Oh there ain't no machine like the Soviet machine.
No knowledge so dense and no cunning so keen.
No human or robot, no person or being
Can plan out so far with their foresight so seeing.
And over the radio they've been waiting, lately
Orderly, calm, thinking forward, and stately.
All for a knight that would forward spring
All for that small of a jump of a thing.
Now they can show off this skill, playing their own
But playing others, their depth really is shown.
Reshevsky played Smyslov, decades in the past
In a match that showed how their knowledge was vast.
For forty-five minutes, the airwaves were still
Reshevky tried to muster up all his skill
And then came the leap and the question, "Perhaps
You'd say how much of your time you'd let elapse?"
And Smyslov sat there and tried hard not to laugh.
In all, Reshevsky took an hour and a half
To get to that point, just twenty-two moves in.
Smyslov used one minute. (He went on to win.)
The Soviets had studied the line, it turned out
Why, such openings had been written about
In a magazine (June '45 edition).
So Smyslov forged through to a winning condition.
Perhaps if Reshevsky's team had had foresight
They might have found out and been able to cite
Boleslavsky, Cortlever and Euwe; instead
He had to stop nineteen moves later, face red.
And now with the world tuning in even more
I'm sure that the seconds will draw on their lore
Of opening lines their man can memorize.
That's what they must be doing, since they're so wise.