Every few years a new world chess champion appears. We have collected all the champions in one place and made a small description of each.
This article contains a complete list of all world chess champions to date. If the article is not relevant, it means that we have not yet added new information. Please write in the comments. Here is a list for faster navigation:
| Title | Who did win | Year |
| 1 world chess champion | 1886 – 1894 | |
| 2 World Chess Champion | 1894 -1921 | |
| 3 World Chess Champion | 1921 – 1927 | |
| 4 World Chess Champion | 1927 – 1935, 1937 – 1946 | |
| 5 World Chess Champion | 1935 – 1937 | |
| 6 World Chess Champion | 1948 – 1957, 1958 – 1960, 1961-1963 | |
| 7th world chess champion | 1957-1958 | |
| 8 World Chess Champion | 1960-1961 | |
| 9 World Chess Champion | 1963-1969 | |
| 10 World Chess Champion | 1969-1972 | |
| 11 World Chess Champion | 1972-1975 | |
| 12 World Chess Champion | 1975-1985 | |
| 13th world chess champion | 1985-1993 | |
| 14 World Chess Champion | 2006 - 2007 | |
| 15 World Chess Champion | 2007 - 2013 | |
| 16th world chess champion | 2013 - present in. |
Chess has been played for over 125 years. During this long time, the conditions of the game have changed many times, and sometimes even her. Therefore, it is quite natural that the criteria for becoming world chess champions in different eras also differed. For example, in the days of Steinitz, tournaments were simultaneously held in several cities at once. Or, for example, the strongest chess player might not agree to accept a challenge to a chess match from a potential new champion if, in his opinion, the opponent does not yet have enough skills and skills to take over the title.
As for today, the conditions and criteria for the inclusion of participants in the fight for the championship title have changed in many ways. A variety of qualifying tournaments are held in several stages, after which the two strongest players meet and compete with each other. Well, now let's look at the list of world chess champions and a brief information about each of them about who went through what on the way to the championship.
1 world chess champion
The first chess champion Wilhelm Steinitz. Place of birth - Prague, year - 1836. Steinitz won this title in 1886, after which he won the game against his main rival - I. Zukertort. Steinitz created a fundamentally new positional game of chess, and also made a great personal contribution to the development of this area.
V. Steinitz began to play at the age of twelve, but the young man did not have the opportunity to show his gift. The first success in chess for Wilhelm was the victory over his father's constant playing partner, a rabbi revered by many. Seriously, the future champion began to play chess only after reaching the age of 23 after graduating from the Polytechnic Institute in Vienna.
2 World Chess Champion
The second world chess champion was Emanuel Lasker. He was born in Poland in 1868 and gained the title of champion in 1894. Lasker was the best player on the planet for 27 years. In addition, he is the author of numerous books on chess.
E. Lasker took over his love for this amazing game from his elder brother Bertolt Lasker, having started playing at the age of 12. However, truly, professionally, the future chess king began to play only during his first year at the university. Endgame and positional flair were considered the strongest sides of the chess player. During his career as a chess player, he repeatedly abandoned the game for several years to study philosophy and mathematics.
He became the world champion based on the results of a match that took place for a long period (from mid-March to the end of May) in 1894 in Philadelphia, Montreal and New York, where, after playing 19 games, he defeated the first champion, Steinitz.
3 World Chess Champion
The third world chess champion was Jose Raul Capablanca who was born in Cuba in 1888. He won his title by defeating Emanuel Lasker during a match in 1921. Often they spoke of him as an outstanding chess machine, since Capablanca was distinguished by his brilliant chess technique. The third champion learned to play already at the age of four just in the process of watching his father's games.
4 World Chess Champion
The fourth world chess champion was Alexander Alekhin, born in 1892. He learned the rules of the game and the basic moves of Alekhine at the age of seven thanks to his mother and older brother. A. Alekhine was the greatest master of combination and considered chess an art. The chess player achieved his first success during the St. Petersburg tournament in 1909, just then, at the age of sixteen, a gymnasium student from Moscow won and was awarded the title of maestro.
A little later, the chess player begins to take part in professional tournaments of a higher level. Alekhin won the match for the title of world champion against Capablanca in 1927 (Buenos Aires). After that, he defended his title two more times, holding it until his death.
5 World Chess Champion
The fifth world chess champion was Max Euwe, born in 1901 in Amsterdam. He learned the basics of the game at the age of 4, began to play in various amateur tournaments - at the age of twelve he became a member of the chess club in Amsterdam. He started playing professionally at the age of 18. Euwe won the championship match against Alekhine in 1935, but two years later he again lost the championship title to Alekhine.
6 World Chess Champion
The sixth champion was born in 1911. He first got acquainted with the game at the age of 12, after which he began to study from books. Numerous victories in tournaments and championships of the USSR put the young chess player among the best players in the country and soon showed that M. Botvinnik was ready to challenge the title of world champion.
A match-tournament for the championship title took place in 1948 (The Hague-Moscow), and according to its results, Botvinnik became the winner, ahead of the chess player who took second place by 3 points. During the tournament, he confidently outperformed all rivals. For achievements in the field of chess, Botvinnik was awarded numerous orders.
7th world chess champion
The Soviet chess player also became the seventh champion. He learned the rules of the game from his father at the age of six. Smyslov met Botvinnik 3 times during world championship matches. Smyslov received the title of the strongest chess player on the planet in 1957, but a year later he lost to Botvinnik in a rematch.
Smyslov was the winner of a large number of World Olympiads, European team championships, as well as one world championship.
8 World Chess Champion
The eighth world chess champion was, who was born in 1936 in Riga. From early childhood, Tal showed genius in many ways - at the age of three he knew how to read well, at 5 he multiplied three-digit numbers, had an amazing memory, after graduating from the first grade he immediately moved to the third. There were many such achievements in Tal's childhood.
Mikhail Tal learned to play chess at the age of 10, at the age of 16 he became the champion of Latvia, at the age of 21 - the champion of the USSR. Tal became the youngest ever world champion, having won the title in 1960 against Botvinnik. The distinguishing features of Tal's game were aggressiveness and constant willingness to take risks, which allowed him to achieve victory, despite the fact that soon, a year later, he lost again.
9 World Chess Champion
Tigran Petrosyan is the ninth world chess champion. Was born in 1929 in Georgia. The boy learned to play at the age of 11, at the age of 16 he becomes the champion of Georgia in chess. The chess player starts playing professionally after moving to Moscow.
Petrosyan won a victory over M. Botvinnik in 1963, he held his championship title for a period that lasted 6 years. For achievements in chess, Petrosyan was awarded numerous medals and orders.
10 World Chess Champion
Boris Spassky tenth world chess champion. Spassky learned the basics of the game at the age of 5. For the first time he became a participant in the championship of the Soviet Union in 1955, during the same period he was awarded the title of grandmaster (at the age of 17). Thus, the chess player at that time became the youngest grandmaster in the history of chess. In 1969, Spassky won the competition for the championship of the planet against Petrosyan and held the title of the tenth champion for 3 years.
11 World Chess Champion
He received the title of the eleventh world chess champion, who was considered a child prodigy and a genius. He learned to play at the age of six. By the age of twelve, Fischer becomes an American champion, at the age of 15 - an international grandmaster. No one before him at such an early age had achieved such high results. Fischer became world champion in 1972, after he defeated B. Spassky.
12 World Chess Champion
Anatoly Karpov- The twelfth world chess champion. The chess player, born in 1951, learned to play when he was only 4 years old. He became a strong master at the age of 15, at the age of 18 the chess player became the champion in a youth tournament, he received the title of grandmaster at 19. Before Karpov became the world chess champion, he was the winner of many international competitions. He received the title of the 12th world champion in 1975. significantly surpassed other famous players in the history of chess in the number of victories that he won in numerous international tournaments, matches and competitions.
13th world chess champion
Well-known chess player in the USSR and Russia Garry Kasparov is the thirteenth world chess champion. Place of birth - Baku, year - 1963. At the age of thirteen, he became the champion of the country in a youth tournament (in which 18-year-old chess players participated). At the age of 17, Kasparov received the title of grandmaster. The confrontation between the 12th and 13th champions - Karpov and Kasparov was one of the most powerful in the history of chess. In total, these two great chess players played as many as 5 matches for the world title. As a result, according to the results of the match, which lasted from September 1 to November 10, 1985, the chess player defeated Karpov with a score of 13:11, which brought him the title of the 13th world chess champion.
14 World Chess Champion
Vladimir Kramnik is the fourteenth world chess champion. He was born in 1975 in the city of Tuapse (Krasnodar Territory). In 1991, the chess player becomes the world champion in the youth tournament. In the late 90s, the 13th world champion Kasparov himself chose his opponent in the person of Kramnik, who at that time was second in the ratings. Their chess duel took place in 2000, as a result of which Kramnik won and received the title of the 14th champion. After that, in 2004 and 2006 he defended his title twice, defeating Peter Leko and Veselin Topalov.
15 World Chess Champion
Viswanathan Anand- A native of India, in the period from 2007 to 2013 he was the world chess champion, becoming the fifteenth holder of this title. Ananda was taught to play chess by his mother at the age of six, and since then the boy has shown good results in this sport. Already at the age of fourteen, Anand received the title of international master, becoming the youngest holder of the latter in India.
Rapidly moving up the ladder of chess achievements, in 2007 he won the title of world chess champion. The tournament was held in Mexico. In subsequent years (2008, 2010 and 2012), the chess player confirmed his title. At the moment Anand is the only champion in three different styles of play: knockout system, round robin and head-to-head matches with competitors.
16th world chess champion
Magnus Carlsen- Norwegian, sixteenth (and currently the last) world chess champion. He won the world title in 2013, having fought with the fifteenth world champion - Viswanathan Anand. The young champion started playing chess at the age of five with his father, and became seriously interested in the game at eight, starting to study special literature and play the game for 2-3 hours a day.
Possessing extraordinary abilities, Magnus quickly developed professional skills. Experts predicted Magnus the title of champion back in 2004. World-class grandmasters note that Magnus is not a unique strategist, but his ability to find solutions where others would agree to a draw, and to feel the opponent's psychology is amazing.
So far, he remains the first and only champion in three categories at the same time: classical game, blitz and rapid.
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 the crown.
After that, Euwe performed very successfully for more than 10 years, however, after the death of Alekhine, in 1948, in the match-tournament of five for the title of world champion, he took last place. In the 1950s Euwe completely switched to literary and social activities, wrote many valuable chess books.
Euwe was the only world champion to be FIDE president. In this position, he did a lot for chess, in particular, thanks to his skillful actions, the match Fischer - Spassky took place, in which the American champion ascended the throne. True, the president failed to seat Fischer and Karpov by no means. As a public figure and FIDE president, Euwe was a great diplomat, he always tried to smooth things over and avoided conflicts. In 1976, when Korchnoi became a defector and was left stateless (he received Swiss citizenship only many years later), Euwe proposed declaring the “chess villain” a FIDE citizen! So the applicant had two fights for the world championship 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 of the world. At the celebration of Euwe's 80th birthday, shortly before Euwe's death, one of his friends expressed admiration that the grandmaster lived such a long life and managed not to make enemies - an unprecedented event in the history of chess. “Since I have no enemies,” the hero of the day admitted sadly, “it means that I lived wrong ...”. Yes, Euwe never lost his sense of humor.
In the annals of chess, the Dutchman, as it were, represented 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 for a quarter of a century, until the triumph of Fischer, did not let go of the crown from their hands.
Here are three funny stories about Max Euwe.
dangerous flight
In his youth, Euwe was a versatile athlete: he competed in the amateur ring, participated in auto racing, in 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 speed limit.
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 answered, recognizing the violator and writing him a fine.
Champion fiasco
On the Hague-Amsterdam train, 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: three years in a row the champion of our club.
However, by the time they got to Amsterdam, Euwe managed to defeat his neighbor several times. Collecting luggage, he never ceased to be surprised:
It's just incredible! Lose three times in a row to a random partner on the train! And it's me, whom everyone calls "Euwe of our club"!
Flying Dutchman
Euwe was a passionate promoter of chess, with lectures, sessions and performances he traveled all over the world. He was not embarrassed by long distances and climate change. Like the Russian Tsar Peter I, respected in Holland, who “cut a window to Europe,” Euwe was said to have cut “chess windows” to Indonesia, South America and South Africa, Japan, Mongolia and other exotic countries 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 stood 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 has exceeded 200.
Alexander Alekhine became one of the strongest chess players in the world before the First World War, taking third place in the St. Petersburg tournament in 1914, and in 1921 he left Russia and moved to permanent residence in France, of which he became a citizen in 1925. In 1927, Alekhine won a world title match against the considered invincible Jose Raul Capablanca and then dominated the competition for several years, winning the biggest tournaments of his time by a wide margin.
Twice (in 1929 and 1933) Alekhine defended the title in matches against Efim Bogolyubov, in 1935 he lost the match to Max Euwe, but two years later he won the rematch and held the title of world champion until his death. Alekhine became the only world chess champion to die undefeated.
Alekhine was an extremely versatile chess player. He is best known for his attacking style of play and spectacular, deeply calculated combinations. At the same time, he owns a large number of theoretical developments in openings, he possessed a high endgame technique.
When he was 7 years old, his mother introduced him to the rules of the game. In 1902, together with his older brother Alexei, he began to play by correspondence. In 1905, he won the 1st prize in the correspondence gambit tournament of the Chess Review magazine. In 1907 he became a member of the Moscow chess circle and took part in head-to-head competitions. In 1908 he played in the amateur tournament of the German Chess Congress in Düsseldorf and shared 4th-5th places. Wins in small matches of K.Bardeleben and B.Blumenfeld - 4.5:0.5.
In 1909, he won the All-Russian Tournament in Memory of Chigorin among amateurs and received the title of maestro. After graduating from high school in 1910, he moved to St. Petersburg and entered the Imperial School of Law. In 1912 he won the Nordic Championship in Stockholm. In 1913 in St. Petersburg he won a match against master S. Levitsky - + 7-3. In the same year, he takes first prize at the international tournament in Scheveningen (Netherlands). At the end of 1913 - beginning of 1914, he shares 1-2 places with Nimzowitsch at the All-Russian Tournament of Masters. After a match of two games (+1–1), both are admitted to the St. Petersburg International Tournament of Champions. In this tournament Alekhine takes 3rd place behind Lasker and Capablanca and becomes one of the contenders for the world championship.
In July 1914 he went to the international tournament of masters in Mannheim. Plays successfully and leads the standings. However, on the first of August the First World War begins. Alekhine is declared the winner of the tournament. The Russian participants of the tournament are interned, but he manages to free himself and return to Russia, where he gives charity simuls for Russian chess players interned in Germany. In 1916, he voluntarily went to the front at the head of a Red Cross detachment. For saving the wounded on the battlefield, he is awarded an order and medals. After a concussion, he ends up in the hospital. The October Revolution deprives Alekhine of his property and fortune; in connection with his noble origin, he has many problems. In 1918, apparently, he decides to leave Russia and goes through Kharkov to Odessa. However, he fails to leave, moreover, Gubchek arrests him and sentences him to death. Two hours before the execution of the sentence, thanks to the intervention of one of the major revolutionary figures, he was released. Returning to Moscow, he works as an interpreter at the Congress of the Comintern.
In 1920, he participated in the organization of the All-Russian Chess Olympiad, held by the Main Directorate of Vseobuch and won this competition, in essence, becoming the first champion of Soviet Russia. The following year, he marries Anna-Lise Rueg, a representative of the Swiss Social Democratic Party, and leaves Russia with her. Immediately plunges into European chess life. In the same year, he takes first prizes at international tournaments in Triberg, Budapest, The Hague. In 1922, at a major tournament in London, he was second, one and a half points behind world champion Capablanca. In the same place, he signs the so-called London Agreement, which regulates the holding of matches for the world championship. In 1923, he shares 1-3 places at the tournament in Marienbad, and the following year he takes 3rd place at a major tournament in New York (1. Lasker, 2. Capablanca). At the same time, in New York, he set a blind game record - 26 games with a score of +16–5=5.
In 1925, in Paris, he beat his own blindfold record - 27 games with a score of + 22–3 = 2. Wins a major international tournament in Baden-Baden. In 1926, he participated in five international tournaments, which he considered as preparation for the world championship match. In three of them he takes the first places (Hastings, Scarborough and Birmingham), in two (Semmering and Dresden) he becomes the second. At the end of 1926 - the beginning of 1927 he played a training match with M. Euwe - + 3–2 = 5 in favor of Alekhine.
In 1927, he participated in the sixth international tournament, where he took 2nd place after Capablanca, then won the international tournament in Kecskemét. At the end of the year, a match is played in Buenos Aires on London terms with Capablanca. Although after a convincing victory in New York, the Cuban was considered a clear favorite, especially since Alekhine had never won against Capablanca, the course of the match disproved all predictions. Already in the first game, the applicant won the first victory. Then, however, having won the 3rd and 7th games, the champion seized the lead, but, having won two games in a row - the 11th and 12th, the challenger seized the initiative in the match and did not lose it to the end. Capablanca desperately resisted, but could not change the unfavorable course of events. The two-month struggle ended with a score of +6–3=25 in favor of the new world champion. Under the London Agreement, Capablanca had the right to a rematch within a year. However, he hesitated with the challenge, and Alekhine called E. Bogolyubov to the match. The Alekhine-Bogolyubov match for the majority of 30 games was held in 1929 in a number of cities in Germany and Holland and ended ahead of schedule after 25 games - 15.5:9.5 (+11–5=8) in favor of the world champion.
In 1930 Alekhine won the international tournament in San Remo (Italy) with a score of +13=2, 3.5 points ahead of the second prize-winner A. Nimzowitsch. In the same year, at the World Olympiad in Hamburg, he led the French team and won all 9 games. The following year, at the Olympiad in Prague, he again shows the best result on the first board. At the international tournament in Bled (Yugoslavia), he takes first place, ahead of the second prize-winner Bogolyubov by 5.5 points. In 1932 he won two tournaments - in London and Switzerland. In 1933, at the Olympiad in Folkestone (England), he again shows the best result on 1 board. At the Chicago World's Fair, he sets a new world record in 32-board blindfold (+19–4=9).
In 1934 he played the second match for the world championship with Bogolyubov. It takes place in various German cities and again ends ahead of schedule, after 26 games - 15.5:10.5 (+8–3=15) in favor of the world champion. Then he soon wins the international tournament in Zurich.
At the end of 1935, he played a world championship match with M. Euwe in various cities in Holland. The competition was held in an equal fight. To retain his title, Alekhine needed to win the last 30 games. He did not succeed. Match score - 14.5:15.5 (+8–9=13). However, at the end of 1937, in a rematch, he won ahead of schedule and regained the title of champion - 15.5:9.5 (+10–4=11).
In the AVRO tournament (Holland, 1938) he shares 4-6 places with Euwe and S. Reshevsky. At the same time he began negotiations on a match with M. Botvinnik, but the Second World War violated these plans. In 1939 in Buenos Aires at the Olympiad he played for France on the first board. Returning to France, he was mobilized as a military translator. After the defeat of the French army, he tries to leave Europe, but the attempt ends in failure, and his wife remains in Nazi-occupied France. The condition of his connection with his wife, the Nazis put the participation of Alekhine in the tournaments of the German Reich. In 1941 he plays at the European Championship in Munich - he shares the second or third places behind G. Stolz, in Krakow - the first or second with P. Schmidt, in 1942 he plays at tournaments in Salzburg, Munich, Warsaw and Prague, everywhere taking first places. In 1943 he shared first and second places in Salzburg (with P. Keres) and Prague (with K. Junge). At the end of the year, the Gestapo gives him permission to leave for Spain, but refuses to leave his wife. In 1944–1945 he won a number of Spanish tournaments. At the beginning of 1946 he received a call for a match from M. Botvinnik. The British Chess Federation agrees to hold the match in England, but on March 24, 1946 Alekhine dies of a heart attack in Estoril near Lisbon. After 10 years, Alekhine's ashes were reburied in Paris, at the Montparnasse cemetery. On his monument is the inscription "To the chess genius of Russia and France."
Quotes by Alexander Alekhine:
1. During the tournament, the chess master must be a sober monk and a predator in one person. A predator in relation to a rival, an ascetic in everyday life.
2. Maintaining the maximum number of combat forces is in the interests of the side that currently has a large playing space.
3. Combination is the soul of chess.
The future great chess player was born in 1892 in Moscow into a very wealthy family. His father, Alexander Alekhin, was at one time the provincial marshal of the nobility in Voronezh. Alekhin Sr. adhered to liberal views and even sat in the last State Duma in the history of the Russian Empire. Mother Anisya Prokhorova was "from the peasants", and not from the nobility. But from the rich. Her father Ivan Prokhorov was one of those same Prokhorovs who kept the oldest textile factory in Moscow, the Trekhgornaya Textile Manufactory.
Alexander Alekhin was the youngest child in the family. He had a sister and brother Alexei, who was also a chess player, but did not achieve the glory of his younger brother. Although it was with his brother that Alexander played the first chess games, his mother taught him to play this game when he was about seven years old. Alekhine himself believed that he began to study chess more or less seriously only at the age of 12.
Chess fascinated him so much that his parents were even forced to take extreme measures and for some time simply forbid him to sit down at the board. In addition, he suffered from meningitis - a very serious illness, which at that time claimed many lives.
Alekhin studied at one of the most prestigious Moscow gymnasiums - Polivanovskaya, which was famous for its strong teaching staff. Among the students and graduates of this gymnasium at different times were such celebrities as Valery Bryusov, Andrei Bely, Georgy Lvov, Sergei Efron, Maximilian Voloshin. The sons of Leo Tolstoy also studied there.
Collage © L!FE. Photo: © wikipedia.org © Pixabay
According to the recollections of classmates, Alekhine was a withdrawn and aloof youth, he did not communicate with anyone, and in almost all school lessons he preferred to think over and analyze chess games, since from the age of ten he was very actively fond of playing chess by correspondence, which was then a fashionable hobby.
He was not interested in either the revolutionary hobbies of his classmates, or the insoluble questions of life, or the work of Gorky, who was insanely fashionable at that time, or the theater. Chess was his only passion. Later, he developed another hobby. It was his Siamese cat named Chess, whom Alekhine (who has already become the world's leading chess player) considered his talisman and always took to matches, planting next to him.
The most surprising thing is that at the same time Alekhine studied exemplarily and was an excellent student. His memory was truly phenomenal. Later, when he became already famous, even the most outstanding chess players of the world were surprised that Alekhine remembered all his played games, even if it was several years ago. At the same time, he was very distracted and forgetful in everyday life.
Already at the age of 16, young Alekhine won the tournament of the Moscow chess club among amateurs and went to his first international tournament in Germany. He failed to win, although he performed well. But he managed to meet (not within the framework of the tournament) with the prominent German grandmaster Kurt von Bardeleben. He was not a chess superstar, but he was considered a very strong master. 16-year-old Alekhin literally declassed him, winning four fights out of five and drawing one.
Photo: © RIA Novosti / Mikhail Filimonov
The following year, he participated in the Moscow Championship, but took only fifth place. But he won the All-Russian Amateur Tournament. Then he took part in several more international tournaments, taking places in the middle of the table. However, his potential was obvious: Alekhine fought on equal terms with famous masters, while still a high school student.
A few months before the outbreak of the First World War, a grandiose chess tournament was held in St. Petersburg with a very strong line-up of participants. The main stars of the competition were world champion Emanuel Lasker, rising world chess superstar Jose Raul Capablanca, one of the strongest German chess players Siegbert Tarrasch and a very strong American Frank Marshall. In total, 10 people participated in the tournament. The competition was held in two rounds. In the first round, all participants played with each other, after which the six strongest on points went to the second round and fought for the title of winner. Alekhine took the final third place, losing in the table only to the recognized world stars Lasker and Capablanca.
First trouble
Alekhine and Jose Raul Capablanca at the St. Petersburg chess tournament in 1914. Collage © L!FE. Photo: © wikipedia.org
A week after the end of the tournament, Alekhine graduated from the Imperial School of Law. In July 1914 he left for Germany for a major international tournament. In the midst of the competition (Alekhine just confidently took first place) the First World War began. All Russian chess players who were at the tournament were immediately interned as subjects of a hostile state. They spent several days in prison, after which they were released.
However, on the way to Baden-Baden, a group of Russian chess players were again arrested and sent to prison for several days. Finally, the Germans decided to subject the prisoners to an examination by a medical commission. Those whom she considered unfit for military service, they agreed to let go. The rest would have to remain in captivity until the end of the war.
Alekhine was declared unfit for service for health reasons and released. I had to get home through neutral countries, and as a result, the journey took several months. He returned to Russia only in November.
The outbreak of the war made it impossible to hold major international tournaments, and Alekhine whiled away his time in Russia, playing with local grandmasters, as well as giving blindfold sessions on several boards at once. Often such sessions were charitable, i.e. profits from them went to socially useful needs.
In the summer of 1916, he went to the front as part of the flying detachment of the Red Cross. Some sources report that the chess player was shell-shocked several times and received awards for rescuing the wounded, but not all sources confirm his awards.
The February Revolution deprived him of practice for several years. In addition, his father died, and Alekhine himself turned into a class alien "bourgeois". The most little-studied period of Alekhine's life began. Information about him is extremely contradictory, and no one really knows what he did during the Civil War. It is only known that he tried to leave for Odessa, where German troops were stationed at that time. There, he either tried to earn money in a chess tournament, or he wanted to emigrate through the local port. However, this was not possible. Soon the city was occupied by the Bolsheviks, and Alekhine found himself in the cellars of the Odessa Cheka. He was saved by the intercession of one of the big Bolsheviks. Researchers give different names, but most likely, one of the leaders of the local Bolsheviks, either Rakovsky or Manuilsky, intervened in the matter.
Shortly after his release, he moved to the quieter Moscow, which at least did not change hands every few months. Information about his stay in the Soviet capital is also contradictory. According to one version, he worked as a criminal investigation investigator, according to another, he worked as a translator through the Comintern. One way or another, in 1920 he was finally able to return to chess and confidently won the first All-Russian Chess Olympiad in 1920.
In Moscow, he did not stay long. Having met a Swiss Social Democrat who came to Moscow through the Comintern, he married her and obtained permission to leave the country with his wife.
At the peak of my career
Alekhine gives a simultaneous game session in Berlin, 1930. Collage © L!FE. Photo: © wikipedia.org
Having moved to Europe, Alekhine began to make up for lost time during the years of wars and revolutions. He was directly involved in almost all major tournaments held on the continent, and won more than half of them. By the mid-20s, it became clear that he was at least one of the five strongest chess players in the world.
Alekhine himself at that time dreamed of a match for the chess crown with Capablanca, who at that time dominated all world chess players and was considered the absolute strongest player. However, this was not so easy to do. Having become world champion, Capablanca put forward very strict requirements for applicants who wanted to challenge him. They had to compete according to its conditions (up to six wins, no restrictions on the number of matches) and, most importantly, provide the prize fund to the winner at their own expense.
This Capablanca fund was estimated at 10 thousand dollars, of which two thousand were received by the winner, and the rest was divided between the participants in a ratio of 60 to 40 in favor of the champion. Capablanca's demands were difficult to fulfill, 10 thousand at that time was a very large amount (approximately corresponding to 140 thousand modern dollars) and Alekhine did not have it.
Therefore, he had to wait six years for the championship match. As a result, the Argentine leadership helped with the organization on the condition that the fight would take place in Buenos Aires. The match began in September 1927 and ended only at the end of November, dragging on for 34 games (which was an absolute record at that time). Before the start of the fight, absolutely everyone was sure of Capablanca's victory. He was at the peak of his form, moreover, he had five victories over Alekhine, who had not a single one over his opponent. Some experts were even sure that only a few draw games would become the ultimate dream for Alekhine, and he would not be able to win a single victory over the world champion.
From left to right: Alekhine, referee Carlos Augusto Querencio, Capablanca. Photo: © wikipedia.org
All the more unexpected was the confident victory of Alekhine. He won six games, while Capablanca took only three. He didn't even show up to finish the last game, instead sending congratulations on the victory to the new champion. The key factor was the preparation of Alekhine, who spent a lot of time studying the opponent's style of play. Whereas Capablanca was so sure of his victory that he did not bother himself with exhausting preparations.
Alekhine became the first Russian world chess champion and the fourth in history after Steinitz, Lasker and Capablanca. The loser immediately requested a rematch, but now Alekhine insisted on the old rules of the championship fight, and Capablanca wanted to change them. Due to the fact that the rivals did not come to an agreement, the revenge between them did not take place.
The next seven years were the peak of Alekhine's career. He confidently won the tournaments in which he participated, traveled all over the world with chess tours, arranged sessions of simultaneous blind play, and wrote several books. He also defended the championship title twice, defeating challenger Efim Bogolyubov both times.
recession
Participants of the international chess tournament in St. Petersburg - José Capablanca (second from right, seated), Emanuel Lasker (third from left, seated), Alexander Alekhin (third from left, standing). Collage © L!FE. Photo: © RIA Novosti
In 1934, Alekhine married American-British chess player (and a very wealthy widow) Grace Vishar. From that moment on, his luck seemed to change. His game completely went wrong, he began to make childish mistakes. There has been a sharp decline in his career. If at the peak of his form he won most tournaments, regardless of the composition of their participants, now he was increasingly closer to the middle of the table.
Most researchers attribute the sharp decline in Alekhine's game to two factors. First, with the loss of motivation. After the victory over the seemingly invincible Capablanca, it was difficult to find new incentives, and Alekhine relaxed too much. Secondly, he began to get involved in alcohol and this was reflected in his results.
Euwe (left) and Salomon Flohr (center) analyze the game. Match Alekhine - Euwe, 1935. Photo: © wikipedia.org
In 1935, a match for the title of world champion took place between Alekhine and the Dutchman Max Euwe. Before the match, the Russian chess player was considered the absolute favorite and was confidently leading in the first games. But in recent matches, Euwe increasingly began to take over and eventually won by a small margin - 15.5 to 14.5.
Alekhin gathered his strength and brought himself into shape. In 1937, a rematch took place, which Alekhine confidently won (15.5 to 9.5), although the Dutchman was now the favorite. Alekhine regained the title of world champion. However, events soon unfolded in Europe that actually put an end to the career of a brilliant chess player.
Life under occupation
Collage © L!FE. Photo: © RIA Novosti / Vladimir Grebnev © Pixabay
In September 1939, World War II began. Alekhin by this time was a citizen of France and enlisted in the army. According to some sources, he served as a translator, according to others - in the sanitary unit. One way or another, he was not fit for military service in any case.
After the rapid defeat of France, he left for the south of the country, which was not occupied by the Germans. He tried to arrange a championship match with Capablanca, but the war caused financial difficulties, and a few months later the Cuban chess player died.
Alekhine was not enthusiastic about the new regime and tried to emigrate to Portugal. However, the Vichy regime did not give him permission to emigrate. In the end, it was possible to agree that he would be released from the country in exchange for several ideologically verified articles. Soon, the collaborationist newspaper Pariser Zeitung published several articles about "Jewish and Aryan chess" and their differences, the author of which was Alekhine. After that, he was released from the country.
However, his wife remained in France, fearing for her estate. Left without a livelihood, Alekhine during the war was forced to participate in chess tournaments on the territory of Nazi Germany and the occupied European countries. In 1943, having left for a tournament in neutral Spain, he refused to return and settled there for several years. To make ends meet, he gave chess lessons and also participated in local tournaments.
After the end of the war, chess life began to gradually revive. Alekhine was still the reigning world champion. In the winter of 1945, he was invited to the first major post-war tournament in London. However, he never took part in it because of the intrigues of his colleagues.
His old rival Euwe, having enlisted the support of his American colleagues (and also promising contenders for the title), staged a noisy campaign against Alekhine. The chess players gathered around Euwe threatened to boycott him if he participated in the tournament. Moreover, Euwe organized a whole commission, which began to demand that Alekhine be stripped of his champion title on the basis of his collaborationist activities.
The main accusations against Alekhine were his participation in several German chess tournaments, as well as articles about "Jewish and Aryan chess." Alekhine himself sent letters to the organizers of the tournaments, as well as to several chess federations, explaining his position. He claimed that he was forced to play in tournaments in order to at least somehow live under the conditions of occupation. And articles about "Aryan chess" were a condition for permission to emigrate. At the same time, he argued that there was nothing anti-Semitic in the original article and that it had been heavily edited by the editors.
It was really difficult to suspect Alekhine of sympathies for the Nazis. Back in 1939, after the German invasion of Poland, Alekhine publicly called for a boycott of the German chess team (at that time it participated in the Chess Olympiad), and then made repeated attempts to leave the occupied territories (and eventually settled in neutral Spain).
Max Euwe. Photo: ©AP Photo
It is worth noting that Euwe himself was also, as they say, not without sin. He did not play in Nazi Germany, but he participated in a chess tournament in Hungary, which was an ally of the Nazis. In addition, Euwe headed the chess federation in Nazi-occupied Holland and collaborated de facto with the collaborationist government. In addition, the situation was in his favor. In the event that Alekhine was stripped of his title, it either automatically passed to Euwe, or played out in a championship match involving Euwe and another contender.
However, not all leading chess players supported Euwe, and in the end, the issue of Alekhine's boycott and his disqualification was decided to be submitted to FIDE for consideration. Unexpectedly, help came from the USSR. The influential Soviet chess federation wanted to nominate Mikhail Botvinnik as a contender for the title of strong grandmaster. In general, the USSR maintained an ambivalent attitude towards Alekhine. On the one hand, it was officially recognized that he was a living chess genius and one of the greatest masters of the game. On the other hand, it was invariably emphasized that class and politically, he was completely alien to Soviet society.
While FIDE was considering the issue of disqualification, the chess player died. The health of the already elderly Alekhine was undermined by illness (three years before his death, he suffered a severe form of scarlet fever), alcohol and life in the occupation. On March 24, 1946, he died in a Portuguese hotel, sitting in an armchair at a chessboard. According to some reports, he choked and suffocated while eating, according to others, his heart stopped.
Alexander Alekhine became the only world champion in history who died in this rank and thus remained undefeated (another undefeated world champion, Bobby Fischer, was stripped of his title after refusing to match with a challenger and actually ended his career on this, but nevertheless he was formally defeated was not).
Tombstone on the grave of Alekhine at the Montparnasse cemetery in Paris. The work of his friend chess player Abram Barats. The tombstone contains the erroneous date of birth of November 1. Photo: © wikipedia.org
Interestingly, soon after Alekhine's death, the attitude towards him in the USSR changed dramatically to an extremely positive one. Although it was still recognized that he did not accept the revolution, nevertheless he began to be considered one of his own. Since 1956, tournaments in memory of the outstanding chess player have been regularly held in the USSR. In honor of Alekhine, an asteroid discovered by Soviet astronomers was named, books were written about him, and in some way he became a cult figure in the Soviet Union.
Alexander Alekhine is still the leader in the number of overall victories among all world chess champions in history. In 1240 official fights, he won 719 times. Thus, he achieved victory in 58% of fights. For comparison, Capablanca, Lasker and Fischer won 55% of the duels (while having half as many meetings), Euwe and Botvinnik won 47%, Kasparov - 42%, Karpov - 37%, and Spassky won only 32% at all. % fights. Therefore, it is not surprising that Alekhine is still considered one of the greatest chess players in history.
Alexander Alekhin- the first Russian chess player who achieved 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 bright attacking style.
Alekhine's games have long become classics, the study of which will bring chess lovers not only a lot of practical benefits, but also great aesthetic pleasure from the effective combinations and tactical attacks contained in them.
Alexander Alekhin was born in 1892 in Moscow. His father was a landowner and nobleman. He provided Alexander with a good education. he became a lawyer, having graduated from a prestigious gymnasium.
Alexander learned to play chess from the age of 7. The rules of the game were taught to him by his mother. In the future, he often whiled away the 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. Emanuel Lasker was still the world champion at that time.
However, Alekhine already then 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 in a row.
The fate of Alexander was greatly influenced by global historical events, the witness and participant of which he himself was: 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 leading, but the tournament was not destined to end. It was in those days that Germany started 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 took place in Russia. As a result, Alekhine lost his parents' property and title of nobility. 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 nevertheless 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 nevertheless left Soviet Russia, where at that time there were no conditions for playing chess.
The country was then going through hard times, and the state had no time for chess. Before leaving, Alekhine showed extraordinary abilities in the field of an investigator, as well as in the apparatus of the Communist International, where he worked as an interpreter (he was fluent in six languages).
The ascent of Alexander Alexandrovich to the top of the chess Olympus took place in 1927, when he was 35. His dream came true in distant Buenos Aires, where he became the fourth world chess champion, having won in a brilliant style of Capablanca himself with a score of 6:3.
Then his victory "sounded" like a bolt from the blue. The advantage of Capablanca 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 combination 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 the victory over Capablanca, the Russian master confidently won many major international tournaments. And no one doubted that he rightfully became a champion.
Jose Raul Capablanca tried to challenge Alekhine for a rematch.
But for the first time, the negotiations dragged on and Capablanca was ahead of the challenge with Efim Bogolyubov. Then Capablanca had another opportunity, but his sponsors let him down, and he could not meet the financial conditions for organizing the match.
Alekhin successfully defended his title twice against 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 make a living performing in numerous simultaneous sessions.
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 were the cause of spiritual depression, in which he was for a long time.
Alexander tried to find solace in alcohol, which, of course, 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 the blow, Alekhine "missed" and took on another pawn...
“Through chess, I brought up my character,” Alexander Alekhin liked to repeat.
After losing the match, he proved that these are not empty words. Alekhine quit smoking and drinking. In 1937, in a rematch, he confidently defeated the Dutch chess player and regained the 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 the territories occupied by Nazi Germany.
Alexander even had to give simultaneous sessions for German officers. For this, after the war, he was threatened with a “boycott” by his colleagues. Some of them even came up with the initiative to deprive the Russian master of the championship title.
But all this did not happen. Alekhine died in 1947 undefeated.
Alekhine was an excellent chess player "without looking at the board." In 1932, in Chicago, he gave a simultaneous blind game session 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 blackboard: analysis of positions during gymnasium lessons, imprisonment. The Russian master admitted that the aesthetic side in this type of chess struggle is of a low level, but you have the opportunity to be convinced of the opposite.
Your attention is invited to the end of the game Alekhine-Freeman (see the diagram) from the session of the game "blindly" against 26 chess players!
In this position, Alekhine announced checkmate in 4 moves to Black, playing "blindly". Can you find a mating combination by looking at the board?
We also offer you to watch a video about the chess champion:
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