Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine (1892-1946) is an outstanding Russian and French chess player, the first winner of the RSFSR championship, IV world champion, widely known for his attacking and deep combinational style of play. He was an unsurpassed master of the blind game, repeatedly updating his own achievements, the best of which was a session on 32 boards.
Alexander Alekhine was born on October 31, 1892 in Moscow into a noble family. His mother Anisya Ivanovna came from the family of textile magnate I. Prokhorov, and his father Alexander Ivanovich served as a collegiate assessor. Later he became the leader of the nobility and was elected to the Duma of the fourth convocation. The family was quite wealthy and owned an estate in the Voronezh province.
From an early age, young Sasha demonstrated great ability in chess, which his mother taught him to play at the age of seven. He studied at the Moscow classical gymnasium for nine years, after which he entered the Imperial School of Law and became a titular councilor.
Sasha became seriously interested in the ancient game at the age of 10, after he was struck by the chess creativity of the American Harry Pillsbury, who visited Moscow. Impressed by what he saw, he and his older brother begin to play by correspondence. Three years later, Alekhine won the main prize of the Chess Review magazine, and in 1908 he became the champion of Moscow.
The first serious success came in 1909 at the All-Russian tournament in memory of Chigorin, where he won 1st place and received the title of maestro. After moving to the capital, Alexander had no equal at the Nordic Championships (1912), and a year later he shared the laurels of the winner of the representative tournament in Scheveningen. At the All-Russian Masters Tournament (1914), Alekhine and Nimzowitsch win and both qualify for the international “tournament of champions.” And here the talented player did not get lost, missing only and . It was then that Alekhine firmly said that he would prepare for the match for the chess crown against the Cuban, although Lasker was the champion at that time.
First World War
At the height of the summer of 1914, Alekhine played another tournament in Mannheim, Germany. Just during the competition, when the Russian was confidently in the lead, the start of war was announced. The organizers decided to interrupt the tournament, awarding Alexander 1st place. Later, together with other chess players (E. Bogolyubov, A. Rabinovich), he will end up in prison. According to his recollections, the detention in the penitentiary was very ascetic and chess players entertained themselves all day long by playing blindly. After some time, he was declared unfit for service and deported to his homeland.
On the way home, Alekhine stops in Stockholm, where he gives a simultaneous game session (+18-2=4), and a month later he will hold them in Moscow (+19-9=5), Serpukhov, Petrograd. Alexander will use all the money he earns to help Russian chess players who find themselves in German captivity. In the period 1915-1916, he repeatedly repeated sessions of simultaneous play in various formats (with a handicap, blind), touring Ukraine.
In 1916, despite heart disease, Alekhine volunteered to go to the front. As a result, he ends up in Golicia, leading a Red Cross detachment. Participation in hostilities was not in vain - he received two shell shocks, after which he was forced to return to Moscow. For his courage in saving the wounded, Alexander received the Order of St. Stanislav and two St. George medals.
The events of 1917 did not have the best effect on the fate of the chess player. The resignation of the emperor and the subsequent coming to power of the Bolsheviks deprived Alekhine of his legally owned property. This forced the chess player to leave Russia and move to Ukraine, from where his path was supposed to lie further to the West. But the plans did not come true. In 1919, Alekhine was arrested in Odessa and sentenced to death for participation in espionage activities. But due to someone’s patronage from above, he was acquitted. After the start of the offensive of Denikin's Volunteer Army, Alekhine returns to Moscow. Here, during the Civil War, he managed to take film courses, work as a translator at the Comintern, and even work at the MUR.
In 1920, Alekhine excelled at the All-Russian Olympics (in the organization of which he personally took part), considered the first national championship. After marrying the Swiss woman Rügg in 1921, he left for Europe, where he plunged headlong into the chess world. Alexander begins an active tournament life, achieving good results in Budapest, The Hague, London, Marienbad. In total, until 1927, Alekhine played in 22 international competitions, of which he won 14, including Hastings (1922), Baden-Baden (1925), Kecskemet (1927).
At the same time, Alekhine does not ignore his scientific activities, having defended his doctoral dissertation at the Sorbonne. In 1924, an analysis of his previous games entitled “My Best Games” was published.
On the way to the championship
In 1922, Alekhine signed the London Agreement, which regulated the organization of championship matches. According to its terms, the applicant was assigned the obligation to form a prize fund ($10 thousand) and pay organizational expenses. Then no one had that kind of money, but a few years later everything changed - Alekhine was firmly moving towards his goal. To raise the required amount, he arranges record-breaking blind matches in New York (26 games) and Paris (27 games), plays in a simultaneous game from an airplane, and organizes chess battles, where the figures were actors. As a result, the Russian’s efforts were rewarded and in 1927 the Argentine government found funds to organize a match in Buenos Aires.
On the eve of the match, public opinion almost unambiguously awarded the victory to Capablanca, who was often called a “thinking machine.” In addition, before this meeting, Jose Raul managed to defeat his opponent three times, but he never defeated him. Alekhine searched for an antidote for a long time, studying his opponent’s games in detail. He managed to find out that Capablanca's excellent intuition sometimes lets him down, as he misses the best moves that require a lot of thought. In just two months, 34 games were played, of which Alekhine won six. This was enough to become the IV world champion. After the victory, he was carried in his arms through the streets of the Argentine capital, and the same warm welcome was organized in Europe.
According to the rules, Capablanca should have challenged Alekhine to a rematch, but he did not do this and E. Bogolyubov played with the champion. Their fight took place in Holland and Germany and ended ahead of schedule with the victory of Alexander Alexandrovich (+11-5=8). They will meet again in 1934 and then Alekhine will again be stronger (+8-3=15).
Emigration to France
After returning from Argentina, Alekhine began to allow himself very free statements against the Soviet regime, which was condemned by many people, including his brother Alexei. All this leads to a final break with his homeland, which does not greatly affect his chess successes. Alekhine leads the French national team at the Chess Olympiads in Hamburg and Prague, Folkestone, becoming the best on the first board each time, and wins strong tournaments in San Remo (1930), Bled (1931), London (1932).
In 1935, the Dutch organized a world championship match for their fellow countryman. Alekhine accepted the challenge and fought the challenger. The match was an even fight and everything was decided in the last thirty game, which Alekhine needed to win, but he did not. As a result, the champion lost one point 14.5:15.5 and resigned. The unyielding character of the Russian chess player did not allow Euwe to rest on his laurels for long, and in 1937, in a rematch (the first in the history of chess), an unconditional victory was won 15.5: 9.5.
In the pre-war years, Alekhine maintained his reputation as the strongest player, winning tournaments in Margate and Montevideo and sharing 1-2 places in Plymouth. But at the ARVO tournament with the participation of the 8 strongest players, he did not win any laurels (+3-3 = 8), however, he still won the micro-match against Capablanca. After the tournament, I sent a proposal to the champion for a new match for the title of the strongest chess player, and he gave preliminary consent, but the outbreak of World War II confused all plans.
last years of life
Alekhine met the news of the war in Argentina, where the next Chess Olympiad was taking place. After the outbreak of hostilities, Alexander Alexandrovich called for a boycott of the German team, and the organizers supported this impulse. As a result, the German team was given a technical defeat. After receiving the tragic news, many remained in Latin America, but Alekhine firmly decided to return to Europe.
After France falls under occupation, he volunteers to join the French army and serves as a translator there, holding the rank of lieutenant. At this time, negotiations for the match against Capablanca resumed. Quite modest financial conditions and withdrawn ambitions indicated a true intention to measure strength, but the Cuban government did not find the necessary funds, and Capablanca died in 1942.
Due to the fact that his last wife, Grace, refused to move to Portugal, Alekhine, avoiding final plunder, was forced to cooperate with the Germans. He is invited to participate in many tournaments, simultaneous games and matches against the strongest German opponents (P. Keres, K. Junge).
In 1943, the chess player fell ill with scarlet fever and suffered it very seriously. Soon he moves to Spain, where he remains to live, eking out a miserable existence. Here he participates in second-rate tournaments and even gives private lessons.
In 1945, a scandal erupted over allegedly made anti-Semitic statements in the pages of the German publication Pariser Zeitung. Because of this, Alekhine was not allowed to participate in the British tournaments in Hastings and London, then there were calls not to invite him to the competition at all.
Having been subjected to such pressure, Alekhine remains almost completely alone and maintains contact only with the Portuguese champion Francisco Lupi. He played his last match against him in February 1946, winning with a score of 2.5:1.5. At the end of March, news arrived about an agreement on the match with Botvinnik, and on March 25, 1946, Alexander Alekhine passed away. He died in Estoril, Portugal, and then various reasons were put forward: from a heart attack to asphyxia and murder. At first he was buried in Estoril, but in 1956, at the request of his widow, he was reburied in Paris, despite the fact that the Soviet side proposed to do this in Moscow.
Chess achievements
Alexander Alekhine-IV world champion, first winner of the national championship. Throughout his career, he played 1264 match and tournament games. He managed to win 62 out of 87 tournaments.
Alekhine is known for his deep theoretical studies of positions. It is no coincidence that a number of combinations are named after him, including the Alekhine Defense, one of the variants of the French defense, the Chatard-Alekhine attack, and many continuations in the Vienna, Spanish games, Sicilian Defense and many others. The chess player is the author of over 20 books, mostly collections of his own games with detailed analysis and commentary.
Personal life
The first wife of the chess maestro was Alexandra Bataeva, who worked as a clerk in one of the Soviet organizations. According to other sources, she could have been an officer’s widow, the St. Petersburg artist A. von Severgin, but there is no confirmed information on this matter. A little later, he fell in love with a journalist from Switzerland A-L. Rygg and soon married her. But a happy life did not work out and the couple often lived separately. The son, Alexander, who was born, was in the care of friends. The natural divorce that followed put an end to their relationship.
Later, Alekhine married the general’s widow, Nadezhda Vasilyeva, with whom he would be married for about 10 years. The last time the chess player tied the knot was with a British citizen, Grace Wischar, who was 16 years older than him. She was the widow of a tea planter and received a good inheritance. Thanks to this, Alekhine's financial situation improved noticeably.
- Alekhine, like no one else, contributed to the popularization of the ancient game. He was the first of the planet's champions to take part in world chess tours, traveling around the world and playing 1,320 games.
- Alexander Alekhine is the first champion to win a rematch (against M. Euwe).
- Alekhine is the only world champion who passed away undefeated.
- Like many chess talents, Alekhine was poorly adapted to everyday life, he was often absent-minded and uncollected, which sharply contrasted with his skillful actions at the chessboard.
- Alekhine loved cats. According to some sources, he had at least 10 of them. Cats accompanied Alekhine during serious tournaments.
Video
A documentary film from the series “Geniuses and Villains,” entitled “Alexander Alekhine. The tragedy of a chess genius" (2011).
Best games
The selection includes the best games of Alexander Alekhine played between 1908 and 1943.
In the 1920s–1930s. Euwe was one of the strongest grandmasters in the world, won many tournaments and in 1935 threw down the gauntlet to Alekhine. The great Russian chess player apparently underestimated his opponent and lost to him in a bitter struggle - 14.5:15.5. But two years later a rematch took place, and Alekhine regained his crown.
After this, Euwe performed very successfully for more than 10 years, although after the death of Alekhine, in 1948 he took last place in the five-man tournament for the world championship title. In the 1950s Euwe completely switched to literary and social activities, and wrote many valuable chess books.
Euwe was the only world champion to be FIDE President. In this post, he did a lot for chess, in particular, thanks to his skillful actions, the Fischer-Spassky match took place, in which the American champion ascended the throne. True, the president was unable to get Fischer and Karpov to sit down. As a public figure and FIDE President, Euwe was a great diplomat; he always tried to smooth out rough edges and avoided conflicts. In 1976, when Korchnoi became a defector and remained stateless (he received Swiss citizenship only many years later), Euwe proposed declaring the “chess villain” a citizen of FIDE! So the candidate spent two world championship fights with Karpov as a citizen of a country called FIDE.
Euwe was distinguished by the fact that he had good relations with all the chess players in the world. At the celebration of Euwe's 80th birthday, shortly before Euwe's death, one of his friends expressed admiration that the grandmaster had lived such a long life and managed not to make enemies - an unprecedented case in the history of chess. “Since I have no enemies,” the hero of the day admitted sadly, “it means I lived wrong...” Yes, Ava's sense of humor never failed.
In the annals of chess, the Dutchman seemed to represent a transitional stage. The first five world champions were foreigners (Alekhine lived in France), and the next after Euwe, the sixth champion in 1948, was Botvinnik, and since then, Soviet chess players have not let go of the crown for a quarter of a century, until Fischer’s triumph.
Here are three funny stories about Max Euwe.
Dangerous flight
In his youth, Euwe was a versatile athlete: he performed in the amateur ring, participated in auto racing, swimming competitions, and even had a diploma as a sports aircraft pilot.
In one of the Dutch championships, being late for the next round in his car, he significantly exceeded the permitted speed.
Do I think I'm driving too fast today? - Euwe smiled guiltily at the policeman who stopped him.
It would be more accurate to say that you are flying too low,” the peace officer responded, recognizing the offender and issuing him a fine.
Champion fiasco
On the train The Hague - Amsterdam, Euwe's compartment neighbor was analyzing some position on pocket chess, they started talking, and a new acquaintance suggested playing a couple of games.
But I consider it my duty to warn you,” said the fellow traveler, “that I am a strong chess player: the champion of our club for three years in a row.”
However, by the time they reached Amsterdam, Euwe had managed to defeat his neighbor several times. As he collected his luggage, he never ceased to be amazed:
This is simply incredible! Lose three times in a row to a random partner on the train! And this is me, whom everyone calls “Euwe of our club”!
Flying Dutchman
Euwe was a passionate popularizer of chess and traveled all over the world with lectures, sessions and performances. He was not bothered by long distances and climate change. Like the Russian Tsar Peter I, respected in Holland, who “cut a window to Europe,” it was said about Euwe that he cut “chess windows” to Indonesia, South America and South Africa, Japan, Mongolia and other countries exotic for chess. And sports fans called him the same as one of the most famous football players in the country, Johan Cruyff, who was rapidly moving across the field - the flying Dutchman. As FIDE President in the 70s, he traveled to 100 countries. This record lasted for half a century, until it was broken twice by the current president, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. However, during this time the number of countries included in FIDE exceeded 200.
Alexander Alekhine is an outstanding chess player with a bright but tragic fate. It was this man who was the first to win the RSFSR championship and became the fourth world champion. His life was not easy: he went through the war, received several wounds, was unjustly imprisoned, miraculously escaped execution, lived in several countries and played chess like no one else had played.
Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine had a doctorate in law, was known as a master of attack in chess combinations, had his own playing style and was a truly brilliant chess player, leaving this world undefeated. But first things first.
Childhood and youth of Alexander Alekhine
The future outstanding chess player was born on October 31, 1892 in Moscow. His parents, Alexander Ivanovich Alekhine and Anisya Ivanovna (nee Prokhorova), belonged to a noble family: his father was a collegiate assessor, and his mother was the daughter of a textile worker. The family lived well and had an estate in the Voronezh province.
Little Sasha learned to play chess at the age of seven, and his mother was his teacher, and at first Alexander did not show serious interest in this game, regarding chess as fun. But three years later, one event occurred that marked the beginning of his great future.
Alekhine's real interest in chess came at the age of ten, after Harry Pillsbury came to Moscow for tournaments, who amazed the boy with his play and inspired him to take up chess seriously. Sasha began playing enthusiastically with his older brother, and three years later, at the age of 13, he won a competition in the Chess Review magazine. Further more. Three more years later, at the age of 16 (1908), Alekhine became the champion of Moscow, and a year later, at the age of 17 (1909), he won first place and the title of maestro at the All-Russian tournament, this was his first serious success.
Achievements of a chess player in his youth
Victory after victory, prize after prize - and real passion awakens in Alekhine, his goal is to take the chess crown. First, in 1912, he became first at the championship among the Nordic countries, a year later he won the tournament in Scheveningen. And in 1914, at the All-Russian Masters Tournament, Alekhine shared victory with Aron Nimzowitsch, which allowed him to qualify for the international tournament of champions. There the chess player loses victory to the German Emanuel Lasker and the Cuban Jose Raul Capablanca, but this only provokes Alekhine to prepare even more seriously for the match for the chess crown.
While participating in a tournament in the German city of Mannheim, in the midst of the competition, Germany declares war on Russia, this happened on August 1. The organizers interrupt the tournament, and since Alekhine was in the lead, he is awarded first place.
Being on enemy territory, Alexander and several other chess players end up in prison, where they continue to play “blindly”. A month and a half later, Alekhine was declared unfit for service and on September 14 he was deported to his homeland. At that time, Alexander was 22 years old.
First World War and repression
Alexander's road to his homeland was not easy. He had to return first through France, then through England and Sweden. As a result, he arrived home only at the end of October. But on October 20, he took part in a simultaneous game in Stockholm, and gave all the money he earned to Russian chess players in German captivity. At the same time, he is deprived of all his property, and Alekhine moves to Ukraine. But in Odessa he is accused of espionage and given a terrible sentence - execution. Fortunately, this does not happen, and Alexander returns to his homeland, where he continues his diligent chess training.
Two years later, in 1916, when he turned 24, Alexander volunteered for the front - despite the fact that he had serious heart problems. During the war, he received several wounds and two shell shocks, after which he had to return home.
For saving the wounded (Alekhine led the Red Cross detachment) and heroism, he was awarded two St. George medals and the Order of St. Stanislaus.
In 1919, Alexander became an employee of the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department, and a year later - a translator for the Comintern. He manages to successfully combine work with his hobby, becoming a chess champion in Russia.
The further path of the great chess player
In 1920, Alexander Alekhine won the All-Russian Olympiad, after which he plunged headlong into his chess career. He begins an active life, he achieves high results at tournaments in The Hague, Budapest, London and other cities, winning victory after victory.
Alekhine also organizes many championship matches, paying organizational expenses and awarding prize funds. In order to raise the necessary amounts, he arranges “blind” matches in New York and Paris, organizes chess battles and plays in simultaneous games.
The turning point in Alekhine's career was the tournaments with Jose Raul Capablanca, who invariably defeated his opponents. Alexander carefully studied his games, and as a result he managed to win several times, thanks to which he became the fourth world champion.
Later, in 1935, Alekhine fought the Dutchman Max Euwe, and lost by only one point. But two years later, in 1935, Alexander took a rematch (the first in the history of chess), winning an unconditional victory. And so far this case is the only case where a chess player won as a result of a rematch.
Personal life
The brilliant chess player was never deprived of female attention. His first wife was Alexandra Bataeva, an employee of a Soviet organization, but this union did not last long. The marriage produced a daughter, in whom her father was subsequently not interested.
Soon Alekhine married a second time - to the Swiss journalist Anna-Lise Rügg, and although their union was also short-lived, he helped Alexander emigrate to Europe and hold a number of important tournaments for him, as well as defend his doctoral dissertation at the Sorbonne. This marriage produced a son, who was named Alexander in honor of his father and grandfather.
Later, the chess maestro married for the third time; his wife was the widow of the general, Nadezhda Vasilyeva. This marriage turned out to be stronger than the previous ones and lasted ten years.
For the fourth (and last) time, Alexandra married a woman 16 years older than him, the widow of a tea planter. Thanks to her rich inheritance, Alekhine's financial situation improved significantly.
It is worth noting that all four wives of the chess player were older than him. He always carefully kept their photographs and photographs of his children, before whom he felt guilty that he could not devote enough time to them, being distracted by chess.
The last years of the chess player's life
The news of World War II found Alexander Alekhine in Argentina at the next Chess Olympiad. The chess player decided to return to Europe, and upon learning about the occupation of France, he volunteered for the French army as a translator.
In 1943, the chess player was struck down by scarlet fever, which he suffered very badly. Soon he moved to Spain, where he remained, living quite modestly, sometimes taking part in second-rate tournaments. He has to earn a living by giving private lessons. And soon the famous grandmaster is no longer invited to competitions.
In 1945, Alexander is accused of anti-Semitic statements, and he is left completely alone. He would play his last match in February 1946 against Portuguese champion Francisco Lupi, achieving his last victory.
At the end of March, Alekhine was supposed to play with Mikhail Botvinnik, but on the eve of the meeting, the great chess player passed away. He died in a hotel room in Portugal, and the cause of his death is still unclear. Doctors call asphyxia, angina pectoris, and even murder. Alexander Alekhine was buried in the Portuguese city of Estoril, but in 1956 his ashes were reburied in Paris.
Chess achievements
Throughout his career, the brilliant chess player took part in 87 tournaments, of which he won 62, as well as in 23 matches, of which he emerged victorious in 17, and there were draws in four more.
Alexander Alekhine went down in history as a chess player who used deep theoretical positions in the game; many combinations were named after him, including the famous Alekhine Defense.
He is the author of more than 20 books, most of which are collections of chess games with detailed analysis of moves and commentary on them. Alexander Alekhine left this world an undefeated king who was never dethroned.
Alexander Alekhine is the only undefeated.
Popularization of this ancient game was the main goal of the chess player, which is why he traveled to many countries and participated in world tournaments.
In life, Alekhine was an absent-minded person, not at all adapted to everyday life.
The great chess player loved cats, which he even took to tournaments. His favorite was the Siamese cat Chess (the nickname in English translates as “chess”).
Of all the cities on the planet that Alekhine visited, he loved Ryazan most of all.
His grandson, Victor Alekhine, is a master of voice acting; his voice is familiar to many. He voices audio books, films and cartoons, and works on the Humor FM radio.
On the tombstone of a chess player in Paris there is an inscription: “Chess genius.”
Chess Player Quotes
“How much disappointment an opponent brings to a true artist in chess, who strives not only for victory, but, above all, for the creation of a work of lasting value.”
“I willingly combine the tactical with the strategic, the fantastic with the scientific, the combinational with the positional, and I strive to satisfy the requirements of each given position.”
“The fact that the player was under time pressure is, in my opinion, as inexcusable as, for example, the criminal’s statement that he was drunk at the time of the commission of the crime.”
“The value of a combination increases significantly due to the fact that it is the logical conclusion of the previous positional play.”
“With the period of political oppression, some seek oblivion from everyday tyranny and violence in chess, while others draw strength from it for a new struggle and strengthen their will.”
Video about the life of a great grandmaster
Alexander Alekhine- the first Russian chess player to achieve the title of world chess champion.
And he still remains the only chess king who passed away undefeated.
The fourth world champion went down in history as a chess player with a brilliant attacking style.
Alekhine's games have long become classics, the study of which will bring chess fans not only a lot of practical benefits, but also great aesthetic pleasure from the spectacular combinations and tactical attacks they contain.
Alexander Alekhine was born in 1892 in Moscow. His father was a landowner and nobleman. He provided Alexander with a good education. he became a lawyer after graduating from a prestigious gymnasium.
Alexander learned to play chess from the age of 7. His mother told him the rules of the game. Subsequently, he often whiled away his time playing chess with his older brother Alexei. Quite quickly, Alekhine began to progress as a chess player.
Alexander became one of the best chess players in the world in the second decade of the 20th century, when he managed to achieve excellent results in several tournaments. At that time, Emanuel Lasker was still the world champion.
However, Alekhine already began to prepare for the confrontation with Capablanca. The Russian chess player foresaw that it was the Cuban Capablanca who would become the next chess king, who in those years demonstrated amazing technique in his games and smashed everyone.
Alexander’s fate was greatly influenced by global historical events, of which he himself was a witness and participant: the revolution in Russia in 1917 and two world wars.
In 1914, Alekhine participated in a tournament in the German city of Mannheim. He was confidently in the lead, but the tournament was not destined to end. It was in those days that Germany began the war with Russia. As a citizen of an enemy state, Alekhine, along with other Russian chess players, was imprisoned.
Then he managed to return to his homeland, but in 1917 a revolution occurred in Russia. As a result, Alekhine lost his parents' property and his noble title. In 1918, he planned to participate in a tournament in Odessa.
This city at that time was occupied by German troops. In 1919, Odessa was liberated by the Red Army. And this time Alexander was arrested by the Cheka. He was again thrown into prison. They even wanted to shoot him, but in the end they released him, since at that time Alekhine was already quite famous. He began to cooperate with the new government.
However, Alekhine’s love for chess was literally and figuratively boundless: in 1921, he finally left Soviet Russia, where at that time there were no conditions for playing chess.
The country was then going through difficult times, and the state had no time for chess. Before leaving, Alekhine showed extraordinary abilities in the field of investigator, as well as in the apparatus of the Communist International, where he worked as a translator (he was fluent in six languages).
Alexander Alexandrovich's ascent to the top of the chess Olympus occurred in 1927, when he was 35. His dream came true in distant Buenos Aires, where he became the fourth world chess champion, defeating Capablanca himself in brilliant style with a score of 6:3.
Then his victory “sounded” like a bolt from the blue. Capablanca's advantage over all rivals at that time was considered unconditional.
However, in the match for the chess crown, the Russian chess player demonstrated not only his combinational gift, but also the highest playing technique in all stages of the game, including the endgame, in no way inferior to his formidable opponent.
After his victory over Capablanca, the Russian master confidently won many major international tournaments. And no one doubted that he rightfully became the champion.
Jose Raul Capablanca tried to challenge Alekhine to a rematch.
But the first time the negotiations dragged on and Capablanca was ahead of Capablanca with a challenge by Efim Bogolyubov. Then Capablanca had another opportunity, but his sponsors let him down and he was unable to fulfill the financial conditions of organizing the match.
Alekhine successfully defended his championship title twice in a match with Bogolyubov in 1929 and 1934.
In general, the life of a Russian chess player abroad has not been easy. Alexander Alexandrovich constantly experienced financial difficulties. He had to earn a living by performing in numerous simultaneous games.
Alekhine's personal life did not work out. All his marriages were unsuccessful. At home, many of his colleagues reproached him for emigrating. Perhaps these two circumstances caused the spiritual depression in which he remained for a long time.
Alexander tried to find solace in alcohol, which naturally could not but affect his athletic form. In 1935 he lost the chess crown to Max Euwe. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, the Russian chess player played some games in this match while drunk.
For example, in the 12th game of the match on the 8th move, wanting to take the pawn away from attack, Alekhine “missed” and took on another pawn...
“Through chess I developed my character,” Alexander Alekhine liked to repeat.
After losing the match, he proved that these were not empty words. Alekhine quit smoking and drinking. In 1937, in a rematch, he confidently defeated the Dutch chess player and regained his chess crown.
In 1939, the Second World War began. Alekhine was in serious need of money, and he continued to participate in various tournaments in Europe, including in territories occupied by Nazi Germany.
Alexander even had to give simultaneous playing sessions for German officers. For this, after the war, he was threatened with a “boycott” by his colleagues. Some of them even took the initiative to deprive the Russian master of the championship title.
But all this did not happen. Alekhine died in 1947 undefeated.
Alekhine played chess very well without looking at the board. In 1932 in Chicago, he gave a simultaneous blindfold game to 32 chess players! He did not purposefully develop his abilities in such a game.
In this he was helped by life circumstances that forced him to do without a board: analysis of positions during gymnasium lessons, imprisonment in prisons. The Russian master admitted that the aesthetic side of this type of chess fighting is of a low level, but you have the opportunity to be convinced of the opposite.
We bring to your attention the end of the game Alekhine-Freeman (see diagram) from a session of the game “blind” against 26 chess players!
In this position, Alekhine declared checkmate for Black in 4 moves, playing “blindly”. Can you find a mating combination by looking at the board?
We also suggest watching a video about a chess champion:
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Alexander Alekhine is a great Russian chess player, the only world champion who died undefeated. At different times he was called a child prodigy and an alcoholic, a fascist and a genius.
Hereditary chess player
Geniuses usually show their talent in very early childhood; Alekhine was no exception in this sense. The family environment also contributed greatly to the rapid development of the chess prodigy. His older brother Alexey was involved in chess, who later also became a famous chess player (of course, not at all on the same scale as his brother) and the publisher of the Chess Bulletin magazine.
But the first person to sit down with Alexander at the chessboard was not his brother, but his mother - she began teaching him when Sasha was 7 years old. At 10, Alexander was already playing in tournaments by correspondence, and by correspondence he also won his first tournament victory. And at 16, he won an amateur tournament in a Moscow chess club, took first place in an all-Russian tournament, received the title of maestro and made his debut on the international stage.
Enemy of the Soviets
Alekhine left Soviet Russia back in 1921, but his final break with his homeland took shape 6 years later, after the historic match with Capablanca and winning the world champion title. At a banquet held in his honor at a Parisian club, Alekhine allegedly allowed himself a number of sarcastic remarks about the Bolshevik government. Whether the words were spoken or not, whether it was a provocation, nothing could be changed - the next day, several emigrant newspapers published articles that quoted Alekhine and his wishes: “... so that the myth of the invincibility of the Bolsheviks would be dispelled, just as the myth of the Bolsheviks was dispelled. Capablanca's invincibility. These publications marked the beginning of the chess player’s disgrace in his homeland - many famous compatriots spoke about the incident, and for the chess community in the USSR Alekhine became enemy number one. Even Alekhine’s brother published a statement (most likely he did this under pressure), in which he condemned his brother’s anti-Soviet statements and sentiments.
Drinker
Addiction to alcohol - not a rare companion of genius - did not bypass Alekhine either. In the thirties, after several years of uncompromising triumph, Alekhine's career experienced a significant decline, which was largely facilitated by his addiction to alcoholic beverages. The result of the fall is the match for the world title lost to the Dutch grandmaster Max Euwe. Having lost his title, Alekhine pulls himself together, begins to take training and important meetings much more seriously, and before the rematch he refuses to drink alcohol. He eventually regained the title of world champion, defeating Euwe in the final, but Alekhine was never able to overcome his passion. Towards the end of his life, the chess player was diagnosed with advanced cirrhosis of the liver.
Anti-Semite
Alekhine's biography contains many contradictory episodes, but it is very difficult to subject these dust-covered facts to history to any critical assessment. One of these dark spots in the biography of the chess genius was a series of anti-Semitic articles under the general title “Jewish and Aryan Chess”, written for one of the Parisian newspapers, as well as participation in tournaments held under the auspices of Nazi Germany. However, Alekhine himself vehemently and repeatedly denied his authorship of the articles, citing the editing done by a newspaper employee, an ardent anti-Semite Gerbetc. Speaking about participation in chess tournaments, it is still worth considering that at that time he was in the tenacious captivity of circumstances - in 1941, Alekhine found himself in the occupied territories and was forced to agree in order to save himself and his family from repression.
Needless to say, Alekhine’s reputation in chess circles suffered greatly - because of his collaboration with the Nazis, many chess players threatened to boycott tournaments in which Alekhine took part, and even insisted on depriving him of the championship title.
Mason
During his stay in Paris, Alekhine became close friends with another Soviet emigrant and chess player, Osip Bernstein. Bernstein and led him to join the local Masonic lodge “Asthenia”. Its members were mainly Russian emigrants, and for Alekhine, joining it was, in a sense, an attempt to break the shackles of the spiritual loneliness that bound him, an opportunity to get along with other cultured Russian people in order to muffle his longing for his homeland. In fact, Alekhine was never an active Freemason - while others were discussing sublime things and arguing about the fate of the world, he and Bernstein played chess more and more and at some point was expelled from the lodge.
Polygamist
Chess remained the most important and, by and large, only passion in Alekhine’s life - things didn’t work out very well with his family. Alekhine had as many as four wives, but he did not live with any of them for more than ten years (he divorced the first one in less than a year), and he saw his son from his second marriage extremely rarely, completely transferring the upbringing to his mother, and after her death - on her acquaintances.
Cat person
It is not surprising that Alekhine was a big cat lover. His only faithful companion on his life's journey was his beloved Siamese cat named Chess. Their union was stronger and longer lasting than any of Alekhine’s love affairs - not a single woman lived with the chess player longer than his furry pet. Chess was a real talisman, partner and friend for Alekhine - he took the cat with him all over the world and regularly took him to matches. Alekhine was almost accused of witchcraft - before matches he let the cat sniff the board. The death of Chess was a real blow for Alekhine; he was depressed for a long time and even refused to participate in major chess tournaments.
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