Alexander Alekhine

"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 moment he committed the crime."

"I study chess eight hours a day, on principle."

"Chess first of all teaches you to be objective."

"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."

"During a chess competition a chess master should be a combination of a beast of prey and a monk."

"It was impossible to win against Capablanca; against Alekhine it was impossible to play."

"Capablanca was the greatest talent, but Alekhine was the greatest in his achievements."

"In playing through an Alekhine game one suddenly meets a move which simply takes one's breath away."

"Alekhine's attacks came suddenly, like destructive thunderstorms that erupted from a clear sky."

"I can comprehend Alekhine's combinations well enough; but where he gets his attacking chances from and how he infuses such life into the very opening - that is beyond me."

"Alekhine is a poet who creates a work of art out of something that would hardly inspire another man to send home a picture post card."

"Fortune favors the bold, especially when they are Alekhine."