Prophetic!>

Encounters with Alekhine by Pyotr Romanovsky.

"The All-Russian Amateur Tournament

I was very much delighted when the administration of the chess society included me in the All-Russian Amateur tournament and I immediately took an interest in the composition of the participants.

Many of them, for example Maliutin, Rosenkrantz, Chepurnov, Tereshchenko, Lebedev, Gelbak, were familiar to me from the autumn tournament of the St. Petersburg Chess Club in 1908 (The All-Russian tournament was planned for February 1909).

In July 1908 I had turned 16 years old. My pride was not a little flattered, that I was the youngest among all the participants and it would be necessary for me to do "battle" with solid and honourable people. Somehow, in a conversation with a member of the committee, Chudovski, I allowed myself to express my feelings about this and was somewhat disappointed, when two days later, meeting me, he said: "But you are not really the youngest participant in the tournament". I then learned, that participating in the tournament was a Moscow gymnasium student, Alekhine, who was three months younger than I. And, added Chudovski: "It seems that he plays quite strongly”.

From further conversations it was explained that this Moscow gymnasium student had already participated successfully in the Dusseldorf Amateur tournament and that in the autumn of 1908 he had taken first place in the tournament of the Moscow Chess Club, in which strong chess players had taken part.

Shortly afterwards in the chess column of the newspaper "Novoye Vremya" there appeared the game Alekhine-Blumenfeld, excellently won Alekhine. It produced a strong impression on me. The persuasiveness of the victory was enhanced by a brief report about the fact that Alekhine had won a match against Blumenfeld, who was then considered one of best chessplayers of Russia, by the score of +4, -0, =1.

At the end of January 1909 my introduction to Alekhine finally took place. The same Chudovski brought me to a young man with blond hair, seated at a chess table, and said: "Here is Romanovsky, of whom I have spoken to you about". Then he left us and we remained together. Alekhine immediately began to talk to me using the familiar “you”."How do you think you will do in the tournament?" - he asked me with a smile. Feeling myself somewhat embarrassed, I answered evasively that it was my first time playing in such a strong tournament and that it was difficult to foresee my result.

“Ah”, he interrupted me with a note of some disdain in his voice, “First of all, the tournament is not quite so strong as it seems to you, and, in the second place, in my opinion there is no sense playing in a tournament, where you do not expect to take first place. I, for example, am almost certain that I will take first, especially since, as I have learned, the title of Master will be conferred on the first prizewinner. With all these gentlemen”, he added, meaning our future opponents, “it is only necessary to play boldly".

Then Alekhine suggested we play some chess. I was so frightened by his statements that I quickly lost three games and we parted.

The tournament began. Alekhine’s swift attacks, his daring experimental play in the opening and resourcefulness in defence left a strong impression. His opponents, one after another, rather quickly suffered defeat.

The Years 1912-14

Tall, with a light blush on his cheeks, Alekhine looked smart and dandyish in his Law School uniform.

Once, at his invitation, I visited his home (he lived somewhere in the area of Isaakiev Square and Morsky Street) at an agreed upon hour, but he was not there. They proposed that I wait. Approximately an hour later Alekhine appeared.

Soon we sat in the drawing room and had a lively conversation. I questioned Alekhine about his foreign appearances at Hamburg, Carlsbad, and Stockholm. He spoke about his results very reservedly, although in the Stockholm tournament in the summer he had taken first prize.

"My victory was not difficult”, he said. – “My only possible rival was Spielmann but, after losing to Fridlizius in the first half, he was demoralized ". "Against Spielmann I won comparatively easily”, he added. –“I very much wanted to take revenge for my defeat in the Carlsbad tournament!” I was reluctant to talk about Alekhine’s failure at the Russian Masters Tournament at Vilnius, where he lost 8 games and collected 8 1/2 points in all out of 18 games, and our conversation soon passed on to other chess subjects.

Incidentally, I complained about the fact that my attempts to imitate his risky tactics had thus far been unsuccessful. "You sacrifice pieces and eventually you lose", I finished my thought. Alekhine began to laugh. "Well, my dear, first of all the whole point is that you must sacrifice correctly, and secondly, even after correctly sacrificing a piece, it is necessary to play with great precision in order to bring the attack to a conclusion... Recall the last game of the Lasker-Schlechter match. Schlechter’s sacrifice was completely correct, and Lasker’s “crown” hung by a thread. Unfortunately, however, things turned out differently."

"Had you wanted Schlechter to become the champion of the world?" - I asked.

"Schlechter is a master of great class”, answered Alekhine. – “in Hamburg and Carlsbad I felt this in my games with him. True, I was a little was afraid of him, and so the psychological chances were also on his side, but this does not diminish the persuasiveness of his victories. Furthermore, if Schlechter had won the match, we would now be witnessing a great contest between him and Capablanca".

Then he gave very high praise of the Cuban’s skill: “Capablanca always sacrifices correctly, and his entire game is so very beautiful, and how logical. He has lifted the combination of these two elements of the chess fight to a higher level. In any case, for Lasker, Capablanca is more dangerous than Rubinstein. One only has to get Lasker to play with him soon."

Alekhine was then sufficiently talkative and at the end of our conversation he began to discuss beauty in chess.

A curious history preceded Alekhine's arrival. For a long time he did not answer the organizing committee’s invitation to take part in the tournament and, finally, three days prior to the beginning of the event he sent a telegram with approximately the following content:

«Please inform me, is Capablanca participating in the tournament?» The organizing committee was extremely discouraged by this telegram. It very much would have liked to have Alekhine participate in the tournament, but the majority of members of committee believed that Alekhine was searching for meetings with Capablanca and that without participation of the latter, the tournament would hold little interest for Alekhine. Though it had almost already become clear that Capablanca would not take part in the tournament, the organizing committee gave Alekhine an evasive answer, as though there were still some chances of Capablanca's participation.

Having come for Alekhine to go to the tournament together, I could not resist myself and asked him what had provoked his telegram, to this he answered:

“If Capablanca would have participated, then I would not have played. The fact of the matter is that in the coming years I must prepare for my match with Capablanca for the world’s championship. For this purpose I must take only first prizes. Right now I am still weaker than Capablanca, and, this means, that in the event of his participation I must be content, at best, with second place which does not enter at all into my calculations”.

“But Lasker is the world champion right now”, - I noted. “This is unimportant”, - he answered, -“soon it will be Capablanca”.

And so, even then the twenty-two year old Alekhine cherished the dream of gaining the world championship and had outlined a plan of his own making in order to turn his dream into reality.

There Alekhine began work on a collection of the games of the All-Russian tournament of Masters of 1913-1914. He drew me into this work, and almost all evening long I spent in analysis.

I was amazed at his diligence and capacity for work. On any one analysis he was capable of spending several evenings. In analysis Alekhine was very objective. There was one case, when after a multi-hour analysis we arrived at the conclusion that the position had finally been exhausted, and he wrote out an extensive commentary on several pages.

Late in the evening I left to go to sleep. At 4 A.M. a telephone call awoke me. I raised the receiver. "Come to me immediately ", I heard Alexander Alexandrovich’s voice.

My last encounters with Alekhine took place in the days of the first championship of the Soviet Union during October 1920. The second day after my arrival from Petrograd I was living at the cadets dormitory. After dinner I sat in my room, when suddenly none other than Alekhine burst in on me. We had not seen each other in several years. He had grown thin, he seemed to have grown taller, he was animated, almost merry. Then began the questions, stories, and sharing of impressions.

Alekhine said that he was going to go abroad to participate in international tournaments and to prepare for the struggle with Capablanca. "Lasker’s song has been sung”, he said, “their match is at hand".

Day after the day the tournament approached its end. Alekhine confidently took the lead and captured first place, not having lost a game.

Soon Alekhine left abroad, and we never met again.

He also knew exactly how strong he was compared to the other top masters. For instance, pre-WW2 he admits <Schlechter is a master of great class”, answered Alekhine. – “in Hamburg and Carlsbad I felt this in my games with him. True, I was a little was afraid of him>

He certainly knew just how strong Capablanca was.

<Capablanca always sacrifices correctly, and his entire game is so very beautiful, and how logical. He has lifted the combination of these two elements of the chess fight to a higher level.>

And

<If Capablanca would have participated, then I would not have played. The fact of the matter is that in the coming years I must prepare for my match with Capablanca for the world’s championship. For this purpose I must take only first prizes. Right now I am still weaker than Capablanca, and, this means, that in the event of his participation I must be content, at best, with second place which does not enter at all into my calculations>

After winning the first Soviet Union Championship here is what Alekhine said to Romanovsky:

An enormous impression was produced on me by the crushing defeats inflicted by Alekhine on Vyakhirev, Rozanov, Goldfarb, & Elyashev.>

<«Please inform me, is Capablanca participating in the tournament?» The organizing committee was extremely discouraged by this telegram. It very much would have liked to have Alekhine participate in the tournament, but the majority of members of committee believed that Alekhine was searching for meetings with Capablanca and that without participation of the latter, the tournament would hold little interest for Alekhine. Though it had almost already become clear that Capablanca would not take part in the tournament, the organizing committee gave Alekhine an evasive answer, as though there were still some chances of Capablanca's participation.

Having come for Alekhine to go to the tournament together, I could not resist myself and asked him what had provoked his telegram, to this he answered:

“If Capablanca would have participated, then I would not have played. The fact of the matter is that in the coming years I must prepare for my match with Capablanca for the world’s championship. For this purpose I must take only first prizes. Right now I am still weaker than Capablanca, and, this means, that in the event of his participation I must be content, at best, with second place which does not enter at all into my calculations”.

“But Lasker is the world champion right now”, - I noted. “This is unimportant”, - he answered, -“soon it will be Capablanca”.

Entering Alekhine’s room, I found him behind the chessboard. It was the position that we had "drawn". "We did not notice the move b7-b6”, announced Alekhine, “which refutes everything. Let us take a look at it". And we took up the analysis again, sitting throughout the morning and the entire following day, since Alekhine turned out to be right.">

I did not know that telephones were in common use in Europe even before WW1.

<At 4 A.M. a telephone call awoke me. I raised the receiver. "Come to me immediately ", I heard Alexander Alexandrovich’s voice.>

The telephone would have given human society then a decidedly 'modern' flavor.

Hhmm, on-call surgeons then would have slept with their phones besides their beds, just as many of them do now. KRrrriinnggg, hello this is the nurse on duty speaking; Yawn.. OK, what's the case.. Age of patient.. Vital signs please... I will be there, but gimme a few minutes, gotta drink coffee first...

<"Lasker’s song has been sung”, he said, “their match is at hand".>