Exactly the same (apart from the Irishness, of course) could have been said of the strongest player of Alexander's era, the Soviet Mikhail Botvinnik. Yet even the mighty Botvinnik fell victim to Alexander's phenomenal powers of calculation. In the 1946 Anglo-Soviet match, they tied — and Alexander's victory showed to the full his extraordinary courage and self-confidence, challenging the apparently omniscient Soviet champion in his favourite and most complex opening line and refuting Botvinnik's latest idea over the board. Here is that great Cold-War battle, Alexander playing White.

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Qg4 cxd4 8.Qxg7 Rg8 9,Qxh7 Qa5 10.Rb1! Qxc3+ 11.Bd2 Qc7 12.f4 Nbc6 13.Nf3 Bd7 14.Ng5 Rxg5 15.fxg5 0-0-0 16.Qxf7 Qxe5+ 17.Kd1 Nf5 18.g6 Ne3+ 19.Kc1 Qe4 20.Bd3 Qxg2 21.Re1 Ne5 22.Qf4! Nf3 23.Re2 Qh3 24.Bxe3 e5 25.Qf7 dxe3 26.g7 Qg4 27.h3 Qg1+ 28.Kb2 Qg3 29.Bg6 Nd4 30.g8=Q Rxg8 31.Qxg8+Kc7 32.Qh7 Kd6 33.Bd3 e4 34.Qh6+ Kc7 35.Rxe3 Qe5 36.Ka2 Nf5 37.Qg5 Be6 38.Be2 d4+ 39.Reb3 b6 40.Qd2 d3 41.Bg4...
And the time scramble over, Botvinnik resigned.

When Alexander died, Botvinnik described him as "a great chess player — he will never be forgotten". It is sad that he appears to have been proved wrong.