Alekhine is a poet who creates a work of art out of something that would hardly inspire another man to send home a picture postcard.
- Max Euwe
Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth Chess World Champion, reigning from 1927 to 1935, and from 1937 until his death in 1946. He is the founding inspiration for the Soviet School of Chess that came to dominate world chess after World War Two.
Born to aristocratic parents in Moscow, Alekhine became one of the world’s first officially recognised grandmasters in 1914 and was noted for his tactical flair and brilliant attacking play. That same year, he participated in the Mannheim 1914 chess tournament, which was interrupted by the outbreak of World War One. Interned in Germany during World War One and imprisoned in Odessa, Ukraine, on suspicion of spying in 1919, he eventually gained French citizenship in the 1920s.
Throughout the same period, Alekhine began to train with the goal of eventually challenging for the World Chess Championship title. His third-place finish behind the current World Champion, José Raúl Capablanca, and a former World Champion, Emanuel Lasker, in the New York 1924 tournament built both his confidence and his international reputation. Alekhine would later annotate the games played in the competition for its tournament book. He further increased his renown through his victory at the Baden Baden 1925 chess tournament, which featured a large field of 21 players. During a 1926 exhibition tour in Argentina, Alekhine was able to secure the financial support needed to support a world championship challenge, and the following year, he defeated Capablanca to become the new World Chess Champion.
His meticulous preparation, work ethic and dynamic style of play provided the founding inspiration for the Soviet School of Chess despite the fact that soon after he won the world title, his anti-Bolshevik commentaries marked him as an enemy of the Soviet Union until after his death.
During the early 1930s, Alekhine hit the peak of his career, winning San Remo 1930, Bled 1931, London 1932, Pasadena 1932, and Zurich 1934 chess tournaments. He successfully defended his world champion title in 1929 and 1934 before losing it to Max Euwe in 1935. Alekhine won a rematch in 1937 and remained World Champion until his death nine years later.
