105-510: Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine (October 31 [ O.S. October 19] 1892 – March 24, 1946) was a Russian and French chess player and the fourth World Chess Champion , a title he held for two reigns. By the age of 22, Alekhine was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played. In 1921, Alekhine left Soviet Russia and emigrated to France, which he represented after 1925. In 1927, he became
210-544: A time control , there are other ways a draw can occur. In chess games played at the top level, a draw is the most common outcome of a game: of around 22,000 games published in The Week in Chess played between 1999 and 2002 by players with a FIDE Elo rating of 2500 or above, 55 percent were draws. According to chess analyst Jeff Sonas , although an upward draw rate trend can be observed in general master-level play since
315-1080: A Swiss journalist and Comintern delegate, Annelise Rüegg , who was thirteen years older than he was, and they married on March 15, 1921. Shortly after, Alekhine was given permission to leave Russia for a visit to the West with his wife. He never returned. In June 1921, he left his second wife in Paris and went to Berlin. In 1921–1923, Alekhine played seven mini-matches. In 1921, he won against Nikolay Grigoriev (+2−0=5) in Moscow, drew with Richard Teichmann (+2−2=2) and won against Friedrich Sämisch (+2−0=0), both in Berlin. In 1922, he won against Ossip Bernstein (+1−0=1) and Arnold Aurbach (+1−0=1), both in Paris, and Manuel Golmayo (+1−0=1) in Madrid . In 1923, he won against André Muffang (+2−0=0) in Paris. From 1921 to 1927, Alekhine won or shared first prize in about two-thirds of
420-642: A calendar change, respectively. Usually, they refer to the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries between 1582 and 1923. In England , Wales , Ireland and Britain's American colonies , there were two calendar changes, both in 1752. The first adjusted the start of a new year from 25 March ( Lady Day , the Feast of the Annunciation ) to 1 January,
525-543: A case for the manipulation of the crime scene and the autopsy by the Portuguese secret police PIDE . He believes that Alekhine was murdered outside his hotel room, probably by Soviet agents. Alekhine's burial was sponsored by FIDE , and the remains were transferred to the Cimetière du Montparnasse , Paris, France, in 1956. His gravestone suffered heavy damage by a cyclone on 26 December 1999 . The headstone monument
630-544: A change which Scotland had made in 1600. The second discarded the Julian calendar in favour of the Gregorian calendar, skipping 11 days in the month of September to do so. To accommodate the two calendar changes, writers used dual dating to identify a given day by giving its date according to both styles of dating. For countries such as Russia where no start-of-year adjustment took place, O.S. and N.S. simply indicate
735-459: A letter dated "12/22 Dec. 1635". In his biography of John Dee , The Queen's Conjurer , Benjamin Woolley surmises that because Dee fought unsuccessfully for England to embrace the 1583/84 date set for the change, "England remained outside the Gregorian system for a further 170 years, communications during that period customarily carrying two dates". In contrast, Thomas Jefferson , who lived while
840-404: A match for the world championship. They agreed on a prize fund of US$ 10,000 with two-thirds going to the winner, and that if the match were to take place in Moscow, Alekhine would be invited at least three months in advance so that he could play in a tournament to get ready for the match. Other details had not been agreed when World War II interrupted negotiations, which the two players resumed after
945-971: A mini-match (+2−2) with Bogoljubov in Warsaw (March 1943), he won in Prague (April 1943) and tied for first with Keres in Salzburg (June 1943). By late 1943, Alekhine was spending all his time in Spain and Portugal, as the German representative to chess events. This also allowed him to get away from the onrushing Soviet invasion into eastern Europe. In 1944, he narrowly won a match against Ramón Rey Ardid in Zaragoza (+1−0=3; April 1944) and won in Gijón (July 1944). The following year, he won at Madrid (March 1945), tied for second place with Antonio Medina at Gijón (July 1945;
1050-453: A point, which is similar to how repetitions are sometimes forbidden in xiangqi , shogi , and Go . (Lasker's original proposal was only for stalemate and bare king; it was supported by Richard Réti and considered not harmful – though unnecessary – by Max Euwe . Capablanca thought that doing this for stalemate would be enough.) Engine tests by Kaufman using Komodo suggest that at over-the-board human World Championship level, this would lower
1155-400: A position is considered to be a draw if best play leads to a draw – the difficulty of the defence is not taken into account. Soltis calls these positions "drawable". For instance, under that criterion the rook and bishop versus rook endgame is usually a theoretical draw or book draw, but the side with the bishop often wins in practice. In this position from an actual game, the only move to draw
SECTION 10
#17327838624831260-474: A rematch against Capablanca, Alekhine played two world title matches with Efim Bogoljubov , in 1929 and 1934, winning handily both times. The first was held at Wiesbaden , Heidelberg , Berlin , The Hague , and Amsterdam from September through November 1929. Alekhine retained his title, scoring +11−5=9. From April to June 1934, Alekhine faced Bogoljubov again in a title match held in twelve German cities, defeating him by five games (+8−3=15). In 1929, Bogoljubov
1365-523: A return match with Alekhine, something José Raúl Capablanca had been unable to obtain after Alekhine won the world title in 1927. Alekhine regained the title from Euwe in December 1937 by a large margin (+10−4=11). In this match, held in the Netherlands, Euwe was seconded by Fine, and Alekhine by Erich Eliskases . The match was a real contest initially, but Euwe collapsed near the end, losing four of
1470-562: A series of checks from which the other player cannot escape—as a draw. Any perpetual check situation will eventually be claimable as a draw under the threefold repetition rule or the fifty-move rule; more commonly the players will simply agree a draw. By 1965, perpetual check was no longer in the rules. Although these are the laws as laid down by FIDE and, as such, are used at almost all top-level tournaments, at lower levels different rules may operate, particularly with regard to rapid play finish provisions. In games played with
1575-663: A serious contender for the World Chess Championship . Whether or not the title was formally awarded to him, "Thanks to this performance, Alekhine became a grandmaster in his own right and in the eyes of the audience." In July 1914, Alekhine tied for first with Marshall in Paris. In July–August 1914, Alekhine was leading an international Mannheim tournament , the 19th DSB Congress (German Chess Federation Congress) in Mannheim , Germany, with nine wins, one draw and one loss, when World War I broke out. Alekhine's prize
1680-450: A special ability to provoke complications without taking excessive risks", and Edward Winter called him "the supreme genius of the complicated position." Some of Alekhine's combinations are so complex that even modern champions and contenders disagree in their analyses of them. Nevertheless, Garry Kasparov said that Alekhine's attacking play was based on solid positional foundations, and Harry Golombek went further, saying that "Alekhine
1785-911: A start-of-year adjustment works well with little confusion for events before the introduction of the Gregorian calendar. For example, the Battle of Agincourt is well known to have been fought on 25 October 1415, which is Saint Crispin's Day . However, for the period between the first introduction of the Gregorian calendar on 15 October 1582 and its introduction in Britain on 14 September 1752, there can be considerable confusion between events in Continental Western Europe and in British domains. Events in Continental Western Europe are usually reported in English-language histories by using
1890-630: A world title match in November. Tentative plans—not, however, backed by a deposit of the required purse ($ 10,000 in gold)—led to a virtual agreement to play at Buenos Aires, Argentina, beginning on April 14, 1940. Unlike many participants in the 1939 Chess Olympiad, Alekhine returned to Europe in January 1940. After a short stay in Portugal, he enlisted in the French army as a sanitation officer. After
1995-536: Is 9 February 1649, the date by which his contemporaries in some parts of continental Europe would have recorded his execution. The O.S./N.S. designation is particularly relevant for dates which fall between the start of the "historical year" (1 January) and the legal start date, where different. This was 25 March in England, Wales, Ireland and the colonies until 1752, and until 1600 in Scotland. In Britain, 1 January
2100-441: Is impossible, or if the players agree to a draw . In games played under time control , a draw may result under additional conditions. A stalemate is an automatic draw, as is a draw due to impossibility of checkmate. A draw by threefold repetition or the fifty-move rule may be claimed by one of the players with the arbiter (normally using his score sheet ), and claiming it is optional. The draw by fivefold repetition or
2205-495: Is no longer in effect. The correct procedure for an offer of a draw is to first make a move, verbally offer the draw, then press the clock . The other player may decline the draw offer by making a move, in which case the draw offer is no longer in effect, or else indicate acceptance. The offer of a draw should be recorded by each player in their score sheet using the symbol (=) as per Appendix C.12 of FIDE Laws of Chess . In early tournaments, draws were often replayed until one of
SECTION 20
#17327838624832310-648: Is not enough to win. Thus Kaufman calls this solution "terrible", going against "the very nature of the game": he writes that "The inferior side should be trying to draw, and to penalize Black for obtaining a good result is crazy. It makes chess like a game of ' chicken '; who will 'blink' first and play an unsound move to avoid the mutually bad result of a draw?" Nickel has likewise criticised this idea as "wholly inadequate", creating "an artificial and empty pressure at best", and creating unfairness and incentivising "game manipulations" in team events or double round-robins. Kaufman speaks more favourably of an idea by Ed Epp, which
2415-456: Is the only World Chess Champion to have died while holding the title. Alekhine is known for his fierce and imaginative attacking style, combined with great positional and endgame skill. He is highly regarded as a chess writer and theoretician , having produced innovations in a wide range of chess openings and having given his name to Alekhine's Defence and several other opening variations. He also composed some endgame studies . Alekhine
2520-451: Is to score draws as 0.4–0.6, equalising the expected score for White and Black; but while he writes that he is "all for this idea", he also admits that "the benefit would be small, most games would have the same outcome". Yuri Averbakh gives these combinations for the weaker side to draw: Andy Soltis discusses the vagueness of the terms "draw", "drawish", "drawable", "book draw", "easy draw", and "dead draw". In books and chess theory
2625-477: Is whether or not Alekhine was the author of numerous antisemitic pieces of propaganda published in relevant partisan materials at the time. While an analysis of writing styles is perceived to provide evidence supporting the theory Alekhine willingly worked as a propagandist in a non-coercive fashion, Alekhine himself denied this in written letters. By some accounts, to protect his wife, Grace, and her French assets (a castle at Saint Aubin-le-Cauf, near Dieppe , which
2730-554: The AVRO tournament in the Netherlands. This tournament was played in each of several Dutch cities for a few days at a time; it was therefore perhaps not surprising that rising stars took the first three places, as the older players found the travel very tiring, though Fine was dismissive of this explanation because the distances were short. Immediately after the AVRO tournament, Botvinnik, who had finished in third place, challenged Alekhine to
2835-673: The All-Russian Masters Tournament at St. Petersburg. Afterwards, they drew in a mini-match for first prize (each won a game). Alekhine also played several matches in this period, and his results showed the same pattern: mixed at first but later consistently good. In April–May 1914, another major St. Petersburg 1914 chess tournament was held in the capital of the Russian Empire, in which Alekhine took third place behind Emanuel Lasker and José Raúl Capablanca . By some accounts, Tsar Nicholas II conferred
2940-660: The Bled 1931 chess tournament (+15=11, 5½ points ahead of Bogoljubov). He won most of his other tournaments outright, shared first place in two, and the first tournament in which he placed lower than first was Hastings 1933–34 (shared second place, ½ point behind Salo Flohr ). In 1933, Alekhine also swept an exhibition match against Rafael Cintron in San Juan (+4−0=0), but only managed to draw another match with Ossip Bernstein in Paris (+1−1=2). From 1930 to 1935, Alekhine played first board for France at four Chess Olympiads , winning
3045-700: The Dutch East Indies . In July 1933, he played thirty-two people blindfold simultaneously (a new world record) in Chicago , winning nineteen, drawing nine and losing four games. In 1934 Alekhine married his fourth wife, Grace Freeman (née Wishaar) , sixteen years his senior. She was the American-born widow of a British tea-planter in Ceylon , who retained her British citizenship to the end of her life and remained Alekhine's wife until his death. In
3150-715: The French Chess Federation asked the Ministry of Justice to intervene in Alekhine's favor to have him lead the French team in the first Nation tournament to be held in London in July 1927. Nevertheless, Alekhine had to wait for a new law on naturalization which was published on 10 August 1927. The decree granting him French nationality (among hundreds of other appliers) was signed on 5 November 1927 and published in
3255-641: The Hastings New Year tournament, ahead of Fine and Erich Eliskases ; first place at Nice ( Quadrangular ) in March 1937; third, behind Keres and Fine, at Margate in April 1937; tied for fourth with Keres, behind Flohr, Reshevsky and Vladimirs Petrovs , at Kemeri in June–July 1937; tied for second with Bogoljubow, behind Euwe, at Bad Nauheim ( Quadrangular ) in July 1937. Max Euwe was quick to arrange
Alexander Alekhine - Misplaced Pages Continue
3360-1109: The Munich 1941 chess tournament ( Europaturnier in September, won by Stoltz), shared first with Paul Felix Schmidt at Kraków/Warsaw (the 2nd General Government chess tournament , in October) and won in Madrid (in December). The following year he won in the Salzburg 1942 chess tournament (June 1942) and in Munich (September 1942; the Nazis named this the Europameisterschaft , which means " European Championship "). Later in 1942 he won at Warsaw/Lublin/Kraków (the 3rd GG-ch; October 1942) and tied for first with Klaus Junge in Prague ( Duras Jubileé ; December 1942). In 1943, he drew
3465-812: The Official Gazette of the French Republic on 14–15 November 1927, while Alekhine was playing Capablanca for the World title in Buenos Aires. In October 1926, Alekhine won in Buenos Aires . From December 1926 to January 1927, he beat Max Euwe 5½–4½ in a match. In 1927, he married his third wife, Nadiezda Vasiliev (née Fabritzky), another older woman, the widow of the Russian general V. Vasiliev. In 1927, Alekhine's challenge to Capablanca
3570-609: The Russian Empire and the very beginning of Soviet Russia . For example, in the article "The October (November) Revolution", the Encyclopædia Britannica uses the format of "25 October (7 November, New Style)" to describe the date of the start of the revolution. The Latin equivalents, which are used in many languages, are, on the one hand, stili veteris (genitive) or stilo vetere (ablative), abbreviated st.v. , and meaning "(of/in) old style" ; and, on
3675-604: The Sorbonne Faculty of Law to obtain a PhD . There is no record that he completed his studies there, but he was known as "Dr. Alekhine" in the 1930s. His French citizenship application was postponed because of his frequent travels abroad to play chess and because he was reported once in April 1922, shortly after his arrival in France, as a "bolshevist charged by the Soviets of a special mission in France". Later in 1927,
3780-485: The 1930s. His elder brother Alexei, with whom Alexander Alekhine had a very close relationship, publicly repudiated him and his anti-Soviet utterances shortly afterward, but Alexei may have had little choice about this decision. According to Reuben Fine , Alekhine dominated chess into the mid-1930s. His most famous tournament victories were at the San Remo 1930 chess tournament (+13=2, 3½ points ahead of Nimzowitsch) and
3885-415: The 19th century, a practice that the author Karen Bellenir considered to reveal a deep emotional resistance to calendar reform. Draw (chess) In chess , there are a number of ways that a game can end in a draw , neither player winning. Draws are codified by various rules of chess including stalemate (when the player to move is not in check but has no legal move), threefold repetition (when
3990-539: The 4th century , had drifted from reality . The Gregorian calendar reform also dealt with the accumulated difference between these figures, between the years 325 and 1582, by skipping 10 days to set the ecclesiastical date of the equinox to be 21 March, the median date of its occurrence at the time of the First Council of Nicea in 325. Countries that adopted the Gregorian calendar after 1699 needed to skip an additional day for each subsequent new century that
4095-583: The Boyne was commemorated with smaller parades on 1 July. However, both events were combined in the late 18th century, and continue to be celebrated as " The Twelfth ". Because of the differences, British writers and their correspondents often employed two dates, a practice called dual dating , more or less automatically. Letters concerning diplomacy and international trade thus sometimes bore both Julian and Gregorian dates to prevent confusion. For example, Sir William Boswell wrote to Sir John Coke from The Hague
4200-462: The British Isles and colonies converted to the Gregorian calendar, instructed that his tombstone bear his date of birth by using the Julian calendar (notated O.S. for Old Style) and his date of death by using the Gregorian calendar. At Jefferson's birth, the difference was eleven days between the Julian and Gregorian calendars and so his birthday of 2 April in the Julian calendar is 13 April in
4305-410: The British colonies, changed the start of the year from 25 March to 1 January, with effect from "the day after 31 December 1751". (Scotland had already made this aspect of the changes, on 1 January 1600.) The second (in effect ) adopted the Gregorian calendar in place of the Julian calendar. Thus "New Style" can refer to the start-of-year adjustment , to the adoption of the Gregorian calendar , or to
Alexander Alekhine - Misplaced Pages Continue
4410-563: The Gregorian calendar. For example, the Battle of Blenheim is always given as 13 August 1704. However, confusion occurs when an event involves both. For example, William III of England arrived at Brixham in England on 5 November (Julian calendar), after he had set sail from the Netherlands on 11 November (Gregorian calendar) 1688. The Battle of the Boyne in Ireland took place a few months later on 1 July 1690 (Julian calendar). That maps to 11 July (Gregorian calendar), conveniently close to
4515-466: The Gregorian calendar. Similarly, George Washington is now officially reported as having been born on 22 February 1732, rather than on 11 February 1731/32 (Julian calendar). The philosopher Jeremy Bentham , born on 4 February 1747/8 (Julian calendar), in later life celebrated his birthday on 15 February. There is some evidence that the calendar change was not easily accepted. Many British people continued to celebrate their holidays "Old Style" well into
4620-430: The Julian and Gregorian dating systems respectively. The need to correct the calendar arose from the realisation that the correct figure for the number of days in a year is not 365.25 (365 days 6 hours) as assumed by the Julian calendar but slightly less (c. 365.242 days). The Julian calendar therefore has too many leap years . The consequence was that the basis for the calculation of the date of Easter , as decided in
4725-581: The Julian calendar had added since then. When the British Empire did so in 1752, the gap had grown to eleven days; when Russia did so (as its civil calendar ) in 1918, thirteen days needed to be skipped. In the Kingdom of Great Britain and its possessions, the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750 introduced two concurrent changes to the calendar. The first, which applied to England, Wales, Ireland and
4830-517: The Julian date of the subsequent (and more decisive) Battle of Aughrim on 12 July 1691 (Julian). The latter battle was commemorated annually throughout the 18th century on 12 July, following the usual historical convention of commemorating events of that period within Great Britain and Ireland by mapping the Julian date directly onto the modern Gregorian calendar date (as happens, for example, with Guy Fawkes Night on 5 November). The Battle of
4935-641: The Nazis looted), he agreed to cooperate with the Nazis. Alekhine took part in chess tournaments in Munich , Salzburg , Kraków / Warsaw , and Prague , organised by Ehrhardt Post , the chief executive of the Nazi-controlled Grossdeutscher Schachbund ("Greater Germany Chess Federation")—Keres, Bogoljubov, Gösta Stoltz , and several other strong masters in Nazi-occupied Europe also played in such events. In 1941, he tied for second-third with Erik Lundin in
5040-661: The Odessa Cheka . Rumors appeared in the West that he had been killed by the Bolsheviks . When conditions in Russia became more settled, Alekhine proved he was among Russia's strongest players. In January 1920, he swept the championship of Moscow (11/11), but was not declared champion because he was not a resident of the city. In October 1920 he won the All-Russian Chess Olympiad in Moscow (+9−0=6);
5145-658: The Union of Cities (Red Cross) on the Austrian front. In September, he played five people in a blindfold display at a Russian military hospital at Tarnopol . In 1918, he won a "triangular tournament" in Moscow. In June of the following year, after the Russians forced the German army to retreat from Ukraine , Alekhine was charged with links with White movement counter-intelligence and was briefly imprisoned in Odessa 's death cell by
5250-600: The World Championship finals and the Candidates' sections between 2010 and 2013, 82.3% ended in a draw. Since that time, draw rate in top-level correspondence play has been rising steadily, reaching 97% in 2019. Engine tests strongly suggest that the result of a perfectly played game is a draw, and that the draw margin is quite large: White cannot force a win without Black making significant mistakes. The high draw rate has often led to fears of "draw death", as
5355-440: The beginning of the 20th century, it is currently "holding pretty steady around 50%, and is only increasing at a very slow rate". The draw rate of elite grandmasters, rated more than 2750 Elo, is, however, significantly higher, surpassing 70% in 2017 and 2018. In top-level correspondence chess under ICCF , where computer assistance is allowed, the draw rate is much higher than in the over-the-board chess: of 1512 games played in
SECTION 50
#17327838624835460-585: The challenge for October 1935. Earlier that year, Dutch radio sports journalist Han Hollander asked Capablanca for his views on the forthcoming match. In the rare archival film footage, in which Capablanca and Euwe both speak, Capablanca replies: "Dr. Alekhine's game is 20% bluff. Dr. Euwe's game is clear and straightforward. Dr. Euwe's game—not so strong as Alekhine's in some respects—is more evenly balanced." Then Euwe gives his assessment in Dutch, explaining that his feelings alternated from optimism to pessimism, but in
5565-677: The club's Spring Tournament, at the age of 15. In 1909, he won the All-Russian Amateur Tournament in Saint Petersburg . For the next few years, he played in increasingly stronger tournaments, some of them outside Russia. At first he had mixed results, but by the age of 16 he had established himself as one of Russia's top players. He played first board in two friendly team matches: St. Petersburg Chess Club vs. Moscow Chess Club in 1911 and Moscow vs. St. Petersburg in 1912 (both drew with Yevgeny Znosko-Borovsky ). By
5670-431: The combination of the two. It was through their use in the Calendar Act that the notations "Old Style" and "New Style" came into common usage. When recording British history, it is usual to quote the date as originally recorded at the time of the event, but with the year number adjusted to start on 1 January. The latter adjustment may be needed because the start of the civil calendar year had not always been 1 January and
5775-477: The defending champion even if he was defeated. Negotiations dragged on for several years, often breaking down when agreement seemed in sight. Their relationship became bitter, and Alekhine demanded much higher appearance fees for tournaments in which Capablanca also played. The rematch never took place. After Capablanca's death in 1942, Alekhine wrote that Capablanca's demand for a $ 10,000 stake had been an attempt to avoid challenges. Although he never agreed terms for
5880-479: The defending champion would receive over half even if defeated. Alekhine in November 1921, and Rubinstein and Nimzowitsch in 1923, challenged Capablanca but were unable to raise the $ 10,000. Raising the money was Alekhine's preliminary objective; he even went on tour, playing simultaneous exhibitions for modest fees day after day. In New York on April 27, 1924, he broke the world record for simultaneous blindfold play when he played twenty-six opponents (the previous record
5985-406: The development of the chess prodigy Arturo Pomar and devoted a section of his last book ( ¡Legado! 1946) to him. They played at Gijon 1944, when Pomar, aged 12, achieved a creditable draw with the champion. After World War II, Alekhine was not invited to chess tournaments outside the Iberian Peninsula, because of his alleged Nazi affiliation. His original invitation to the London 1946 tournament
6090-448: The draw rate from 65.6% to just 22.6%. Other ideas have also been suggested, such as the "football scoring": 0 for a loss, 1 for a draw, and 3 for a win, which is equivalent to scoring draws as ⅓–⅓ rather than ½–½. This has been criticised, however. Kaufman argues that this solution misses the point: it reduces the incentive to draw, but the reason for the high draw rate is not one of incentives, but rather that White's first-move advantage
6195-493: The early 1930s, around 1933 according to Reuben Fine, it was noticed that Alekhine was drinking increasing amounts of alcohol . Hans Kmoch wrote that Alekhine first drank heavily during the tournament at Bled in 1931, and drank heavily through the 1934 match with Bogoljubov. In 1933, Alekhine challenged Max Euwe to a championship match. Euwe, in the early 1930s, was regarded as one of three credible challengers (the others were José Raúl Capablanca and Salo Flohr ). Euwe accepted
6300-460: The end of 1911, Alekhine moved to St. Petersburg, where he entered the Imperial Law School for Nobles. By 1912, he was the strongest chess player in the St. Petersburg Chess Society. In March 1912, he won the St. Petersburg Chess Club Winter Tournament. In April 1912, he won the 1st Category Tournament of the St. Petersburg Chess Club. In January 1914, Alekhine won his first major Russian tournament, when he tied for first place with Aron Nimzowitsch in
6405-454: The end of August 1939, both Alekhine and Capablanca wrote to Augusto de Muro regarding a possible world championship rematch. Whereas the former spoke of a rematch as a virtual certainty, even stating that the Cuban was remaining in Buenos Aires until it came about, the latter referred at length to the financial burden in the aftermath of the Olympiad. Supported by Latin-American financial pledges, José R. Capablanca challenged Alexander Alekhine to
SECTION 60
#17327838624836510-488: The end of October 1914. A fifth player, Romanovsky, was released in 1915, and a sixth, Flamberg, was allowed to return to Warsaw in 1916. When Alekhine returned to Russia, he helped raise money by giving simultaneous exhibitions to aid the Russian chess players who remained interned in Germany. In December 1915, he won the Moscow Chess Club Championship. In April 1916, he won a mini-match against Alexander Evensohn with two wins and one loss at Kiev , and in summer he served in
6615-432: The end of the following December, 1661/62 , a form of dual dating to indicate that in the following twelve weeks or so, the year was 1661 Old Style but 1662 New Style. Some more modern sources, often more academic ones (e.g. the History of Parliament ) also use the 1661/62 style for the period between 1 January and 24 March for years before the introduction of the New Style calendar in England. The Gregorian calendar
6720-566: The entire chess world, since he had never previously won a single game from Capablanca. After Capablanca's death Alekhine expressed surprise at his own victory, since in 1927 he did not think he was superior to Capablanca, and he suggested that Capablanca had been overconfident. Capablanca entered the match with no technical or physical preparation, while Alekhine got himself into good physical condition and had thoroughly studied Capablanca's play. According to Kasparov, Alekhine's research uncovered many small inaccuracies, which occurred because Capablanca
6825-409: The event was won by Antonio Rico ), won at Sabadell (August 1945), he tied for first with F. López Núñez in Almeria (August 1945), won in Melilla (September 1945) and took second in Caceres , behind Francisco Lupi (Autumn 1945). Alekhine's last match was with Lupi at Estoril near Lisbon , Portugal, in January 1946. Alekhine won two games, lost one, and drew one. Alekhine took an interest in
6930-457: The fall of France (June 1940), he fled to Marseille . Alekhine tried to go to America by traveling to Lisbon and applying for an American visa. In October 1940, he sought permission to enter Cuba, promising to play a match with Capablanca. This request was denied. Chess historians have had a significant interest in Alekhine's affiliation with Nazi Germany . Of ongoing speculation among historians specialising in mid-20th century European chess
7035-496: The first brilliancy prize at Hamburg in 1930, gold medals for board one at Prague in 1931 and Folkestone in 1933, and the silver medal for board one at Warsaw in 1935. His loss to Latvian master Hermanis Matisons at Prague in 1931 was his first loss in a serious chess event since winning the world championship. In the early 1930s, Alekhine travelled the world giving simultaneous exhibitions , including Hawaii , Tokyo , Manila , Singapore , Shanghai , Hong Kong , and
7140-577: The fourth World Chess Champion by defeating José Raúl Capablanca . In the early 1930s, Alekhine dominated tournament play and won two top-class tournaments by large margins. He also played first board for France in five Chess Olympiads , winning individual prizes in each (four medals and a brilliancy prize). Alekhine offered Capablanca a rematch on the same demanding terms that Capablanca had set for him, and negotiations dragged on for years without making much progress. Meanwhile, Alekhine defended his title with ease against Efim Bogoljubov in 1929 and 1934. He
7245-597: The last five games. Fine attributed the collapse to nervous tension, possibly aggravated by Euwe's attempts to maintain a calm appearance. Alekhine played no more title matches, and thus held the title until his death. 1938 began well for Alekhine, who won the Montevideo 1938 chess tournament at Carrasco (in March) and at Margate (in April), and tied for first with Sir George Alan Thomas at Plymouth (in September). In November, however, he only tied for 4th–6th with Euwe and Samuel Reshevsky, behind Paul Keres, Reuben Fine, and Mikhail Botvinnik, ahead of Capablanca and Flohr, at
7350-488: The many tournaments in which he played. His least successful efforts were a tie for third place at Vienna 1922 behind Akiba Rubinstein and Richard Réti , and third place at the New York 1924 chess tournament , behind ex-champion Emanuel Lasker and world champion José Raúl Capablanca (but ahead of Frank Marshall , Richard Réti , Géza Maróczy , Efim Bogoljubov , Savielly Tartakower , Frederick Yates , Edward Lasker , and Dawid Janowski ). Technically, Alekhine's play
7455-797: The match for their own benefit and concluded that Euwe deserved to win and that the standard of play was worthy of a world championship. According to Kmoch, Alekhine abstained from alcohol altogether for five years after the 1935 match. In the eighteen months after losing the title, Alekhine played in ten tournaments, with uneven results: tied for first with Paul Keres at Bad Nauheim in May 1936; first place at Dresden in June 1936; second to Flohr at Poděbrady in July 1936; sixth, behind Capablanca, Mikhail Botvinnik , Reuben Fine, Samuel Reshevsky , and Euwe at Nottingham in August 1936; third, behind Euwe and Fine, at Amsterdam in October 1936; tied for first with Salo Landau at Amsterdam ( Quadrangular ), also in October 1936; in 1936/37 he won at
7560-531: The negotiations, on the grounds that he had collaborated with the Germans during their occupation of Estonia (by Soviet standards). Alekhine was representing France at first board in the 8th Chess Olympiad at Buenos Aires 1939 when World War II broke out in Europe. The assembly of all team captains, with leading roles played by Alekhine (France), Savielly Tartakower (Poland), and Albert Becker (Germany), plus
7665-448: The opponent. Unless specific tournament rules forbid it, players may agree to a draw at any time. Ethical considerations may make a draw uncustomary in situations where at least one player has a reasonable chance of winning. For example, a draw could be called after a move or two, but this would likely be thought unsporting. In the 19th century, some tournaments, notably London 1883 , required that drawn games be replayed; however, this
7770-418: The original authors of Komodo ) and correspondence chess grandmaster Arno Nickel have suggested an extension of Lasker's proposal, which would score stalemate, king and minor piece versus king with the superior side to move (similar to the old bare king rule), and threefold repetition as ¾–¼ rather than draws – for threefold repetition, this means penalising the player who brought about a repetition with ¼ of
7875-403: The other, stili novi or stilo novo , abbreviated st.n. and meaning "(of/in) new style". The Latin abbreviations may be capitalised differently by different users, e.g., St.n. or St.N. for stili novi . There are equivalents for these terms in other languages as well, such as the German a.St. (" alter Stil " for O.S.). Usually, the mapping of New Style dates onto Old Style dates with
7980-426: The players won; however, this was found to be impractical and caused organizational difficulties. The 1867 Paris tournament even ignored draws altogether, effectively treating them as double losses. The 1867 Dundee tournament initiated the awarding of a half point for draws, which is now standard practice. A minority of tournaments use a different scoring scheme, such as "football scoring" where 3 points are awarded to
8085-600: The president of the Argentine Chess Federation, Augusto de Muro , decided to go on with the Olympiad. Alekhine won the individual silver medal (nine wins, no losses, seven draws), behind Capablanca (only results from finals A and B—separately for both sections—counted for best individual scores). Shortly after the Olympiad, Alekhine swept tournaments in Montevideo (7/7) and Caracas (10/10). At
8190-531: The previous ten years, their score had been evenly matched at 7–7. On October 3, 1935, the world championship match began in Zandvoort , the Netherlands. Although Alekhine took an early lead, from game thirteen onwards Euwe won twice as many games as Alekhine. The challenger became the new champion on December 16, 1935, with nine wins, thirteen draws, and eight losses. This was the first world championship match in which seconds were officially employed: Alekhine had
8295-406: The same position occurs three times with the same player to move), and the fifty-move rule (when the last fifty successive moves made by both players contain no capture or pawn move). Under the standard FIDE rules, a draw also occurs in a dead position (when no sequence of legal moves can lead to checkmate), most commonly when neither player has sufficient material to checkmate
8400-483: The same positions." Dr. Max Euwe said, "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." An explanation offered by Réti was, "he beats his opponents by analysing simple and apparently harmless sequences of moves in order to see whether at some time or another at the end of it an original possibility, and therefore one difficult to see, might be hidden." John Nunn commented that "Alekhine had
8505-507: The services of Salo Landau , and Euwe had Géza Maróczy . Euwe's win was a major upset. Kmoch wrote that Alekhine drank no alcohol for the first half of the match, but later took a glass before most games. However, Salo Flohr, who also assisted Euwe, thought overconfidence caused more problems than alcohol did for Alekhine in this match, and Alekhine himself had previously said he would win easily. Later World Champions Vasily Smyslov , Boris Spassky , Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov analyzed
8610-408: The seventy-five-move rule is mandatory by the arbiter. A claim of a draw first counts as an offer of a draw, and the opponent may accept the draw without the arbiter examining the claim. Once a claim or draw offer has been made, it cannot be withdrawn. If the claim is verified or the draw offer accepted, the game is over. Otherwise, the offer or claim is nullified and the game continues; the draw offer
8715-497: The title of " Grandmaster of Chess " on each of the five finalists (Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, Siegbert Tarrasch , and Frank Marshall ). (Chess historian Edward Winter has questioned this, stating that the earliest known sources supporting this story are an article by Robert Lewis Taylor in the June 15, 1940, issue of The New Yorker and Marshall's autobiography My 50 Years of Chess (1942).) Alekhine's surprising success made him
8820-496: The top players draw an ever-increasing percentage of their games and the game becomes played out: such sentiments have been expressed by World Champions Emanuel Lasker , José Raúl Capablanca , Bobby Fischer , and Vladimir Kramnik . All four advocated changing the rules of chess to avoid the problem, and with the advent of modern chess engines playing at an extremely high level, their ideas have been tested. Based on tests in correspondence and engine play, GM Larry Kaufman (one of
8925-554: The tournament was retroactively called the first USSR Championship . His brother Alexei took third place in the tournament for amateurs. In March 1920, Alekhine married Alexandra Batayeva. They divorced the next year. For a short time in 1920–21, he worked as an interpreter for the Communist International ( Comintern ) and was appointed secretary to the Education Department. In this capacity, he met
9030-563: The war. Keres, who had won the AVRO tournament on tiebreak over Fine, also challenged Alekhine to a world championship match. Negotiations were proceeding in 1939 when they were disrupted by World War II. During the war Keres' home country, Estonia , was invaded first by the USSR , then by Germany, then again by the USSR. At the end of the war, the Soviet government prevented Keres from continuing
9135-461: The winner and 1 point to each in the event of a draw. For the purpose of calculating Elo rating , these tournaments are treated as if they were using standard scoring. Article 5 of the 2018 FIDE Laws of Chess gives the basic ways a game may end in a draw; more complicated ways are detailed in Article 9: There is no longer a rule defining perpetual check —a situation in which one player gives
9240-678: Was 1,100 marks (worth about 11,000 euros in terms of purchasing power today). After the declaration of war against Russia, eleven "Russian" players (Alekhine, Efim Bogoljubov , Fedor Bogatyrchuk , Alexander Flamberg , N. Koppelman , Boris Maliutin , Ilya Rabinovich , Peter Romanovsky , Pyotr Saburov , Alexey Selezniev , and Samuil Weinstein ) were interned in Rastatt, Germany. On September 14, 17, and 29 of 1914, four of them (Alekhine, Bogatyrchuk, Saburov, and Koppelman) were freed and allowed to return home. Alekhine made his way back to Russia (via Switzerland, Italy, London, Sweden, and Finland) by
9345-480: Was altered at different times in different countries. From 1155 to 1752, the civil or legal year in England began on 25 March ( Lady Day ); so for example, the execution of Charles I was recorded at the time in Parliament as happening on 30 January 164 8 (Old Style). In newer English-language texts, this date is usually shown as "30 January 164 9 " (New Style). The corresponding date in the Gregorian calendar
9450-565: Was backed by a group of Argentine businessmen and the president of Argentina, who guaranteed the funds, and organized by the Club Argentino de Ajedrez (Argentine Chess Club) in Buenos Aires . In the World Chess Championship match played from September 16 to November 29, 1927 at Buenos Aires, Alekhine won the title, scoring +6−3=25. This was the longest formal World Championship match until the contest in 1984 between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov . Alekhine's victory surprised almost
9555-430: Was blown over, shattered and fell on the main gravestone. It was later restored. Alekhine's peak period was in the early 1930s, when he won almost every tournament he played, sometimes by huge margins. Afterward, his play declined, and he never won a top-class tournament after 1934. After Alekhine regained his world title in 1937, there were several new contenders, all of whom would have been serious challengers. Alekhine
9660-438: Was born into a wealthy Russian family in Moscow, Russia, on October 31, 1892. His father, Alexander Ivanovich Alekhin, was a landowner and Privy Councilor to the conservative legislative Fourth Duma . His mother, Anisya Ivanovna Alekhina (born Prokhorova), was the daughter of a rich industrialist. Alekhine was introduced to chess by his mother, his older brother Alexei , and his older sister Varvara. Alekhine's first known game
9765-596: Was celebrated as the New Year festival from as early as the 13th century, despite the recorded (civil) year not incrementing until 25 March, but the "year starting 25th March was called the Civil or Legal Year, although the phrase Old Style was more commonly used". To reduce misunderstandings about the date, it was normal even in semi-official documents such as parish registers to place a statutory new-year heading after 24 March (for example "1661") and another heading from
9870-487: Was defeated by Max Euwe in 1935, but regained his crown in the 1937 rematch. His tournament record, however, was uneven, and rising young stars like Paul Keres , Reuben Fine , and Mikhail Botvinnik threatened his title. Negotiations for a title match with Keres or Botvinnik were halted by the outbreak of World War II in Europe in 1939. Negotiations with Botvinnik for a world title match were proceeding in 1946 when Alekhine died in Portugal, in unclear circumstances. Alekhine
9975-480: Was forty years old and perhaps already past his peak. After the world championship match, Alekhine returned to Paris and spoke against Bolshevism . Afterwards, Nikolai Krylenko , president of the Soviet Chess Federation, published an official memorandum stating that Alekhine should be regarded as an enemy of the Soviets. The Soviet Chess Federation broke all contact with Alekhine until the end of
10080-415: Was found to cause organizational problems due to the backlog. It is now standard practice to score a decisive game as one point to the winner, and a draw as a half point to each player. The rules allow for several types of draws: stalemate , threefold or fivefold repetition of a position, if there has been no capture or a pawn being moved in the last fifty or seventy-five moves, if checkmate
10185-504: Was from a correspondence chess tournament that began on December 3, 1902, when he was ten years old. He participated in several correspondence tournaments, sponsored by the chess magazine Shakhmatnoe Obozrenie ("Chess Review"), between 1902 and 1911. In 1907, he played his first over-the-board tournament, the Moscow chess club's Spring Tournament. Later that year, he tied for 11th–13th in the club's Autumn Tournament; his elder brother, Alexei , tied for 4th–6th place. In 1908, Alexander won
10290-496: Was implemented in Russia on 14 February 1918 by dropping the Julian dates of 1–13 February 1918 , pursuant to a Sovnarkom decree signed 24 January 1918 (Julian) by Vladimir Lenin . The decree required that the Julian date was to be written in parentheses after the Gregorian date, until 1 July 1918. It is common in English-language publications to use the familiar Old Style or New Style terms to discuss events and personalities in other countries, especially with reference to
10395-432: Was mostly better than his competitors'—even Capablanca's—but he lacked confidence when playing his major rivals. Alekhine's main goal throughout this period was to arrange a match with Capablanca. He thought the greatest obstacle was not Capablanca's play but the requirement under the 1922 "London rules" (at Capablanca's insistence) that the challenger raise a purse of US$ 10,000 (~$ 162,000 in 2022 terms), of which
10500-402: Was one of the greatest attacking players and could apparently produce combinations at will. What set him apart from most other attacking players was his ability to see the potential for an attack and prepare for it in positions where others saw nothing. Rudolf Spielmann , a master tactician who produced many brilliancies, said, "I can see the combinations as well as Alekhine, but I cannot get to
10605-540: Was the actual cause of death. At autopsy, a three-inch-long piece of unchewed meat was discovered blocking his windpipe. Some have speculated that he was murdered by a French "death squad". A few years later, Alekhine's son, Alexander Alekhine, Jr., said that "the hand of Moscow reached his father." Kevin Spraggett , a Canadian Grandmaster who has lived in Portugal since the late 1980s and has thoroughly investigated Alekhine's death, favors this possibility. Spraggett makes
10710-478: Was the most versatile of all chess geniuses, being equally at home in every style of play and in all phases of the game." Reuben Fine , a serious contender for the world championship in the late 1930s, wrote in the 1950s that Alekhine's collection of best games was one of the three most beautiful that he knew, and Golombek was equally impressed. Old Style and New Style dates Old Style ( O.S. ) and New Style ( N.S. ) indicate dating systems before and after
10815-424: Was twenty-five, set by Gyula Breyer ), winning sixteen games, losing five, and drawing five after twelve hours of play. He broke his own world record on February 1, 1925, by playing twenty-eight games blindfold simultaneously in Paris, winning twenty-two, drawing three, and losing three. In 1924, he applied for the first time for a residence privilege in France and for French citizenship while pursuing his studies in
10920-401: Was unwilling to concentrate intensely. Vladimir Kramnik has commented that this was the first contest in which Capablanca had no easy wins. Immediately after winning the match, Alekhine announced that he was willing to give Capablanca a return match, on the same terms that Capablanca had required as champion: the challenger must provide a stake of US$ 10,000, of which more than half would go to
11025-514: Was withdrawn when the other competitors protested. While planning for a World Championship match against Botvinnik, Alekhine died aged 53 in his hotel room in Estoril, Portugal, on March 24, 1946. The circumstances of his death are still a matter of debate. It is usually attributed to a heart attack, but a letter in Chess Life magazine from a witness to the autopsy stated that choking on meat
#482517