Vladimir Kramnik Quotes

You know, our ratings after this match will be very close - I think I can also become the world number one in the not too distant future. However, I'm sure that Garry will also have something to say about this!

Objectivity consists in understanding that the only one who never makes a mistake is the one who never does anything.

I made a better decision in choosing my team. Sure, I had a bigger choice of players to choose from - but I couldn't have asked for a harder working group of players who did an incredible job.

Every top player has his own style, just as every painter has his own personal signature.

In this respect I suppose I'm the total opposite of Garry. With his very emotive body language at the board he shows and displays all his emotions. I don't.

My way of playing is very different and Karpov plays very differently as well.

The development of beauty in chess never depends on you alone. No matter how much imagination and creativity you invest, you still do not create beauty. Your opponent must react at the same highest level.

With the Berlin I was able to set up a fortress that he could come near but not breach.

For us chess players the language of artist is something natural.

At some point he seemed to lose all confidence trying to break down the Berlin Wall. He was still fighting as only Kasparov can, but I could see it in his eyes that he knew he wasn't going to win one of these games.

I believe every chess player senses beauty, when he succeeds in creating situations, which contradict the expectations and the rules, and he succeeds in mastering this situation.

It is rightly said that the most difficult thing in chess is winning a won position

I go to bed at 4 a. m. Almost all chessplayers do.

The Berlin Defence suited my strategy for the match. I had a defensive strategy - Actually, I had in my pocket some other sharper stuff to fall back on - but first I wanted to try the defensive strategy with Black and it worked so well.

Only he, who penetrates into the depth of the game, can express his personality in it.

Playing rapid chess, one can lose the habit of concentrating for several hours in serious chess. That is why, if a player has big aims, he should limit his rapidplay in favour of serious chess.

Once he had selected the path he was going down he really had to stick with it in a 16 game match. He had to try and hit in the one direction but unfortunately for him - though fortunately for me! - he hit in the wrong direction.

An impatient person plays differently than a more patient person.

Every month I look through some ten thousand games, so not as to miss any new ideas and trends.

So basically it's very simple: to start with, if you want to win the match, you shouldn't be afraid of him. There are still many, many things to do, but above all this is the most important: Don't be scared of him!

No - I'm quite calm inside during the game for most of the time - not 100%, but generally very calm.

I am convinced, the way one plays chess always reflects the player's personality. If something defines his character, then it will also define his way of playing.

It made a big difference to my match stamina. I couldn't imagine I would have been so energetic during the match - it really gave me a welcomed extra boost!

Computers have changed the World of Chess.

Part of my preparation for the World Champion match against Kasparov was to be ready for his off-board tactics. I did not to react to them at all. Once you start thinking about these things during the game, even analysing them, you're caught.

But with the Berlin, I was able to allow him to get near, but not quite near enough, and I knew where to draw the line with the fortresses I had set up.

Chess is like body-building. If you train every day, you stay in top shape. It is the same with your brain - chess is a matter of daily training.

Now, two years have passed and the situation is completely different: no one wants to organise this match.

Chess is an infinitely complex game, which one can play in infinitely numerous and varied ways.

I feel that my relationship with Kasparov now is much the same as it had been before the match - good. As for his reaction, well it can't be nice to lose your title after so long, but he was very generous.

I don't know whether computers are improving the style of play, I know they are changing it. Chess has become a different game, one could say that computers have changed the world of chess. That is pretty clear.

Look at the catastrophic record Vishy Anand has against Garry Kasparov. Kasparov managed to beat him almost everywhere they played, even though Vishy Anand has belonged to the absolute top players in the world for fifteen years. This difference cannot be explained purely in chess terms, there must have been some psychology.