"Later, I began to succeed in decisive games. Perhaps
because I realized a very simple truth: not only
was I worried, but also my opponent"-- Mikhail Tal

"Some sacrifices are sound; the rest are mine" -- Mikhail Tal

"You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5,
and the path leading out is only wide enough for one" -- Mikhail Tal

"In chess, at least, the brave inherit the earth."
Mednis, commenting on Tal

"Tal doesn't move the pieces by hand; he uses a magic wand."
Ragozin, commenting on Tal

“I console myself with pleasure that chess fans, spectators and readers
are happy only when grandmasters risk rather than just push wood.”
-- Mikhail Tal

“The pieces must breathe deeply and with a full chest!”
-- Mikhail Tal

“In speed chess it is easier to attack with a
piece less, than to defend with an extra piece.”
-- Mikhail Tal

“Chess is a storm against man.”
-- Mikhail Tal

“Chess, first of all, is art.”
-- Mikhail Tal

“The joy of great inventions is in the remote past. Now, thousands of tactical ideas
are recorded in `the black list’ of theory. All is known - that is, almost all. Naturally
every chess player improvises over the board in accordance with his talent and
imagination. But that which is already known, must be known!”
-- Mikhail Tal

“Many sacrifices don’t require concrete calculation at all. It is sufficient to only glance
at the arising position to convince us that the sacrifice is correct.”
-- Mikhail Tal

“Extraordinarily tense, full-blooded struggles that are absolutely without
any mistakes are only to be found in distant interplanetary chess tournaments.”
-- Mikhail Tal

"If you wait for luck to turn up, life becomes very boring.” -- Mikhail Tal

Tal and Fischer

Fischer is Fischer, but a horse is a horse. -- Mikhail Tal (upon hearing Bobby Fischer’s claim that he could beat any female player in the world giving a knights odds.)

It is difficult to play against Einstein’s theory. -- Mikhail Tal (on his first loss to Fischer)

Fischer is the greatest genius to descend from the chess heavens. -- Mikhail Tal

When I asked Fischer why he had not played a certain move in our game, he replied: "Well, you laughed when I wrote it down!" -- Mikhail Tal