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.

The essence of Capablanca's greatness is his rare talent for avoiding all that can complicate or confuse the conflict.

Strategy requires thought, tactics require observation

Poor Capablanca! Thou wert a brilliant technician, but no philosopher. Thou wert not capable of believing that in chess, another style could be victorious than the absolutely correct one.

Chess is a sport. The main object in the game of chess remains the achievement of victory.

Capablanca did not apply himself to opening theory (in which he never therefore achieved much), but delved deeply into the study of end-games and other simple positions which respond to technique rather than to imagination.

The 'chess machine', by which admiring title he had been known, revealed the great drawback of a machine: it had not sufficient flexibility to adapt itself to altered circumstances.