Interesting Chess Quotations on Attacks, Sacrifices and Combinations

• “Pawns: they are the soul of this game, they alone form the attack and defense” -Philidor

• "Attack! Always Attack!" - Adolf Anderssen

• “Only the player with the initiative has the right to attack” -Wilhelm Steinitz

• "When you have an advantage, you are obliged to attack; otherwise you are endangered to lose the advantage." - Steinitz

• "A win by an unsound combination, however showy, fills me with artistic horror." - Steinitz

• "A sacrifice is best refuted by accepting it" - Steinitz

• “The attack is that process by means of which you remove obstructions.” - Lasker

• "Combination is a soul of chess." - Alekhine

• "I have had to work long and hard to eradicate the dangerous delusion that, in a bad position, I could always, or nearly always, conjure up some unexpected combination to extricate me from my difficulties." - Alekhine

• "Do not always be thinking of attack! Moves that safeguard your position are often far more prudent." - Aron Nimzovich

• "No pawn exchanges, no file-opening, no attack." - Nimzovich

• "The first essential for an attack is the will to attack." - Tartakower

• "It's always better to sacrifice your opponent's men" - Tartakower

• "A Queen's sacrifice, even when fairly obvious, always rejoices the heart of the chess-lover." - Tartakower

• "Alekhine's real genius is in the preparation and construction of a position, long before combinations or mating attacks come into consideration at all." - Euwe

• "With opposite coloured bishops the attacking side has in effect an extra piece in the shape of his bishop." - Botvinnik

• "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 Tal

• "There are two types of sacrifices: correct ones and mine" - Mikhail Tal

• "One charming characteristic of many flank attacks I could mention is that they do not very often lead to simplification: if the attack is parried, there usually are still opportunities left for initiating action in another sector." - Larsen

• "Combinations with a queen sacrifice are among the most striking and memorable." - Anatoly Karpov

• "For example, computer defends well, but for humans its is harder to defend than attack, particularly with the modern time control." - Boris Spassky

• "Nowadays the dynamic element is more important in chess - players more often sacrifice material to obtain dynamic compensation." - Boris Spassky

• "I don't recommend trying to cram a lot of long opening-move variations into your head. The main idea behind any opening is to get a strong pawn center and give your pieces a lot of scope so that you cramp your opponent's position and can attack weaknesses in his game." - Fischer

• "I like to say that the attacker always has the advantage." - Kasparov

• "Attackers may sometimes regret bad moves, but it is much worse to forever regret an opportunity you allowed to pass you by." - Kasparov