Quotes from Hikaru Nakamura

I want to be ranked in the top 100 players. If I can achieve that, I'll think about the world championship.

It's easy to become angry, but when you get better, you channel your energy into the game.

When you're 17 and 18 is when you get really good, and in college, you have to put the chess aside.

I think for me the main goal that I have, or at least what I really aspire to, is to raise the level of chess.

A lot of people see a future where you could make a living as a chess player.

It's very encouraging that the game of chess is growing in the U.S. and is becoming more popular.

Chess is a great game. It's a lot of fun, but sometimes you wonder what else is out there.

No, I've never had a job other than being a chess player.

I had been playing a lot of chess and I wasn't really enjoying it, so I decided to go to college to see what else is out there for me. But after about six or seven months away from the game, I just decided that the whole college life wasn't for me and that's why I decided to come back.

In poker, you want to play the weaker guys. In chess, it's the opposite.

When I was younger, I would look at a game with computers and still be fascinated by the possibilities.

When you watch chess, you don't see the four hours that the player spends preparing for a match ahead of time.

I'm into hiking and mountains and I follow hockey and basketball pretty avidly.

Everyone is using the same programs, everyone is looking at the same opening ideas. I wouldn't say everyone is necessarily the same in terms of talent or ability, but when you're able to prepare games that go so deep that you don't have to think, really, it balances out the field.

The first championship in 2005 will always be the most special but winning this fifth one was by far my best performance because of the strength of the field.

The single most important thing in life is to believe in yourself regardless of what everyone else says.

In chess you try to do your best, but there are instances where you make mistakes or you try and take risks that you shouldn't. And I think losing games is a good thing, because you learn more from when you lose than when you win.

I play quite a bit of tennis on the side.

It's certainly an honor to have kids who are looking up to me, but at the same time, I'm just trying to do what I can to raise the profile of chess.

Well, I think, in large part, when I first began playing chess at seven years old, I was quite bad at it. I lost a lot of games when I first started.

I've had to grow up pretty fast, which is not a good thing.

I've found for playing that it's generally not a good thing to be drinking.

Critical thinking is the most important factor with chess. As it is in life, you need to think before you make decisions.

As you get stronger, you learn to maintain the position against higher rated players. This comes with experience.