Vladimir Kramnik

“For me art and chess are closely related, both are forms in which the self finds beauty and expression.”

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

“Even if you play perfectly, a fault of your opponent's can destroy the entire beauty of the game.”

“In chess one cannot control everything. Sometimes a game takes an unexpected turn, in which beauty begins to emerge. Both players are always instrumental in this.”

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

“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.”

“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.”

“I don't like to show my emotions at the board, not because they might give something away to an opponent, but because that's my style: I like to keep it to myself.”

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

“Okay, when you start to fight for equality, like Anand did in 1995, you could end up losing game 10, like he did, without putting up any kind of fight.”

“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!”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“When I speak of the beauty of a game of chess, then naturally this is subjective. Beauty can be found in a very technical, mathematical game for example. That is the beauty of clarity.”

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

“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!”

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

“An impatient person plays differently than a more patient person.”

“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.”