chess-The Oxford Companion to Chess - First Edition by David Hooper & Kenneth Whyld

6 ALEKHINE
1914, and leading, ihe war began, and hc and some
other foreign playea trere inlemed. He nade no
diamtic escape, as legend h6 ir, bu1 was released,
perhaps on a@mt oi fanily i.flucn@. (Other
explanalions include lhe feiSning of madne$ and
the use of a fahe pa$pod.) Aller rerurtring to
Russia tu 1915 he seNed in the Union oI Ciiies
(sinilar to the Red cros) on the Aushian rront,
and in 1916 suffered a otrtusio. of the spine trhich
temporarily immobilized hin in a hospital ar
Ta.nopol. After the revolution, when he lost his
forturc, he nade ns of his $aining and worked as
a bagGlrate- He played i. a few tournamenh and
won the n6i Soviel .hanpiotrship itr 1920. but hc
knew that hc needed to play abroad. A notonous
' ldnmer if anlthins stood in the way ol his two
loles, Alekhineand.hess, he joinedtheComnun
ist Parly in 1921 and became atr official intcAreter
(he spoke seleral languaeeri mdete.red by his
marriage ol thc previous year to a Russi.n
baroness (which legitimizod their seven yearold
daughte, he naried a swis conintern delesare
Anncliese Riiegg and obl.ined pemission lo teare
Rusia. They soon parled (she died in 1934) and
Alekhine kliled in Pa.is to bccome, in 1ine, a
naturalized French cidzen. In 1928 he publicly
altacted lhe Soviet regime i realizing, howeve., the
groMng strength of Rnsian che$ (and perhaps the
generosity ol Soviet patronage) he later tried to
ingratiat himsell wilh lhe Soviel aulhorirics and
renounc the label whne Russian', hr he hrs.h
was not repairedi and ne neve elumed ro bn
From 1921to 1927 Alekhine won or shared frrsl
plae in eisht of the 15 stons loumanents in which
he @mpeled. HisbestvictoryNasatBaden-Badc.
1925 (+12=8) ahead of nuBrNsDN and BocolruBow.
The 1vo ftongesr events of this penod
*ere at New Yort: in 192 Alekhi.e took third
pdze {+6=12 2) after Lasker and Capablancai
and in 1927 he came second (+5=13 2) after
Capahl ca. He (ound tine ro take a rhird wife,
Nadezda V6ilier. rhe wrdos uf a high{ankrng
Rucsian offi&r :nd r. ..mmen.. l,w sh'.lir< 1'
the Sorbonne, allhou8i he did not gdio the
doctordle he claimed
Besides playiry and srudying ches (eisht hous
a d.y on priociple ) he p.epared fo. his chalenge in
other ways. He wrote M/ ael GMes of chess
t9o8 t92i (1921), probabty bis besr book. and Irc
Book ol rhe New yotk lnt.tMtionat chesr Toultu
ru4t 1924 (192stt the detailed annotations ne
made scrc an erelent form of training. He also
touretl rhe chess world mdkrne himeli popular
v'rh rts devotees, esneually m South Amenaa, 'n
the hopc of oblaining financial backing, ihe lack of
which had bared ihe way for nany chaUengeB. He
strdied the games of Capablanca witb whon he
vd cdefd io nai.tain cordial relations. Wneo
NrMzowrs.B s chaUenge expircd 'n
lanudry ta27
Capablanca accepred Alei{hine\ challenEe tor rhe
world chanpionship and the match bcgan ar
Buenos Aires in Septenber.
fie conre{anF drfteeLl in man, reipetu.
Canablancdvas a man ol his vord. absrcm'ousand
a no.-smoker: possessed oI cxcep tional lale nr. he
rarely sludied and he played contidently andj
appaiently, with easci .vay lron rhe board he
purued lhe life o! a ptayboy. Alekhinc w6
devions, u.truslportny, .erous. restiessj a hca!.y
shoker, and fond ol drinki he had great combinative
talent and had studied ceaselessly for mant
yeaB to d.ke himself the conplete player,
Christophcr Ogle, a paron wbo tool bolh playeA
10 a shoN during the London Congress oi 1922,
noled Capablanca ncver look his eyes ofi the
chorus. Alelbine neverlookcd up tiom his pocket
chess sel.'Above all. Alekhine learnt to rein his
Iertile inagination. Ior he kneN ihat againsr
Capablanca he would bc unable to disturb tnc
equilibriun by violenl neans, h osever ineenious.
Capahlanca's failue to study was of littl; conse
quence, lor his ialcnt slfticedi but hh failure to
prepare psychologically was fatal: Alekhinc won
rhe match (+6=25 3). playins 6ucb of n i. hn
oPPonenas solidPosnionalstl,le. Both id dne and
in nunber of games i1 sas the longest oI all
championship malches.
Having spent 13 yeaB before the tuatcb p.ahins
Capablan@ and courri.g his iriendship Alekhine
spenl lhe next 13 yeaB derogating his lival in
annorilons, arricle., and books. a camparsn rn
suppo .lhise!asiunotarciurnmrtch. 5nmehos
thenatch will neverrakeplace', herema.kedsoon
altcr he had ron the ritlei and so ilh.ppened. He
also retused to play in any lournamenl wilh
Capablanca, fea.ing hc mightlose, andthc tNo did
not necl again ul1il 1936. ai Notinghan, shen he
did losc. There had been a posilile side io thh
canpaign. 'lo prove the supremacy he claimed
Alekhine son fivc strong lournane n ts: San Reno
1930 (+13=2)t Bted 1931, aboul caresory 13
(+15:11)i London i932 (+7=.1): Pasadena I932
1+7=3 l)i and zurich rg34 i+12=2 1). He
defe.ted BosoljuboN in two marches, 1929
(+ll=9 5) and 1934 (+8=1s 3). on t5 June
1934. belo.e tbe second olrhese matches wis fin'
ished, he acepled a challenge liom EUWE. (lnthe
sane year r\lekhine married againi his American
born bride Grace Wishart sas the widow of an
Englishman and retained her British nationality.)
Perhaps becanscofhis.hess succescs he sale wa,
to his long standingwcakness torddnk. a;d whe;
he camc to play Euse i. 1935 he mistakcnly
thought he 6uld win in spiteolhispoorcondition:
IlAlekhine loved atconolhc loved chess and the
championship nore. Wnh determination he re
gained much of his fihess and lo.mer playing
srength and convincingly detealed Euwe in thc
relurn march of 193? (+10=11 4). In 1936
Abknine came 6rst in lwo ronrnanenh of about
category l2r Bad Nauhein (+4=5). a tie Nilh
cREs, and Dresden (+5=3 1). His resutrs in the
two najoreventsolihis time seie less impressive:
Noitingnan 1936. about catcgory 14. sixth