"I can relate to many of the emotions they describe...But personally I just like to get on with the job of playing chess. I understand that if I win, I'm probably crushing my opponent's ego but it's not like I do that with great satisfaction. So I don't really look for conflict around the game … It's true that someone like Kasparov has this sense of history, and I'm talking world history rather than chess history. He has a sense of himself being in it, which, for me, is very hard to understand or even relate to in any way."

“In one sense Vishy has everything to gain and nothing to lose. If he beats Magnus, people are going to say, 'my God, he really is one of the all-time greats!' and, if he loses, they will say, 'well, if only the ages had been reversed.”

“To become a world chess champion.”

“Age is part of it. For instance, I recognise that is going to do certain things because he's 22 and there are certain things I can do because I'm 43.”

“The fact is he outplayed me. He just proved to be stronger.”

“He must make sure Magnus is out of his comfort zone, he needs to direct the positions. It needs to be a mess. He needs to get Magnus into a brawl.”

“Magnus has many good qualities... he is very versatile and he can play a lot of positions at a very high level. He's also very flexible. And he has this amazing talent for grinding on, as you say. So that combination I was unable to deal with.”