It's just not my nature to go around idolizing people.

I was lucky enough to attend schools where they were understanding about when I needed to go abroad to play chess. Of course, socially it is important to go to school and interact with people your own age.

People ask what my goal is. I don't have a goal.

Some people think that if their opponent plays a beautiful game, it's okay to lose. I don't. You have to be merciless.

If you want to get to the top, there's always the risk that it will isolate you from other people.

I started by just sitting by the chessboard exploring things. I didn't even have books at first, and I just played by myself. I learnt a lot from that, and I feel that it is a big reason why I now have a good intuitive understanding of chess.