Crossword Genius

Article on splendid match causes political and diplomatic confrontation (3,5,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

the great game

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'article' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I can't tell whether this works.

'splendid match causes political and diplomatic confrontation' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'splendid' could be 'great' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'great' is found in the answer.
'match' could be 'game' (I've seen this before) and 'game' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'the' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'on' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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