Of course, errors are not good for a chess game, but errors are unavoidable and in any case, a game without ant errors, or as they say 'flawless game' is colorless.
Mikhail TalRead
The cherished dream of every chessplayer is to play a match with the World Champion. But here is the paradox: the closer you come to the realization of this goal, the less you think about it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Chess players aspire to compete against the World Champion, yet as they approach this goal, they often focus less on it.
This quote by Mikhail Tal highlights the journey of striving for one's ultimate goal, in this case, a match with the World Champion in chess. It suggests that as individuals become more skilled and closer to their dreams, their mindset shifts from the goal itself to the process, skill, and enjoyment of the game, illustrating the paradox of ambition and focus during the pursuit of success.
Themes
ChessSuccessGoalAmbitionJourney
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech at a chess tournament, one could say this quote to inspire young players.
More from Mikhail Tal
All quotes →In my games I have sometimes found a combination intuitively simply feeling that it must be there. Yet I was not able to translate my thought processes into normal human language.
Mikhail TalRead
I will not hide the fact that I love to hear the spectators react after a sacrifice of a piece or pawn. I don't think that there is anything bad in such a feeling; no artist or musician is indifferent to the reactions of the public.
Mikhail TalRead
For pleasure you can read the games collections of Andersson and Chigorin, but for benefit you should study Tarrasch, Keres and Bronstein.
Mikhail TalRead
To play for a draw (at any rate with White) is to some degree a crime against chess.
Mikhail TalRead
Botvinnik's right! When he says such things, then he's right. Usually, I prefer not to study chess but to play it. For me chess is more an art than a science. It's been said that Alekhine and I played similar chess, except that he studied more. Yes, perhaps, but I have to say that he played, too.
Mikhail TalRead
Similar quotes
If you're to succeed at any endeavor, the first and most important person you must convince is yourself. Success comes not from merely a belief that you can do it. Success comes when you absolutely know you can achieve it
Ralph MarstonRead
I would rather earn 1% off a 100 people's efforts than 100% of my own efforts.
John D. RockefellerRead
(On being the world's richest man) I wish I wasn't ... There's nothing good that comes out of that. You get more visibility as a result of it.
Bill GatesRead
My mother had gotten a job as a receptionist at a dancing school and had the idea that we should open our own dancing school; we did, and it prospered.
Gene KellyRead
I've enjoyed all the parts of my career.
Dolly PartonRead
If you're lucky enough to have been rewarded in life to the degree that I have, there comes a point at which you have to decide whether to become a slave to your net worth by devoting the rest of your life to increasing it or to let what you've accumulated begin to serve you.
Peter LynchRead