Quotessence
Home / Authors / Bobby Fischer
Bobby Fischer

Bobby Fischer Quotes

Chess Player

Filter quotes by topic

AllChessKnowsGamesPlayChess GameWorldPeoplePlayerGivingIfsWinningMovingSuccessChess PlayersYearsBeatsOpponentsWellsBookChampionship

Famous Bobby Fischer Quotes

“Yeah, I used to dress badly until I was about sixteen. But people just didn't seem to have enough respect for me, you know And I didn't like that, so I decided I'd have to show them they weren't any better than me, you know? They were sort of priding themselves. They would say, 'He beat us at chess, but he's still just an uncouth kid.' So I decided to dress up.”

PeopleKnowsStillsEnoughShowsSeemsKidsUsedBeatsDecidedDressesYeahChessSixteenUncouth
Author:Bobby Fischer
Create image

“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.”

PeopleKnowsRunningKidsUsedGamesSocialPlayerGroupsLike YouDignityFaultsClubsChessNoiseUsed To BeSuitsTiesGentlemanSneakersChess PlayersMadhousesGentlemanly
Author:Bobby Fischer
Create image

“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.”

GivingWellsKindStillsTwoMovingLyingSpeakChurchReligiousCareersStudyPiecesLogicGive MeChessSanityTrust In GodSplitsReligious Life
Author:Bobby Fischer
Create image

“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.”

WellsUseCareAbleSchoolFatherDealsPiecesPlayerModernTheoryOughtKingsUnderstoodAdvantageWeakTake CareChessSquares
Author:Bobby Fischer
Create image

“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.”

PeopleUsedSpeakPlayerMetsDiedClubsChessAweFortySpokesManhattanChess PlayersTimerCapablancaOld Timers
Author:Bobby Fischer
Create image

“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.”

MindSaidWantedGamesFeltTerribleRight NowTwentiesChessSpokesCapablanca
Author:Bobby Fischer
Create image

“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.”

PeopleWorldTryingBelieveSuccessSpiritWinningGoalProveBeatsDon't BelieveChessReputationWasting TimeChampionshipClownChess PlayersProving Yourself
Book:Fischer v Spassky: the World Chess Championship Match, 1972
Create image