During a Chess competition a Chessmaster should be a combination of a beast of prey and a monk
Alexander AlekhineRead
I consider chess an art, and accept all those responsibilities which art places upon its devotees.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Chess is not just a game, but a form of artistic expression that carries significant responsibilities for its players.
In this quote, Alexander Alekhine expresses his view of chess as more than a mere competitive activity; he sees it as an art form that requires dedication and a deep sense of responsibility from those who practice it. By likening chess to art, Alekhine emphasizes the creativity, strategy, and emotional investment involved in the game, highlighting the honor and seriousness required from players to truly appreciate and excel in this discipline.
Themes
ChessArtResponsibilityStrategyDevotion
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of creativity in various fields, I shared Alekhine's perspective on chess as an art form.
More from Alexander Alekhine
All quotes βI do not play chess β 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.
Alexander AlekhineRead
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.
Alexander AlekhineRead
You can become a big master in chess only if you see your mistakes and short-comings. Exactly the same as in life itself.
Alexander AlekhineRead
For my victory over Capablanca I am indebted primarily to my superiority in the field of psychology. Capablanca played, relying almost exclusively on his rich intuitive talent. But for the chess struggle nowadays one needs a subtle knowledge of human nature, an understanding of the opponent's psychology.
Alexander AlekhineRead
During a chess tournament a master must envisage himself as a cross between an ascetic monk and a beast of prey.
Alexander AlekhineRead
Similar quotes
I think what we like about music - and what we like about art in general....is that enterprise that stops our minds from spinning. Because we're always all over the place. A good song, a good lyric is a movie: it will just focus and calm and confer significance on this completely bewildering reality that all of us live in.
Leonard CohenRead
Tell the story as if it were only of interest to the small circle of your characters, of which you may be one. There is no other way to put life into the story.
Horacio QuirogaRead
There's racist casting, and there is normal casting. Normal casting, to me, is a process that strives for representation and, in many cases, strives to simply portray the world as it actually is instead of as falsely non-inclusive. And sadly, sometimes that involves removing the whitewash that exists on history.
Shonda RhimesRead
In every man there is a hidden child which is called the urge to create and he prefers as play things and serious things not the miniature ships, recreated in the minutest detail, but the walnutshell with a bird feather as mast and sail and a pebble as the captain. He also wants to be able to participate and to co-create in art, rather than being simply an admiring viewer. For this "child in man" is the immortal creator within him.
Christian MorgensternRead
Writing has certainly helped me explore about 20,000 versions of my authentic self. I suppose that's what most writers discover if they write long enough: there are a lot of selves roaming around in there.
Gillian FlynnRead
The odd thing about being a writer is you do tend to lose yourself in your books. Sometimes it seems like real life is flickering by and you're hardly a part of it. You remember the events in your books better than you remember the events that actually took place when you were writing them.
George R. R. MartinRead