“I could not be number-one [in chess], so I tried physics. And when I understood I would not be number-one in physics, I decided to be number-one in being a political prisoner.” (Interview by Dominic Lawson; audio, 15 minutes.)
Read more on BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03mj945/Across_the_Board_Natan_Sharansky/