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Alexander Alekhine 1892-1946
World chess champion 1927-1935,1937-1946 (17 years total).
"During a chess competition a chessmaster should be a combination of a beast of prey and a monk"
Personal Background
Match/ Tournament History
Game philosophy
Literary contributions
Other activities
Quotes
Games
Research references and credits
Relevant web sites
Revision history
Further reading
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Dr. Alexander Alexanderovich Alekhine was born on October 31, 1892 in Moscow. |
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His father was a wealthy landowner, a Marshal of the Nobility and a member of the Duma. His mother was an heiress of an industrial fortune. |
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Both he and his older brother, Alexei (1888-1939) were taught chess by their mother |
Match/ Tournament History
Introduction
After gaining the master title in 1909, Alekhine had played in 44 strong tournaments and had won or shared 25 first and eight second prizes. He had come first in all but 5 of the 39 minor tournaments. His historical ELO rating has been calculated to be 2690.
| Year | Description and implications | Result |
| 1907 | Moscow (17 games) | ? |
| 1908 | Fahrni match held in Dusseldorf | Draw (+1=1-1) |
| Bardeleben match held in Dusseldorf | Won (+4=1) | |
| Blumenfeld match held in Moscow | Won (+4=1) | |
| Dusseldorf | 4th= (+8=2-3) | |
| Moscow | 1st (+5=3-1) | |
| 1909 | Nenarokov match held in Moscow | Lost (-3) |
| Moscow i | 5th (+6=1-3) | |
| Moscow ii | 1st (+6=1) | |
| St Petersburg Gained the master title |
(+12=2-2) | |
| 1910 | 17th German Congress in Hamburg | 7/8 (+5=7-4) |
| 1911 | Carlsbad | 8/11 (+11=5-9) |
| 1912 | St Petersburg | 1st (+5=4) |
| Stockholm
Implications This and the St Petersburg event of the same year show that Alekhine was improving from previously poor tournament results - Hamburg and Carlsbad from the 2 years previous. |
1st (+8=1-1) | |
| Vilna, All Russian | 6/7 (+7=3-8) | |
| 1913 | Scheveningen | 1st (+11=1-1) |
| St Petersburg All Russian | 1/2 (+13=1-3) | |
| St Petersburg, Quadrangular | 1/2 (+2-1) | |
| Nimzowitsch match held in St Petersburg | (+1-1) | |
| Ed Lasker match (Paris-London) | +3 | |
| Levitsky match held in Moscow | Won (+7-3) | |
| 1914 | Manheim All Russian tournament held in St
Petersburg Tied with Nimzovich for first place |
1st= (+9=1-1) |
| St Petersburg tournament Implications With this tournament Alekhine became a Grandmaster and moved up in the ranks of the strongest players in the world. The 5 finalists were awarded the title of "Grandmaster of Chess" by Czar Nicholas II of Russia. |
3rd (+6=8-4) behind Lasker (1st) and Capablanca (2nd) |
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| Manheim tournament
War broke out - the 1st world war had begun. |
Was leading (+9=1-1) | |
| 1916 | Moscow | 1st (+10=1) |
| 1918 | Moscow Triangular | 1st (+3=3) |
| 1919 | Moscow | 1st (+11) |
| 1920 | First Soviet Championship
Implications With this encouraging tournament victory, Alekhine turned is back on an acting career! |
1st (+9=6) |
| 1921 | Triberg | 1st (+6=2) |
| Budapest
Implications In Budapest he popularized what is now called the Alekhine's defense. |
1st (+6=5) | |
| The Hague | 1st (+7=2) | |
| Match against Sämisch held in Berlin | +2 | |
| Match against Teichmann held in Berlin | Draw (+2=2-2) | |
| Match against Grigoriev held in Moscow | Won (+2=5) | |
| 1922 | Pistyan | 2/3 (+12=5-1) |
| London
Alekhine's wins Alekhine Alexander - Marotti
Davide 1-0 |
2nd to Capablanca (+8=7) | |
| Hastings
Decisive games Wins |
1st (+6=3-1) | |
| Vienna | 4/6 (+7=4-3) | |
| Match against Golmayo held in Madrid | Won (+1=1) | |
| Match against Dr Bernstein held in Paris | Won (+1=1) | |
| 1923 | Carlsbad
He tied for 1st with Bogoljubov and Maroczy |
1/3 (+9=5-3) |
| Portsmouth
A selection of Alekhine's wins |
1st (+10=1) | |
| Margate | 2/5 (+3=3-1) | |
| Match against Muffang held in Paris | Won (+2) | |
| Match against Aurbach held in Paris | Won (+1=1) | |
| 1924 | New York | 3rd prize (+6=12-2) after Lasker and Capablanca |
| 1925 | Blindfold simultaneous display
In February 1925 Dr. Alekhine broke the world blindfold record by playing 28 games blindfold simultaneously, winning 22, drawing 3 and losing 3. |
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| Paris
Alekhine's wins Colle Edgar -
Alekhine Alexander 0-1 |
1st (+5=3) | |
| Berne | 1st (+3=2-1) | |
| Hastings | 1/2 (+8=1) | |
| Baden-Baden
Alekhine's wins |
1st (+12=8) ahead of Rubenstein and Bogoljobow | |
| 1926 | Semmering | 2nd (+11=3-3) |
| Dresden | 2nd (+5=4) | |
| Scarborough
Alekhine's wins Alekhine Alexander - Colle
Edgar 1-0 |
1st (+7=1) | |
| Birmingham | 1st (+5) | |
| Buenos Aires | 1st (+10) | |
| 1927 | Buenos Aires World Championship match against
Capablanca
The match lasted 73 days featuring 34 games making it the longest world championship match ever held. This match loss finally shattered the legend of Capablanca as the human chess machine. Capablanca was denied a rematch with Alekhine. His relations with Alekhine his former friend degenerated into a public feud. The decisive games Capablanca,J - Alekhine,A
0-1 |
Alekhine won (+6=25-3) |
| Match against Euwe held in Amsterdam | (+3=5-2) | |
| Kecskemet | 1st (+8=8) | |
| New York | 2nd (+5=13-2) after Capablanca | |
| 1929 | Venice | 1st (+7=1) |
| Bradley Beach | 1st (+8=1) | |
| World title defence match against Bogoljubow
held in Weisbaden
Implications and Drama Bogoljubow was the winner of the Moscow tournament of 1925. This was a convincing match win by Alekhine. Decisive games Wins Alekhine Alexander -
Bogoljubov Efim 1-0 Bogoljubov Efim -
Alekhine Alexander 1-0 |
Won (+11=9-5) | |
| 1930 | Hamburg Olympiad
Alekhine played board 1 for France in this Olympiad |
(+9) |
| San Remo
Alekhine conceded only two draws to take first prize by a margin of 3.5 points. The rating performance by today's standards would be around FIDE 2800 performance. Alekhine's wins Alekhine Alexander -
Monticelli Mario 1-0 |
1st (+13=2) | |
| 1931 | Nice | 1st (+4=4) |
| Prague Olympiad | (+10=7-1) | |
| Bled (category 13)
Alekhine was 4.5 points ahead of the runner up Such a margin of tournament victory had not been evidenced since Lasker's London triumph in 1899! Alekhine's wins Stoltz Gosta - Alekhine
Alexander 0-1 |
1st (+15=11) | |
| 1932 | Thirty-two blindfold simultaneous games | +19=9-4 |
| London | 1st (+7=4) | |
| Berne | 1/3 (+2-1) | |
| Berne | 1st (+11=3-1) | |
| Pasadena | 1st (+7=3-1) | |
| Mexico | 1/2 (+8=1) | |
| 1933 | Paris | 1st (+7=2) |
| Folkestone Olympiad | (+8=3-1) | |
| Hastings | 2/3 (+4=5) | |
| Match against Dr Bernstein held in Paris | Draw (+1=2-1) | |
| 1934 | Rotterdam, Quadrangular | 1st (+3) |
| Zurich | 1st (+12=2-1) | |
| World title defence match against Bogoljubow
held in Baden-Baden
Decisive games Alekhine Alexander -
Bogoljubov Efim 0-1 |
Won (+8=15-3) | |
| 1935 | World Championship defence match against Euwe
held in Amsterdam
Game 24 picture Drama and implications The Dutchman Dr Max Euwe was a strong Grandmaster and excellent theoretician. He was however the underdog of the match. The seemingly impossible happened however.... Alekhine lost, despite
having led the match 5-2 at one stage. Decisive games from the match Wins ** This was the first world championship match to officially have seconds - an assistant who stayed up all night analyzing an adjourned chess position and gave advice to the champion as to the next move. |
Lost (+8=13-9) |
| Orebro | 1st (+8=1) | |
| Warsaw Olympiad | (+7=10) | |
| 1936 | Dresden | 1st (+5=3-1) |
| Bad Nauheim | 1st (+4=5) equal with Keres | |
| Dresden | 1st (+5=3-1) | |
| Podebrady | 2nd (+8=9) | |
| Nottingham tournament (Category 14)
Alekhine is 2nd from right seated, Capablanca is 3rd from left seated. Lasker is 2nd from left seated. Other world champion celebrities include Euwe (3rd from right seated), Botvinnik (2nd from right standing |
6th (+6=6-2) after Botvinnik, Capablanca, Euwe, Fine and Rehevsky | |
| Amsterdam | 3rd (+3=3-1) | |
| Amsterdam, Quadrangular | 1/2 (+2=1) | |
| Hastings | 1st (+7=2) | |
| 1937 | Margate | 3rd (+6-3) |
| Kemeri | 4/5 (+7=9-1) | |
| Nauheim-Stuttgart | 1st (+11=4) | |
| World Championship return match against Euwe
held in The Hague
Alekhine became the fist man in history to actually regain the World Chess Champion title. Decisive games Wins Euwe Max - Alekhine
Alexander 1-0 |
Won
(+10=11-4) |
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| Exhibition match against Euwe held in the Hague | (+1=2-2) | |
| 1938 | Carrasco-Montevideo | 1st (+11=4) |
| Margate | 1st (+6=2-1) | |
| Plymouth | 1/2 (+5=2) | |
Avro
The top eight players in the world participated in this tournament, making it the strongest tournament ever held! |
Fourth (+3=8-3) equal with Euwe | |
| 1939 | Buenos Aires Olympiad | (+9=7) |
| Montevideo | 1st (+7) | |
| Caracas | 1st (+10) | |
| Alekhine accepted Botvinnik's challenge for the World title. However the 2nd World war put an end to international chess in Europe. | ||
| 1941 | Munich | 2nd place (+8=5-2) with Lundin 1.5 points after Stoltz |
| Cracow | 1/2 (+6=5) | |
| Madrid | 1st (+5) | |
| 1942 | Salzburg | 1st (+7=1-2) |
| Munich | 1st (+7=3-1) | |
| Cracow | 1st (+6=3-1) | |
| Prague | 1/2 (+6=5) | |
| 1943 | Salzburg | 1/2 (+5=5) |
| Prague | 1st (+15=4) | |
| Bogoljuobow match held in Warsaw | Draw (+1-1) | |
| 1944 | Gijon | 1st (+7=1) |
| Match against Rey Ardid held in Zarragoza | Won (+1=3) | |
| 1945 | Madrid | 1st (+8=1) |
| Gijon | 2/3 (+6=1-2) | |
| Sabadell | 1st (+6=3) | |
| Almeria | 1/2 (+4=3-1) | |
| Melill | 1st (+6=1) | |
| Cáceres | 2nd (+3=1-1) | |
| Match against Lupi held in Lisbon-Estoril | Won (+2=1-1) | |
| March 24, 1946 | Alekhine had accepted a world title challenge
against Botvinnik. It was destined not to be.
In a Lisbon Hotel, Alexander Alekhine aged 53 was found dead in his room with a chess set in his hands. He was the only World Chess Champion to have died still in possession of the title. |
Game philosophy
Alekhine's style took ideas from all the various schools of thought. He
developed and integrated them together into a new dynamic chess. Combined with
his determination to win, and immense capacity for work, he became one of the
most effective players in his era.
He refined Lasker's approach to chess (of making the opponent play in uncomfortable positions to their style), by giving his opponents the opportunity to overindulge in their very own style of play! Examples include beating Capablanca in simple chess, out complicating Nimzovich, and luring Reti into enormously idea-rich positions!
| Book | Date |
| My Best Games of Chess 1908-1937 | 1927 |
| The Book of the New York International Chess Tournament 1924 | 1925 |
| The Book of the New York International Chess Tournament 1927 | |
| Nottingham 1936 tournament book | |
| My Best Games of Chess (1924-1937) | 1939 |
| 107 Great Chess Battles, 1939-1945 |
Introduction
Alekhine may not have been the most ideal World chess champion from the perspective of some his activities as a person as opposed to a chess-player. There is evidence that he was a Nazi collaborator.
1914-1919 activities
In 1915 and 1916 Alekhine served in the Union of Cities, a kind of Russian
Red cross in Austria. He took time off to win the Moscow Championship in both
years. He did see some of the battle and spent a month in Hospital in Tarnopol
with a spinal wound. He played some blindfold chess while in Hospital!
In 1918 he began work as an examining magistrate in the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department.
In 1919 he travelled to the Ukraine for unclear reasons. When the Allies liberated the Ukraine from German occupation, he was imprisoned in the death cell at Odessa, charged with "links with White counter-intelligence"- i.e. suspected of being a spy!.
Soon he was back in Moscow, this time working in a film studio, with the apparent intention of becoming an actor.
In 1920 however, he won the first all-Russian championship and turned his back on the stage. In this year he joined the communist party and became a translator for the Communist International and the secretary of the Communist Education Department.
In 1921 Alekhine married again - a swiss delegate, Anneliese Rüegg. This is strange because it is unclear what the state of his current marriage was. This new marriage enabled Alekhine to get permission to travel across the Soviet borders. He went to Berlin, soon abandoned his wife, and became a chess professional, never again to return to Russia.
1925
In 1925 Alekhine became a naturalized French citizen. He qualified for entrance to the Sorbonne Law School where he wrote a thesis on the Chinese prison system, and always signed himself "Dr", although certain sources, e.g. Hooper state that he never completed his doctorate at Sorbonne.
1941-1943 activities
In 1941 Alekhine wrote a series of anti-Semitic chess articles. Was the motivation of this to collaborate with the Nazis in order to protect his wife and their French assets? Please Email Feedback . In 1941-1942 he participated in Nazi chess tournaments in Munich, Salzburg, Warsaw, and Prague.
"During a chess competition a chessmaster should be a combination of a beast of prey and a monk"
"Chess is not only knowledge and
logic"
"The fact that a player is very short of time is, to my mind, as little to be considered a an excuse as, for instance, the statement of the law-breaker that he was drunk at the time he committed the crime."
Games
Play through Alekhine's
games using a Java browser!
Alekhine
games zipped (Chessbase format)
Research references and credits
The Oxford companion to chess by David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld
The Guinness Book of Chess Grandmasters by William Hartston
Alexander Alekhine by Alexander Kotov
Certain pictures, e.g. Avro courtesy of Live
on the net chess archives
See the Deja News 'Chess History' Discussion Group
The Game is Afoot website - Alekhine
World
chess championship matches
New
York 1924 International Chess Tournament
Back to top
Revision history
1st draft 12 December 1999
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Alexander Alekhine The 4th official world chess champion
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Brilliant Tal finishes |
