Viktor Korchnoi Quotes

A sight game is that I am hurt, but I aim to make you believe I am not even hurt, and with this confidence appearing on my face, I don't panic, otherwise your opponent will know that you are hurt. That's the whole art game in boxing.

The period before the game can be important to influence opinions, characters, personalities, feelings, and, of course, I use that to touch my players, to touch opponents, to touch supporters.

I always fight better when my opponent's angry.

There can be a lot of mind games going on between the players. When you're about to serve, people will try to throw you off your rhythm by taking a walk. If you're tired, you can't show that at all to an opponent.

There are various psychological advantages you can take into boxing match. One is getting your opponent to fight with emotion and anger because he hates you.

I am trying to beat the guy sitting across from me and trying to choose the moves that are most unpleasant for him and his style.

Part of my preparation for the World Champion match against Kasparov was to be ready for his off-board tactics. I did not to react to them at all. Once you start thinking about these things during the game, even analysing them, you're caught.

Without a doubt, psychological warfare has proven its right to a place of dignity in our military arsenal.

I used to come out and say I was targeting certain players in the opposition team, particularly players I had had success against in the past: Gary Kirsten, Brian Lara and Michael Atherton, for example. It is a mental part of the game.

Getting in my head and talking trash, that's not going to work.

When someone thinks they're good at something, you can use it against them, and that's what we did. We did the kiss of death.

The more irrational you make your opponent, the more control you have over him in the ring.

When I was a player, it was important to target the first few friendlies and plant a seed in the mind of the gaffer.

The more you get a batsman out the more it becomes psychological. A batsman starts thinking about it and making something of it in his head.

I reckon you have to put a presence in front of your opponent - a bit of confidence and attitude - and then you can change what their next move may be.

If you notice, in every fight, I always have something to get into their head.

My way is to talk to my opponent so he makes it a personal thing. He starts playing me one-on-one, and forgets about his team. Meanwhile, I'm still playing team ball and eating him up. Some guys tried talking back, but you can't get a talker when a talker's talking to you.

I try to get in people's heads. My job is to get the ball, so if I'm talking trash to an O-lineman or quarterback or receiver, and they start thinking about me, that's good, because they aren't thinking about the game anymore.

I've been telling people I need to start smiling to my opponents and shaking hands and just being nice, so then when the bell rings, I catch them off-guard, because I used to catch people off-guard, but everyone's ready now.

It's important to get under your opponent's skin and let them know that you are coming for them out in the middle. When you do that, half the battle's won!

I never look at the goalkeeper's eyes.

You can't overestimate the importance of psychology in chess, and as much as some players try to downplay it, I believe that winning requires a constant and strong psychology not just at the board but in every aspect of your life.

The thing about people who are truly and malignantly crazy: their real genius is for making the people around them think they themselves are crazy. In military science this is called Psy-Ops, for your info.

The coaches of some players who are my own age keep saying publically about me: "This guy is going to be one of the greats." I am clever enough to know that they do not truthfully think so. They are trying to shake my confidence. Of course, this is a matter of tactics.

I understand the psychology of the sport, especially inside the ring. From bell to bell, from when my entrance plays and I step through that curtain, people have to wonder what's going on inside that guy's head.