(The following is translated audio scripts from Russian …)

( ... Blackground Noise ... )

“Yes, you are right!”

“We are playing the game, not a piece on the board. It’s like … we are all part of this continuous grand tournament for everything in the universe. Everyone has a different starting position, and would encounter different opponents … it could be anything … in different games. Sometimes it could even be a blind chess, where our opponent’s disposition reveals itself as we learn and grow.”

“We are all novices from the start, and then keep learning new rules, principles, strategies, and tactics as we play, while gaining rates and experiences.”

“We learn to actively plan ahead. Before we decide to make a move, we think a few steps ahead, anticipate all possible outcomes, consider the better than best move, and work out a backup plan and an exit strategy. We keep setting different goals and make them happen.”

“We learn to be patient, cautious, and watch for pitfalls. We would not rush into making a decision. Every move should serve one or more purposes, and contribute to the whole game.”

“We learn to be flexible. Be ready to adapt to the changing situations and even take advantage of them. We cannot anticipate everything, but with knowledge of the past and an open mind, we can develop answers to any new problems.”

“We survey the whole board in order to see the big picture and think out of the squares.”

“We keep discovering the weaknesses of our opponent’s and ourselves, and keep learning, improving and developing.”

“We are brave in protecting our material. At the same time we understand that we may sometimes need to give up some of our smaller assets to exchange bigger milestones and create beautiful combinations. We value short term sacrifices for long term success.”

“We accumulate small gains and make every move counts.”

“We focus on our long term objectives and learn to analysis and resist the momentary temptations offered by the opponent in order to distract us and expose our weaknesses.”

“We learn the habit of not being discouraged by present appearances in the state of our affairs, the habit of hoping for a favorable change, and that of persevering in the search of resources.”

“We not only believe in miracles, we make them.”

“And lastly, we never resign, because we simply cannot win unless we are in the game! We just keep moving! Typically an average position has thirty to forty possible moves. In life’s chessboard, we have much more than 64 squares and 16 pieces, which results in almost indefinite possible moves.”

“If we did get a checkmate, which is part of the game and happens from time to time … we simply move to another game!”

( ... Blackground Noise ... )