What is chess? "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." "Chess is on a level with the other arts".   What is the moral function of chess? "Chess first of all teaches you to be objective." (1924)   What is the most valuable item in chess? "The beauty of true." (1924)   About happiness "The purpose of human life and the sense of happiness is to give the maximum what the man is able to give." (1924)   ***   "I cannot conceive why there is such an ardent desire to discover in a game of chess anything more subtle than it has to offer, for I am of opinion that the real beauty which it possesses should be more than sufficient for all possible demands." (1924)   "Combination is a soul of chess."   "Chess is not only knowledge and logic." (About inspiration in chess, 1938)   "Oh! this opponent, this collaborator against your will, whose notion of beauty always differs from yours and whose means (strength, imagination, technique) are often too limited for active assistance to your intentions!" (1929, from the foreword for book of Lazar, famous chess studies author).   About his quick victories over strong opponents: "I force them to think on every move independently." (1930s)   About his brilliant results in 1942-1943 (when Alekhine was 50 years old): "I think that for the highest achievements nowadays ... need to have the stable as a rock scientific base. And also need to own modesty." (1943)   "There are 3 necessary factors to get success: 1. The understanding of own strength and weakness. 2. The accurate understanding of opponent's strength and weakness. 3. The more high aim than the current satisfaction. I see this aim in the scientific and artificial achievements which put chess game into the row of other arts." (1929, about distinctions between him and Efim Bogoljubov).   About the "Zeitnot" Illness: "The fact that a player is very short of time is, to my mind, as little to be considered  an excuse as, for instance, the statement of the law-breaker that he was drunk at the time he committed the crime."   "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. To play for complications is a violent measure on which a player must resolve only if there is no clear and logical plan." (1928)   "Correspondence chess and over-the-board chess compliment each other."   "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."   "I study chess eight hours a day, on principle."   About Chess Rivals   Emanuel Lasker "I consider it almost impossible to criticize Lasker - so great is my admiration for him as a personality, an artist and a chess writer... Lasker should serve as an example to all the chess players of both the present and future generations." (1936)   Jose Raul Capablanca "With his death, we have lost a very great chess genius whose like we'll never see again." (1942)   "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." (1942)   "Capablanca's planning of the game is so full of that freshness of his genius for position play, that every hypermodern player can only envy him." (1924)   Max Euwe "...he is a tactician, who decided to become a good strategist at any cost." (1937, the words after some compliments to chess talent of dr. Euwe)   Mikhail Botvinnik "His achievement in Nottingham confirm that he is the most probable candidate for the World Championship... Besides the great talent he possesses all the sporting qualities that are of the decisive importance for the success - fearlessness, self-control, precise feeling for the position estimation and, at last, youth.   In comparison with the strong and proper playing of the Soviet Champion the other young grandmasters produce considerably weaker impression. Fine, Reshevsky are, without doubt, exceptional technicians, especially if you take into account their age. However, I have a feeling (I may be called old-fashioned for it) there is too much of business in their playing and not enough art." (1936)   Efim Bogoljubov "...he never try to study his opponent. He often hopes for a miracle in situations where precise knowledge is needed." (1929)