JOSE RAUL CAPABLANCA (born Nov-19-1888, died Mar-08-1942, 53 years old) Cuba [what is this?] José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera was the third World Champion, reigning from 1921 until 1927. Renowned for the simplicity of his play, his legendary endgame prowess, accuracy, and the speed of his play, he earned the nickname of the "Human Chess Machine". Background Capablanca, the second son of a Spanish Army officer, was born in Havana. He learned to play at an early age by watching his father and defeated Cuban Champion Juan Corzo in an informal match in 1901 by 6.5-5.5 (+4 −3 =5), turning 13 years of age during the match. Despite this and despite taking 4th place in the first Cuban Championship in 1902, he did not focus on chess until 1908 when he left Columbia University where he had enrolled to study chemical engineering and play baseball. He did, however, join the Manhattan Chess Club in 1905, soon establishing his dominance in rapid chess. He won a rapid chess tournament in 1906 ahead of the World Champion Emanuel Lasker, and played many informal games against him. Within a year or two of dropping out of university and after playing simultaneous exhibitions in dozens of US cities, winning over 95% of his games, Capablanca had established himself as one of the top players in the world, especially after the Capablanca - Marshall (1909) New York match exhibition win 15-8 (+8 -1 =14). Tournaments Capablanca won the 1910 New York State Championship by defeating co-leader Charles Jaffe in a tiebreaker match. In 1911, he placed second in the National Tournament in New York, with 9½ out of 12, half a point behind Marshall, and half a point ahead of Jaffe and Oscar Chajes. There followed Capablanca's groundbreaking win at San Sebastian (1911) with 9½/14 (+6 -1 =7), ahead of Akiba Rubinstein and Milan Vidmar on 9, Marshall on 8.5, and other luminaries such as Carl Schlechter, Siegbert Tarrasch and Ossip Bernstein. Before the tournament, Aron Nimzowitsch protested the unknown Capablanca's involvement in the event, but the latter demonstrated his credentials by defeating Nimzowitsch in their game. Winning at San Sebastian was only the second time a player had won a major tournament at his first attempt since Harry Pillsbury 's triumph at Hastings in 1895, and it provided a powerful boost to his credibility to challenge for the world title. He did so, but the match did not take place for another 10 years. In early 1913, Capablanca won a tournament in New York with 11/13 (+10 -1 =2), half a point ahead of Marshall. Capablanca then finished second with 10/14 (+8 -2 =4), a half point behind Marshall in Havana, losing one of their individual games, rumour having it that he asked the mayor to clear the room so that no one would see him resign. Returning to New York, Capablanca won all thirteen games at the New York tournament of 1913, played at the Rice Chess Club. 1914 saw the <"tournament of champions"> played at St. Petersburg. Capablanca, with 13/18 (+10 -2 =6), came second behind Lasker and well ahead of Alexander Alekhine on 10, Tarrasch on 8.5 and Marshall on 8. After the outbreak of World War I, Capablanca stayed in New York and won tournaments held there in 1915 (13/14 (+12 -0 =2)), 1916 (14/17 (+12 -1 =4)) and 1918 (10.5/12 (+9 =3)). During the New York 1918 tournament, Marshall played his prepared Marshall Attack of the Ruy Lopez* against Capablanca, but Capablanca worked his way through the complications and won. Soon after the war, Capablanca crossed the Atlantic to decisively win the Hastings Victory Tournament 1919 with 10.5/11, a point ahead of Borislav Kostic. Capablanca did not play another tournament until 1922, the year after he won the title from Lasker. During his reign, he won London 1922 with 13/15 (no losses), 1.5 points ahead of Alekhine; placed second behind Lasker at New York 1924 (suffering his first loss in eight years – to Richard Reti – since his 1916 lost to Oscar Chajes); placed 3rd at Moscow in 1925 behind Efim Bogoljubov and Lasker respectively with +9 =9 -2; won at Lake Hopatcong (New York) 1926 with 6/8 (+4 =4), a point ahead of Abraham Kupchik and won at New York in 1927 with 14/20 (+10 -1 =9), 2.5 points clear of Alekhine, his last tournament before his title match with Alekhine. During the latter tournament, Capablanca, Alekhine, Rudolf Spielmann, Milan Vidmar, Nimzowitsch and Marshall played a quadruple round robin, wherein Capablanca finished undefeated, winning the mini-matches with each of his rivals, 2½ points ahead of second-placed Alekhine, and won the "best game" prize for a win over Spielmann. This result, plus the fact that Alekhine had never defeated him in a game, made him a strong favourite to retain his title in the upcoming match against Alekhine. However, Alekhine's superior preparation prevailed against Capablanca's native talent. After losing the title, Capablanca settled in Paris and engaged in a flurry of tournament competition aimed at improving his chances for a rematch with Alekhine. However the latter dodged him, refusing to finalise negotiations for a rematch, boycotting events that included Capablanca, and insisting that Capablanca not be invited to tournaments in which he participated. In 1928, Capablanca won at Budapest with 7/9 (+5 =4), a point ahead of Marshall, and at Berlin with 8.5/12 (+5 =7), 1.5 points ahead of Nimzowitsch; he also came second at Bad Kissingen with 7/11 (+4 -1 =6), after Bogoljubov. In 1929, Capablanca won at Ramsgate with 5.5/7 (+4 =3) ahead of Vera Menchik and Rubinstein, at Budapest with 10.5/13 (+8 =5), and at Barcelona with 13.5/14, two points clear of Savielly Tartakower he also came equal second with Spielmann and behind Nimzowitsch at Carlsbad with 14.5/21 (+10 -2 =9). He won at the 1929-30 Hastings tournament and came second at Hastings in 1930-31, behind Max Euwe, his only loss being to Sultan Khan. Several months later he won New York for the last time, this time with a score of 10/11 (+9 =2) ahead of Isaac Kashdan. Perhaps discouraged by his inability to secure a rematch with Alekhine, there followed a hiatus for over three years before he reentered the fray with a fourth placing at Hastings in 1934-35 with 5.5/9 (+4 -2 =3), behind Sir George Thomas, Euwe and Salomon Flohr but ahead of Mikhail Botvinnik and Andre Lilienthal. In 1935, he secured 4th place in Moscow with 12/19 (+7 -2 =10), a point behind Botvinnik and Flohr, and a half point behind the evergreen Lasker. Also in 1935, he came second at Margate with 7/9 (+6 -1 =2), half a point behind Samuel Reshevsky. 1936 was a very successful year, coming 2nd at Margate with 7/9 (+5 =4), a half point behind Flohr, but then he moved up a gear to take Moscow with 13/18 (+8 =10), a point ahead of Botvinnik who in turn was 2.5 points ahead of Flohr, and then came =1st with Botvinnik at the famous Nottingham tournament, with 10/14 (+7 -1 =6) ahead of Euwe, Reuben Fine and Reshevsky on 9.5, and Flohr and Lasker on 8.5. These latter two results were the only tournaments in which he finished ahead of Lasker, which enhanced his chances of challenging for the title, but a challenge to World Champion Euwe was out of the question until after the Euwe - Alekhine World Championship Rematch (1937) , which was won by Alekhine. In 1937, Capablanca came =3rd with Reshevsky at Semmering with 7.5/14 (+2 -1 =11) behind Paul Keres and Fine and in 1938 he won the Paris tournament with 8/10 (+6 =4) ahead of Nicolas Rossolimo. The worst result of his career occurred at the AVRO tournament which was played in several cities in the Netherlands in 1938, placing 7th out of 8 players with 6/14 (+2 -4 =8), the only time he ever had a negative score in a tournament. His health in this tournament was fragile as he had suffered severe hypertension, which affected his concentration towards the end of his games; he may have also suffered a slight stroke halfway through the tournament. Travelling between the numerous cities in which the tournament was played was also hard on the ageing master. In 1939 he played his last tournament at Margate, placing =2nd with Flohr on 6.5/9 (+4 =5) a point behind Keres. Shortly afterwards, he finished his playing career – albeit unknowingly - in a blaze of glory by winning gold with +7 =9 on board one for Cuba at the 8th Olympiad in Buenos Aires. Matches In addition to the informal match against Corzo in 1901 and the exhibition match against Marshall in 1909 (see above), Capablanca played a three-game match against Charles Jaffe in New York in 1912, winning two and drawing one, and won the first game of a match against Chajes before the latter withdrew from the match. In 1914, he defeated Ossip Bernstein 1.5-0.5, Tartakower by 1.5-0.5 and Andre Aurbach by 2-0. On his way to the 1914 tournament in St Petersburg, he played two-game matches against Richard Teichmann and Jacques Mieses in Berlin, winning all his games. Once he reached Saint Petersburg, he played similar matches against Alexander Alekhine, Eugene Znosko-Borovsky and Fyodor Duz-Khotimirsky, losing one game to Znosko-Borovsky and winning the rest. In 1919, Capablanca accepted a challenge to a match from Borislav Kostić who had come second at New York in 1918 without dropping a game. The match was to go to the first player to win eight games, but Kostić resigned from the match, played in Havana, after losing five straight games - Capablanca - Kostic (1919). In late 1931, just before his temporary retirement from top-level chess, Capablanca also won a match (+2 −0 =8) against Euwe - Capablanca - Euwe (1931). World Championship Capablanca's win at San Sebastian in 1911 provided the results and the impetus for Capablanca to negotiate with Lasker for a title match, but some of Lasker's conditions were unacceptable to Capablanca, especially one requiring the challenger to win by two points to take the title, while the advent of World War I delayed the match. In 1920, Lasker and Capablanca agreed to play the title match in 1921, but a few months later, the former was ready to surrender the title without a contest, saying, "You have earned the title not by the formality of a challenge, but by your brilliant mastery." A significant stake ($25,000, $13,000 guaranteed to Lasker) was raised that induced Lasker to play in Havana where Capablanca won the Lasker - Capablanca World Championship Match (1921) - without losing a game - after Lasker resigned from the match when trailing by 4 games, the first time a World Champion had lost his title without winning a game until the victory by Vladimir Kramnik in the Kasparov - Kramnik Classical World Championship Match (2000). From 1921 to 1923, Alekhine, Rubinstein and Nimzowitsch all challenged Capablanca, but only Alekhine could raise the money stipulated in the so-called "London Rules", which these players had signed in 1921. A group of Argentinean businessmen, backed by a guarantee from the president of Argentina, promised the funds for a World Championship match between Capablanca and Alekhine, and once the deadline for Nimzowitsch to lodge a deposit for a title match had passed, the title match was agreed to, beginning in September 1927. Capablanca lost the Capablanca - Alekhine World Championship Match (1927) at Buenos Aires in 1927 by +3 -6 =25 in the longest title match ever, until it was surpassed by the legendary Karpov - Kasparov World Championship Match (1984/85). The match lasted over ten weeks, taking place behind closed doors, thus precluding spectators and photographers. All but two of the 34 games opened with the Queen's Gambit Declined. Before Capablanca and Alekhine left Buenos Aires after the match, they agreed in principle to stage a rematch, with Alekhine essentially sticking with the conditions initially imposed by Capablanca. Despite on-again off-again negotiations over the next 13 years, the rematch never materialised, with Alekhine playing two title matches each against Bogolyubov and Euwe in the subsequent decade. While Capablanca and Alekhine were both representing their countries at the Buenos Aires Olympiad in 1939, an attempt was made by Augusto de Muro, the President of the Argentine Chess Federation, to arrange a World Championship match between the two. Alekhine declined, saying he was obliged to be available to defend his adopted homeland, France, as World War II had just broken out. A couple of days prior to this, Capablanca had declined to play when his Cuban team played France, headed by Alekhine, in the Olympiad. Simultaneous exhibitions Capablanca's legendary speed of play lent itself to the rigours of simultaneous play, and he achieved great success in his exhibitions. From December 1908 through February 1909, Capablanca toured the USA and in 10 exhibitions he won 168 games in a row before losing a game in Minneapolis; his final tally for that tour was 734 games, winning 96.7% (+703 =19 -12). In March and April 1911, Capablanca toured Europe for the first time, giving exhibitions in France and Germany scoring +234=33-19. Once completed, he proceeded to San Sebastian and his historic victory before again touring Europe via its cities of Rotterdam, Leiden, Middelburg, The Hague, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Berlin, Breslau, Allenstein, Prague, Budapest, Vienna, Stuttgart, Mannheim, Frankfurt, Paris, London and Birmingham at the end of which his tally was +532=66-54. After he received his job as a roving ambassador-at-large from the Cuban Foreign Office, Capablanca played a series of simuls in London, Paris, Berlin, Warsaw, Riga, Moscow, Kyiv, and Vienna on his way to St Petersburg in 1914, tallying +769=91-86. In 1922, Capablanca gave a simultaneous exhibition in Cleveland against 103 opponents, the largest in history up to that time, winning 102 and drawing one – setting a record for the best winning percentage ever – 99.5% - in a large simultaneous exhibition. In 1925 Capablanca gave a simultaneous exhibition in Leningrad and won every game but one, a loss against 12-year-old Mikhail Botvinnik, whom he predicted would one day be champion. Capablanca still holds the record for the most games ever completed in simultaneous exhibitions, playing and completing 13545 games between 1901-1940.** Legacy, testimonials and life Soon after gaining the title, Capablanca married Gloria Simoni Betancourt in Havana. They had a son, José Raúl Jr., in 1923 and a daughter, Gloria, in 1925. His father died in 1923 and his mother in 1926. In 1937 he divorced Gloria and in 1938 married Olga Chagodayev, a Russian princess. Capablanca's famous "invincible" streak extended from February 10, 1916, when he lost to Oscar Chajes in the New York 1916 tournament, to March 21, 1924, when he lost to Richard Réti in the New York International tournament. During this time he played 63 games, winning 40 and drawing 23, including his successful title match against Lasker. Between 1914 and his World Championship match against Alekhine, Capablanca had only lost four games of the 158 match and tournament games he had played. In match, team match, and tournament play from 1909 to 1939 he scored +318=249-34. Only Spielmann held his own (+2 −2 =8) against Capablanca, apart from Keres who had a narrow plus score against him (+1 −0 =5) due to his win at the AVRO 1938 tournament, during which the ailing Capablanca turned 50, while Keres was 22. Capablanca played himself in Chess Fever http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0015673/, a short film shot by V. Pudovkin at the 1925 Moscow tournament. The film can be seen at http://video.google.com/videoplay?d.... On 7 March 1942, Capablanca collapsed at the Manhattan Chess Club and he was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died the next morning from "a cerebral haemorrhage provoked by hypertension". Emanuel Lasker had died in the same hospital the year before. Capablanca's body was given a public funeral in Havana's Colón Cemetery a week later, with President Batista taking personal charge of the funeral arrangements. Capablanca proposed a new chess variant, played on a 10x10 board or a 10x8 board. He introduced two new pieces. The chancellor had the combined moves of a rook and knight (the piece could move like a rook or a knight). The other piece was the archbishop which had the combined moves of a bishop and knight. Capablanca‘s style also heavily influenced the styles of later World Champions Botvinnik, Robert James Fischer and Anatoly Karpov. Botvinnik observed that Alekhine had received much schooling from Capablanca in positional play before their fight for the world title made them bitter enemies. While not a theoretician as such, he wrote several books including A Primer of Chess, Chess Fundamentals and My Chess Career. Alekhine: <…Capablanca was snatched from the chess world much too soon. With his death, we have lost a very great chess genius whose like we shall never see again.> Lasker: <I have known many chess players, but only one chess genius: Capablanca.> Notes Capablanca occasionally played consultation on the team consisting of Reti / Capablanca. Sources: Bill Wall's Chess Master Profiles - http://billwall.phpwebhosting.com/a...; Edward Winter's article A Question of Credibiity: http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/...; Chess Corner's article on Capablanca: http://www.chesscorner.com/worldcha... and <kingcrusher>'s online article at http://www.gtryfon.demon.co.uk/bcc/.... A list of books about Capablanca can be found at http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/.... * Ruy Lopez, Marshall (C89) ** http://www.fide.com/component/conte... Wikipedia article: José Raúl Capablanca Last updated: 2025-03-16 04:08:07

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page 1 of 51; games 1-25 of 1,252  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. R Iglesias vs Capablanca 0-1 38 1893 Odds game 000 Chess variants 2. Capablanca vs E Delmonte 1-0 18 1901 Match-series B21 Sicilian, 2.f4 and 2.d4 3. L Paredes vs Capablanca 0-1 45 1901 Match-series C44 King's Pawn Game 4. Capablanca vs E Corzo 1-0 35 1901 Match-series C67 Ruy Lopez 5. Capablanca vs A Fiol ½-½ 49 1901 Match-series C45 Scotch Game 6. J Corzo vs Capablanca 1-0 41 1901 Havana casual B01 Scandinavian 7. A Gavilan vs Capablanca 0-1 39 1901 Match-series C45 Scotch Game 8. A K Ettlinger vs Capablanca 0-1 53 1901 Casual game C45 Scotch Game 9. Capablanca vs M Marceau 1-0 31 1901 Match-series C45 Scotch Game 10. M Marquez Sterling vs Capablanca ½-½ 50 1901 Havana C77 Ruy Lopez 11. Capablanca vs J A Blanco 1-0 49 1901 Match-series C45 Scotch Game 12. E Delmonte vs Capablanca 0-1 32 1901 Match-series D00 Queen's Pawn Game 13. Capablanca vs L Paredes 1-0 29 1901 Match-series C02 French, Advance 14. E Corzo vs Capablanca 1-0 32 1901 Match-series C11 French 15. Capablanca vs J Corzo 0-1 60 1901 Havana casual C45 Scotch Game 16. A Fiol vs Capablanca 0-1 36 1901 Havana C55 Two Knights Defense 17. Capablanca vs A Gavilan 1-0 77 1901 Match-series C01 French, Exchange 18. Capablanca vs M Marquez Sterling 1-0 30 1901 Havana C01 French, Exchange 19. Capablanca vs E Corzo 0-1 30 1901 Havana casual C40 King's Knight Opening 20. Capablanca vs E Corzo 1-0 42 1901 Havana casual C40 King's Knight Opening 21. J A Blanco vs Capablanca 0-1 77 1901 Havana C55 Two Knights Defense 22. Capablanca vs C Echevarria 1-0 49 1901 Simul, 8b C44 King's Pawn Game 23. Capablanca vs J Corzo 0-1 29 1901 Capablanca - Corzo C45 Scotch Game 24. J Corzo vs Capablanca 1-0 27 1901 Capablanca - Corzo C52 Evans Gambit 25. Capablanca vs J Corzo ½-½ 61 1901 Capablanca - Corzo A80 Dutch  page 1 of 51; games 1-25 of 1,252

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< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 214 OF 264 ·  Later Kibitzing> Nov-19-10    BobCrisp: From an interview published in the Havana newspaper, <El Mundo> of 28 December 1927, in the wake of his title defeat. <Now I know more about chess. I know far more secrets about the technique of the game. Experience has enriched my knowledge but I play worse than before. The personal factor has declined, and this cannot be replaced by books or knowledge. The reason for this is easy to ascertain. Each year, or rather each day, which passes diminishes my interest in the game. Other matters have stimulated my mind - perhaps as a result of that kind of boredom that arises in me when I play a game - and at present it is truly painful for me to have to be enslaved for five hours at a chessboard, indulging in intense mental effort which in reality brings me no great personal satisfaction.> Nov-19-10    crazybird: Interesting excerpt <BobCrisp>. Magnus, who incidentally, has a similar playing style as Capablanca had something similar to say here.. <SPIEGEL: Mr Carlsen, what is your IQ? Carlsen: I have no idea. I wouldn’t want to know it anyway. It might turn out to be a nasty surprise. SPIEGEL: Why? You are 19 years old and ranked the number one chess player in the world. You must be incredibly clever. Carlsen: And that’s precisely what would be terrible. Of course it is important for a chess player to be able to concentrate well, but being too intelligent can also be a burden. It can get in your way. I am convinced that the reason the Englishman John Nunn never became world champion is that he is too clever for that. SPIEGEL: How that? Carlsen: At the age of 15, Nunn started studying mathematics in Oxford; he was the youngest student in the last 500 years, and at 23 he did a PhD in algebraic topology. He has so incredibly much in his head. Simply too much. His enormous powers of understanding and his constant thirst for knowledge distracted him from chess.> http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail... Nov-19-10    Diagonale du Fou: crazybird, that interview shows that Carlsen indeed has a very high level of intelligence and, more importantly, burgeoning wisdom. RIP Jose Raul Capablanca Nov-19-10    mojonera: gracias Capa por haber venido al mundo y enseñarnos que es la inteligencia . Nov-19-10    paladin at large: <beatgiant> Answer: Emanuel Lasker Siegbert Tarrasch David Janowski and Celso Fidel Golmayo y Zupide (1820-1898): C Golmayo vs Steinitz, 1867 Golmayo followed Capa’s progress most probably in 1893, and after an interval of a few years when the boy played only at home, again at the Havana Chess Club. In the opening pages of My Chess Career, Capa wrote: “When eight years old (1896-1897) I frequented the club on Sundays, and soon Don Celso Golmayo, the strongest player there, was unable to give me a Rook”. and Journalist Quentin Reynolds interviewed Capablanca for a 1935 article in Collier’s magazine. Reynolds had a poor understanding of chess, but reported what Capa said about the players at the Havana Chess Club who tested him in the 1890s: “Don Celso Golmayo, champion of the club, was the only man there who could give the boy a rook and beat him.” Nov-19-10    WhiteRook48: oh, gosh, happy birthday Capa Nov-19-10    Antiochus: Capa's simultaneous games from Argentina (1914) 16 games, here: http://adf.ly/93219/banner/http://w... Nov-19-10    Monoceros: I've recently started into Capablanca's <Chess Fundamentals> and what most impressed me so far is that Capablanca shows no mercy in criticizing his own play in the games that he cites. As a result he comes across as far more an authority for me than someone who only brags about his wins. Nov-20-10    Eric Schiller: If you love Capablanca's chess get this book: http://www.chess.com/article/view/b...! Nov-20-10    BobCrisp: <Please observe our posting guidelines: 2. No spamming, advertising, or duplicating posts.> Nov-20-10    Eric Schiller: <crisp> It isn't my book. I just linked to my review. In no sense did that violate any guidelines. It is directly related to the page topic. It is a book from a small publisher so most people don't know about it. Nov-20-10    TheFocus: <paladin at large> <beatgiant> <Answer: Emanuel Lasker Siegbert Tarrasch David Janowski and Celso Fidel Golmayo y Zupide (1820-1898): C Golmayo vs Steinitz, 1867 Golmayo followed Capa’s progress most probably in 1893, and after an interval of a few years when the boy played only at home, again at the Havana Chess Club. In the opening pages of My Chess Career, Capa wrote: “When eight years old (1896-1897) I frequented the club on Sundays, and soon Don Celso Golmayo, the strongest player there, was unable to give me a Rook”. and Journalist Quentin Reynolds interviewed Capablanca for a 1935 article in Collier’s magazine. Reynolds had a poor understanding of chess, but reported what Capa said about the players at the Havana Chess Club who tested him in the 1890s: “Don Celso Golmayo, champion of the club, was the only man there who could give the boy a rook and beat him.”> I think you could add Martinez and Ponce to that group. Ponce teamed up with Tschigorin in a consultation game they won against Steinitz. Of course, I did not think you would add off-hand or skittles games to those that beat both Capablanca and Steinitz. Nov-20-10    BobCrisp: <schiller>, I realise it isn't your book (otherwise you couldn't in all good conscience recommend it), but it's still advertising according to the following popular definition: <Advertising is a form of communication intended to persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to purchase or take some action upon products, ideals, or services. > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advert... Thank you and goodnight. Nov-20-10    TheFocus: But it is allowed at <ChessBookForum> with <CG>'s permission and blessing. Even reviewing a book is advertising by that definition. Nov-30-10    BobCrisp: <As one by one I mowed them down, my superiority soon became apparent.> Mowed them down? Tell me this is a figurative translation. Dec-01-10    visayanbraindoctor: <4817. Capablanca’s clean sweep From page 15 of the January 1934 American Chess Bulletin: ‘Having returned home during the Christmas holidays, José R. Capablanca is still in Havana, where, happily, political conditions are returning to normal. Before leaving New York he visited the Marshall Chess Club and, quite informally, took part in one of its weekly rapid transit tournaments. Winning nine games straight, the famous Cuban carried off the first prize. Reuben Fine, club champion who has to his credit a long series of victories in these weekly bouts, scored 7-2 and divided the second, third and fourth prizes with Milton Hanauer and Samuel Reshevsky.’> http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/... An interesting narrative which describes Capablanca 'mowing' down a field that included Fine and Reshevsky in rapid transit games. Fine himself was a legend in quick games, supposedly able to hold himself as an equal against Fischer in blitz even in his elderly years. Fine himself says the Cuban treated him like a child in such games. Does that mean Capablanca destroyed him like a baby in blitz? (",) An interesting fact that could be gleaned is that there were weekly rapid transit tournaments in the Marshall Chess Club. This implies that quick games were as popular in those days as they are now; although obviously the masters then never regarded such games as seriously as classical games. Probably that is why no one then bothered to preserve the score-sheets, if they even bothered to write down their moves. It's the same today in the sense that you do not see top GMs crowing about their quick games successes; only their fans do. (I cannot understand all the commotion of some chess fans on the blitz and rapid prowess of their favorite players.) What was the time limit for rapid transit games? If it were 5 seconds per move, and assuming that the ordinary chess game lasts 40 moves, that's 5 seconds x 2 (White and Black moves) x 40 = 400 seconds or 6 minutes for the whole game on the average. Somewhat equivalent to blitz games that usually last 5 to 10 minutes. If the time limit is 30 seconds per moves, that's 30 seconds x 2 (White and Black moves) x 40 = 2400 seconds or 40 minutes for the whole game. That's closer to the rapid time controls we see nowadays. Dec-01-10    TheFocus: <visayandoctor> The most popular speed was 10 second chess, or buzzer chess. A person watched the clock and rang a bell or buzzer and everyone had to move. In the 50s and 60s, 5 minute chess became the norm. Dec-01-10    HeMateMe: Wasn't buzzer chess also called "Rapid Transit Chess"? Dec-01-10    visayanbraindoctor: <heFocus: The most popular speed was 10 second chess, or buzzer chess.> Let me see. 10 seconds x 2 (White and Black moves) x 40 = 800 seconds or 13 minutes for the whole game. That's somewhat similar to a blitz game wherein both sides have 6 to 7 minutes each, in which case a game would most likely last 12 to 14 minutes (if someone did not get mated earlier or the game got into a long ending). The rapid transit 10 second chess could of course last a bit longer, just as in some blitz tournaments (such as the recently concluded Tal) where they add incremental time to each player's clock. At any rate, from what I can see this rapid transit game looks a lot like blitz. Maybe they also called it blitz informally. Dec-01-10    TheFocus: <HeMateMe>< Wasn't buzzer chess also called "Rapid Transit Chess"?> Yes, it was. Dec-03-10    chancho: http://www.blog.sportatoo.fr/wp-con... Dec-16-10    parisattack: In Chernev's Golden Dozen he ranks Capablanca #1. As noted on other forums such rankings are quite subjective - criteria such as style, appeal of their play, how much one learned from their games, etc. Even results are subjective, of course. Nonetheless, such lists a fun to compile and interesting to learn how (and especially, why) others see the greats of the game ranked. Perhaps others will list their own Golden Dozen here - with criteria, why someone is higher than someone else, etc. Below my list and also another Dozen I think oh-so-close. While my first four are 'hard-wired' - I haven't changed them in years - the rest of the list gets jiggled from time-to-time depending on who's games I last studied! - Golden Dozen Fischer Capablanca Karpov Kasparov Lasker Alekhine Botvinnik Petrosian Rubinstein Tal Keres Reshevsky Almost Golden Kramnik Fine Smyslov Spassky Anand Bronstein Pillsbury Flohr Kashdan Korchnoi Nimzovitch Stein Dec-17-10    64rutor: Video with Capablanca and Max Euwe from 15 january 1935. Link: http://geschiedenis.vpro.nl/themasi... Dec-17-10    BobCrisp: <Capablanca> sounds and acts so, well, normal. I like how <Euwe> half raises himself from his chair to shake his hand. It's pointless but respectful. Dec-18-10    Rook e2: I don't know if it's something typically Dutch, but that's normal in the Netherlands, you don't shake hands while you sit. Jump to page #    (enter # from 1 to 264) search thread:    < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 214 OF 264 ·  Later Kibitzing>

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