here's a Karpovian anti-Tal quote (written before these players existed) from Chernev:
Note that White has not embarked on dubious long-range combinations. His plan, in most cases aimed at increasing his positional superiority, is made for a few moves only. Don't believe all those stories you hear of chess masters analysing intricate combinations with dozens of variations for thirty moves ahead. They don't do this because they don't have to! It is far easier and more to the point to look only a few moves ahead and try to maintain at least an equal game at every stage. Winning by accumulating small advantages is more consistent with a common-sense approach than to seek to overwhelm the opponent with bewildering combinations and venturesome sacrificial attacks. Strengthening one's own position gradually while undermining that of the opponent is more important than indulging in fruitless speculative fancies. / Logical Chess Move By Move.
"In chess, we don't just aim at our goals. Often we want to remove what is preventing us from achieving our goals, or, more realistically, we aim to remove what is preventing us from preventing our opponent from preventing us from achieving our goals, and so on."
Waitzkin, from Chessmaster academy.