Alekhine on Chess: Selected Quotes
Alexander Alekhine was not only a great chess player but a thoughtful writer about the game. His annotations, essays, and interviews contain some of the most penetrating observations on chess ever recorded. Below is a selection of his most quoted and characteristic remarks.
On the Nature of Chess
"Chess is not only knowledge and logic." — Alexander Alekhine
"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
"My way of playing is based on imagination and creativity. The chessboard should be a stage for the highest art, not a battlefield for mere technique." — Alexander Alekhine (attributed)
On Opponents and Competition
"To win against me, you must beat me three times: in the opening, the middlegame, and the endgame." — Alexander Alekhine (attributed)
"Capablanca's technique was perfect. But perfection is not enough for chess at the highest level. One must also be willing to take risks." — Alexander Alekhine (attributed)
On His Own Chess
"I study chess eight hours a day, on principle." — Alexander Alekhine
"The combination is always there, but the player has to be in condition to find it." — Alexander Alekhine
On Specific Openings and Positions
"I have never in my life played the French Defense, which is the dullest of all openings." — Alexander Alekhine
"The King's Indian Defense is one of the most complicated of all openings, and anyone who tries to play it without a thorough theoretical knowledge will quickly find himself in difficulties." — Alexander Alekhine
On World Championship Play
"In my whole career I have never been as fully prepared for a match as I was for Buenos Aires." — Alexander Alekhine, on the 1927 match against Capablanca
Observations on Chess in General
"To play chess, you need only to know the rules. To play well, you need experience. To play brilliantly, you need something more — a feeling for beauty." — Alexander Alekhine (attributed)
Many quotes attributed to Alekhine circulate without clear original sources. The man gave many interviews throughout his career in multiple languages, and not all attributed remarks can be traced to a specific documented occasion. The selections above represent those most widely cited and considered most characteristic of his expressed views.