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I have had to work long and hard to eradicate the dangerous delusion that, in a bad position, I could always, or nearly always, conjure up some unexpected combination to extricate me from my difficulties.

Alexander Alekhine

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Alexander Alekhine
Age: 53 †
Born: 1892
Born: October 10
Died: 1946
Died: March 24
Chess Player
Chess Theoretician
Jurist
Translator
Writer
Moscow
Russian SFSR
Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine
Work
Delusion
Long
Unexpected
Always
Nearly
Combination
Difficulty
Extricate
Position
Conjure
Dangerous
Eradicate
Hard
Difficulties

More quotes by Alexander Alekhine

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Psychology is the most important factor in chess.
Alexander Alekhine
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Young players expose themselves to grave risks when they blindly imitate the innovations of masters without themselves first checking all the details and consequences of these innovations.
Alexander Alekhine
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That which Steinitz gave to the theoretical aspect of the game when he was at his best is very remote to all out home-bred chess philosophers, but with his views on Morphy, whom he tries to discredit completely, it is of course impossible to agree.
Alexander Alekhine
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The purpose of human life and the sense of happiness is to give the maximum what the man is able to give.
Alexander Alekhine
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Never before and never since have I seen - and I cannot even imagine, such an amazing rapidity of chess thinking that Capablanca possessed in 1913-14. In blitz games he gave all the St. Petersburg players odds of five minutes to one - and he won.
Alexander Alekhine
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I believe that true beauty of chess is more than enough to satisfy all possible demands.
Alexander Alekhine
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I did not believe I was superior to him. Perhaps the chief reason for his defeat was the overestimation of his own powers arising out of his overwhelming victory in New York, 1927, and his underestimation of mine.
Alexander Alekhine
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You can become a big master in chess only if you see your mistakes and short-comings. Exactly the same as in life itself.
Alexander Alekhine
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The fact that a player is very short of time is to my mind, as little to be considered as an excuse as, for instance, the statement of the law-breaker that he was drunk at the time he committed the crime.
Alexander Alekhine
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For my victory over Capablanca I am indebted primarily to my superiority in the field of psychology. Capablanca played, relying almost exclusively on his rich intuitive talent. But for the chess struggle nowadays one needs a subtle knowledge of human nature, an understanding of the opponent's psychology.
Alexander Alekhine
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During a chess tournament a master must envisage himself as a cross between an ascetic monk and a beast of prey.
Alexander Alekhine
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Capablanca was snatched too early from the chess world. With his death we have lost a great chess genius, the like of whom we will never see again.
Alexander Alekhine
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In my opinion, a master is morally obliged to seize every sort of opportunity and to try to solve the problems of the position without fear of some simplifications.
Alexander Alekhine
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When asked, -How is that you pick better moves than your opponents?, I responded: I'm very glad you asked me that, because, as it happens, there is a very simple answer. I think up my own moves, and I make my opponent think up his
Alexander Alekhine
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Chess is not only knowledge and logic
Alexander Alekhine
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Oh! this opponent, this collaborator against his will, whose notion of Beauty always differs from yours and whose means (strength, imagination, technique) are often too limited to help you effectively! What torment, to have your thinking and your phantasy tied down by another person!
Alexander Alekhine
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The infallible criterion by which to distinguish the true from the would-be strategist is the degree of originality of his conceptions. It makes little difference whether this originality is carried to excess, as was the case with Steinitz and Nimzowitsch.
Alexander Alekhine
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During a Chess competition a Chessmaster should be a combination of a beast of prey and a monk
Alexander Alekhine
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Playing for complications is an extreme measure that a player should adopt only when he cannot find a clear and logical plan.
Alexander Alekhine
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Chess for me is not a game, but an art. Yes, and I take upon myself all those responsibilities which an art imposes on its adherents.
Alexander Alekhine