HIKARU NAKAMURA

I will say there have been occasional times - not when I'm playing, but when I'm studying - that I have found a little bit of alcohol has been good for the creative process.

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.

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.

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

I get tired of the traveling.

The way I play is not like most people. The moves are more computeresque. They're not the moves that most humans are going to play.

The way I play is very unique.

I play different styles, and am very good at changing how I play.

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

Chess is a game where all different sorts of people can come together, not a game in which people are divided because of their religion or country of origin.

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

In chess, everyone's accepted. That's what's great about it. You can be a little bit different. You can be an oddball.

Because of the Internet, chess is not about your nationality or your background. Anyone can get good now.

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

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.

I don't consider myself a nerd.

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

I'm not a mad genius.

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

I love the game. I love everything that it can do for people. It's not all about me.

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

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.

I was rather nervous when I was 10 years old.

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

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