreative.
The old chess is too limited. Imagine playing cards, black jack for example, and every time the dealer has the same starting hand you have the same starting hand. What's the point?
To get squares you have to give up squares.
Well, I kind of split my life into two pieces. One was where my chess career lies. There, I kept my sanity, so to speak, and my logic. And the other was my religious life. I tried to apply what I learned in the church to my chess career too. But I still was studying chess. I wasn't just "trusting in God" to give me the moves.
My sister bought me a set at a candy store and taught me the moves.
Nothing eases suffering like human touch.
He is the so-called father of the modern school of chess; before him, the King was considered a weak piece and players set out to attack the King directly. Steinitz claimed that the King was well able to take care of itself, and ought not to be attacked until one had some other positional advantage. He understood more about the use of squares than Morphy and contributed a great deal more to chess theory.
Computers are our only opponents that don't always have no excuse when losing against me.
I'm not afraid of Spassky. The world knows I'm the best. You don't need a match to prove it.
All my games are real
Genius. It's a word. What does it really mean? If I win I'm a genius. If I don't, I'm not.
Americans really don't know much about chess. But I think when I beat Spassky, that Americans will take a greater interest in chess. Americans like winners.
There's no luck involved in chess. You just have to work at it.
There's no one alive I can't beat.
It is time to finish off the U.S. once and for all.
Nobody has single-handedly done more for the US image than me...
If you have seen one Alekhine game you've seen them all.
All I ever want to do is just play chess.
Chess is like war on a board
Different people feel differently about resigning
Teach people to play new chess, right away. Why do you offer them a black and white television set, when there is a set in color?
People have been playing against me below their strength for fifteen years.
Our mind is all we've got. Not that it won't lead us astray sometimes, but we still have to analyze things out within ourselves.
Normally we'd draw the curtain here, but I just wanted to see what he'd play next.
The white people should go back to Europe, and the country should be returned to the American Indians. This is the future I would like to see for the so-called United States.
When I was eleven, I just got good.
FIDE has decided against my participation in the 1975 World Chess Champion title.
They asked me what year it was, what month it was, etc. I easily answered these stupid questions.
Maybe I should publish the book. The world is coming to an end anyway!
Let's play. I'm willing to play anywhere.
The Russians have held my title for ten years and they're going to be in for it when I win the Championship. They're going to have to wait and play under my conditions.
There isn't a woman player in the world I can't give knight-odds to and still beat.
The Russians have fixed world chess.
There was open collusion between the Russian players. They agreed ahead of time to draw the games they played against each other. Every time they drew they gave each other half a point.
"Well, I'm not sure I know what you mean by a prima donna, but if something doesn't interest me or if someone bores me, or if I think they're a phony, I just don't bother with them, that's all."
"Americans like a winner. If you lose, you're nothing. I'm going to win, though. It's good for the match that Spassky has a plus score against me. We've met five times. He's won three times and we've drawn twice. But I'm a stronger player and a long match favors me."
Now my only income is a few royalty cheques from my books.
Yeah, there are too many Jews in chess. They seem to have taken away the class of the game. They don't seem to dress so nicely, you know. That's what I don't like.
It's little quirks like this that could make life difficult for a chess machine.
I'd like to travel around, be an international playboy. They have all that money; they could really do it right. Look at (Errol) Flynn.
― Bobby Fischer Quotes
Chief Editor
Tal Gur is an author, founder, and impact-driven entrepreneur at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living, has led him to found Elevate Society.
