No other master has such a terrific will to win. At the board he radiates danger, and even the strongest opponents tend to freeze, like rabbits when they smell a panther. Even his weaknesses are dangerous. As white, his opening game is predictable - you can make plans against it - but so strong that your plans almost never work. In the middle game his precision and invention are fabulous, and in the end game you simply cannot beat him. ~ chess quote by Anonymous German Expert

Before the endgame, the Gods have placed the middle game. ~ chess quote by Siegbert Tarrasch

The middlegame I repeat is chess itself; chess with all its possibilities, its attacks, defences, sacrifices, etc. ~ chess quote by Znosko-Borovsky

Before the endgame, the gods have placed the middlegame. ~ chess quote by Tarrasch

Books on the openings abound; nor are works on the end game wanting; but those on the middle game can be counted on the fingers of one hand. ~ chess quote by Harry Golombek

Your only task in the opening is to reach a playable middlegame. ~ chess quote by Lajos Portisch