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Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine (sometimes spelled "Aljechin") ( or November 1 , 1892 – March 24 , 1946 ) was a Chess Master and a former World Chess Champion . He was known for his fierce and imaginative attacking style. EARLY LIFE Alekhine was born into a wealthy family in Moscow , Russia . His father was a landowner and a member of the Duma . His mother was the daughter of a rich industrialist. Alekhine was first introduced to chess by both his mother and his brother in 1903. CHESS CAREER Alekhine's first chess accomplishment was when, in 1909, at the age of seventeen, he won the All-Russian Amateur Tournament in St. Petersburg with a score of twelve wins, two losses and two draws. He was awarded a national master title for this performance. The tournament was held concurrently with the more famous professional international event won by Emanuel Lasker and Akiba Rubinstein . Meanwhile, in the United States, later that year a twenty-three-year-old Cuban by the name of José Raúl Capablanca shocked American chess players by thrashing Frank Marshall in a match. The lives of Alekhine and Capablanca would soon intertwine. In 1914, after Alekhine finished 3rd behind Lasker and Capablanca in a tournament in Saint Petersburg , Tsar Nicholas II named him as one of the five original Grandmasters . Alekhine also served in World War One , and was wounded. He became cosmopolitan in his life, living in many countries, and speaking Russian, French, German, and English. Following the Russian Revolution , in 1919 he was suspected of espionage, arrested and imprisoned in Odessa , though he was eventually freed. He won the 1st USSR Championship in 1920. In 1921 Alekhine left Soviet Russia never to return, moving to France , where four years later he became a French citizen and entered the Sorbonne Faculty Of Law . Although his thesis on the Chinese prison system went uncompleted, he nevertheless claimed the title of "Dr Alekhine". From 1921 to 1927, Alekhine amassed an excellent tournament record, winning or sharing 12 out of 20 first prizes in the tournaments he played. World Chess Champion In 1927 he won the title of World Chess Champion from Capablanca , to surprise of almost all the chess world. After that, if Capablanca was invited to tournaments, Alekhine would insist on greater money; otherwise he would refuse to play. Although Capablanca was clearly the leading challenger, Alekhine carefully avoided granting a rematch, although a right to a rematch was part of the agreement. Instead, he played matches with Efim Bogoljubow (a top player, but not considered a serious threat) in 1929 and 1934 , winning handily both times. After defeating Capablanca, Alekhine dominated chess for quite some time. He lost only 7 out of 238 games in tournament play from 1927 through 1935 . In 1935 he lost the title to Max Euwe . The loss is largely attributed to Alekhine's alcoholism as also corroborated by some players. In 1936, since he was no longer world champion, he couldn't oust Capablanca from Nottingham, and Capablanca won both their individual game and the tournament (tied with Mikhail Botvinnik ). Alekhine gave up alcohol and regained the title from Euwe in 1937 by a large margin. He played no more title matches, so he held the title until his death. Alekhine was representing France on board 1 at the chess olympiad in Buenos Aires when World War II broke out. As team captain of the French team, he refused to allow his team to play Germany. In September 1939, he won a tournament at Montevideo. He returned to France to enlist in the army and became an interpreter. When France was over-run he tried to go to America by travelling to Lisbon and applying for an American visa. To protect his wife and their French assets, he agreed to cooperate with the Nazis. Alekhine signed six articles critical of Jewish chess players. He argued that there was a Jewish way of playing chess (cowardly), and an Aryan way of playing chess (aggressive and brave). Alekhine participated in Nazi chess tournaments in Munich, Salzburg, Warsaw, and Prague. The Nazis looted his French chateau. In September 1941, he tied for 2nd-3rd with Lundin at Munich. The event was won by Stoltz. In October 1941, he tied for 1st with Paul Schmidt at Cracow/Warsaw. In December 1941, he won at Madrid. In June 1942, he won at Salzburg. In September 1942, he won at Munich. In October 1942, he won at Warsaw/Lublin/Cracow. In December 1942, he tied for 1st with Junge at Prague. In March 1943, he drew mini-match with Bogoljubow at Warsaw. In April 1943, he won at Prague. In June 1943, he tied for 1st with Keres at Salzburg. By 1943 Alekhine was spending all his time in Spain and Portugal as the German representative to chess events. In July 1944, he won at Gijon. In March 1945, he won at Madrid. In July 1945, he tied for 2nd-3rd with Medina at Gijon. The event was won by A. Rico. In August 1945, he won at Sabadell. Alekhine's last chess match was with Francisco Lupi at Estoril, Portugal in January 1946. Alekhine won 2, lost 1, drew 1. After World War II Alekhine was not invited to chess tournaments because of his Nazi affiliation. While planning for a World championship match against Botvinnik, he died in his hotel room in Estoril , Portugal . His death, the circumstances of which are still a matter of debate, is thought to have been caused either by his choking on a piece of meat, or by a heart attack. Some have talked even about a murder. His burial was sponsored by FIDE , and the remains were transferred to the Cimetière Du Montparnasse , Paris , France in 1956. Contributions Alekhine was an avid student of the game. Several Openings and opening variations are named after him. The Alekhine Defence (1. e4 Nf6 in Algebraic Notation ) is the most important. There is also the Alekhine-Chatard attack (1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e5 Nfd7 6. h4), a pawn sacrifice in the French Defence . Many chess players were admirers of Alekhine's style, such as Max Euwe who 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." Gary Kasparov said that Alekhine was his early inspiration. NAZI CONTROVERSY During World War II , Alekhine played in several tournaments held in Germany or German-occupied territory. In 1941 Anti-semitic articles, entitled ''Aryan and Jewish Chess'', appeared under his name in the ''Pariser Zeitung''. Extensive investigations (see Whyld ) have not yielded conclusive evidence of the authenticity of the articles, although British chess historian Edward Winter wrote: :Although, as things stand, it is difficult to construct much of a defence for Alekhine, only the discovery of the articles in his own handwriting will settle the matter beyond all doubt. {Link without Title} After the war he found that he was Persona Non Grata to tournament organisers. OTHER GAMES BESIDES CHESS Table tennis It is less well-known that Alekhine was also an avid Table Tennis player, and claimed it to be his favourite way of relieving tension before a chess game. But Harry Golombek , who admired Alekhine's chess and was personally friendly with him, claimed: :Alekhine was also a feeble table tennis player ... I can still see him in my mind's eye playing a gently clumsy game of table-tennis and spooning the ball up with his bat rather like someone participating in an egg-and-spoon race. Champions I have Met." Bridge Golombek also claimed in the same article: :What conclusion one should draw from the fact that Alekhine was a very weak bridge player whereas Capablanca was an efficient and capable bridge player I don't exactly know. QUOTATIONS
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See also: List Of Chess Players , World Chess Championship EXTERNAL LINKS
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