Reshevsky Quotes & Sayings

Chess sharpens the mind, stimulates concentration, improves the memory and promotes visualization. — Samuel Reshevsky

Good players develop a tactical instinct, a sense of what is possible or likely and what is not worth calculating. — Samuel Reshevsky

By playing slowly during the early phases of a game I am able to grasp the basic requirements of each position. Then, despite being in time pressure, I have no difficulty in finding the best continuation. Incidentally, it is an odd fact that more often than not it is my opponent who gets the jitters when I am compelled to make these hurried moves. — Samuel Reshevsky

We often hear the terms 'positional' and 'tactical' used as opposites. But this is as wrong as to consider a painting's composition unrelated to its subject. Just as there is no such thing as 'artistic' art, so there is no such thing as 'positional' chess. — Samuel Reshevsky

Young players calculate everything, a requirement of their relative inexperience. — Samuel Reshevsky

My style is somewhere between that of Tal and Petrosian — Samuel Reshevsky

Tartakower once wrote that after planting a Knight in the center you can go to sleep. This is not to be taken literally, of course, but it contains more than a germ of truth. — Samuel Reshevsky

The knight is renowned for, among other things, its suitability as a blockader ... Because its strength lies in short-range operations it is not uncomfortable standing in a single spot for long periods, as the Bishop is. — Samuel Reshevsky

The only good Rook is a working Rook! — Samuel Reshevsky

It often happens that a player is so fond of his advantageous position that he is reluctant to transpose to a winning endgame. — Samuel Reshevsky

No matter how much theory progresses, how radically styles change, chess play is inconceivable without tactics. — Samuel Reshevsky

What is a weak pawn? A pawn that is exposed to attack and also difficult to defend is a weak pawn. There are several varieties: isolated, doubled, too advanced, retarded. — Samuel Reshevsky