Games - Alexander Alekhine

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	Games - Alexander Alekhine

Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine (sometimes spelled "Aljechin") (IPA: , Russian: Александр Александрович Алéхин) (October 31 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, who along with his brother taught him chess in 1903, was the daughter of a rich industrialist.

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.

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. 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.

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