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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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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
True
Strategy
Distinguish
Littles
Degrees
Criteria
Little
Case
Originality
Difference
Excess
Would
Cases
Carried
Criterion
Differences
Conception
Strategist
Whether
Chess
Conceptions
Makes
Degree
Infallible

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I consider chess an art, and accept all those responsibilities which art places upon its devotees.
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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.
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Chess, like other arts, must be practiced to be appreciated.
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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.
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Play on both sides of the board is my favourite strategy.
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Deux fous gagnent toujours, mais trois fous, non!
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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!
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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.
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Combination is a soul of chess.
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I do not play chess – I fight at chess. Therefore, I willingly combine the tactical with the strategic, the fantastic with the scientific, the combinative with the positional, and I aim to respond to the demands of each given position.
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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.
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Chess first of all teaches you to be objective.
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As a rule, so-called positional sacrifices are considered more difficult, and therefore more praise-worthy, than those which are based exclusively on an exact calculation of tactical possibilities.
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A lifetime in not enough to learn everything about chess.
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During a Chess competition a Chessmaster should be a combination of a beast of prey and a monk
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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.
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I believe that true beauty of chess is more than enough to satisfy all possible demands.
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The retreat of a minor piece to the back rank, where it cuts the lines of communication between the rooks, is permissable only in exceptional cases.
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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.
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Psychology is the most important factor in chess.
Alexander Alekhine