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 237 OF 264 ·  Later Kibitzing> Aug-15-14    Everett: <Capablanca did meet weaker opposition from 1916-1920, so that part of the streak is less impressive than the Lasker match and London 1922, where there is no question he was the strongest player in the world.> So, apparently playing safe and solid chess against weaker competition did in fact serve him quite well in dominating in the following four years, eh? Aug-15-14    Everett: Regarding Fischer's streak, the most impressive match of the three was his eventual defeat of Petrosian. After the adversity of the first five games, he punished every single mistake flawlessly and immediately. Games 7 and 8 in particular were just power plays of the highest order. His other two opponents were never true contenders, both having proved this by being drubbed in previous candidate matches and tournaments. But Petrosian was another animal. Aug-15-14    Everett: <Petrosianic: Petrosian went unbeaten for 1962, which was 60+ games, including a Candidates Tournament. Not sure what the exact total was if you stretch back into 1961. He also went undefeated for 1954, though I think there were fewer games that year.> In fact, the year or two leading up to winning the WC is usually remarkable. Years ago I ran numbers for Petrosian, Karpov and Spassky each two years out from becoming WC, and the numbers were ridiculous. Capablanca, Fischer, Botvinnik, and Kasparov all follow suit, I imagine. And Carlsen has done the same, clearly. Aug-15-14    perfidious: Have been unable to ascertain whether Petrosian played in 1961 after Bled, where he lost in the last but one round to Fischer. His loss to Stein came early that year. Aug-16-14    visayanbraindoctor: <Everett: In fact, the year or two leading up to winning the WC is usually remarkable.> Also true for Lasker. He played a series of matches against the world's finest players, probably the alternative in an era where there was a lack of chess tournaments. (Capablanca also did the same in 1913 to 1914.) Lasker convincingly beat (or massacred as the scores show) Mieses, Bird (2x), Englisch, Blackburne, Showalter, among others. No doubt he did it to prove to the chess world that he was a deserving Challenger, at a time when there was no Candidates cycle. With Lasker though, his dominance did not end upon his seizure of the World Title. It continued until 1925, when he temporarily retired. (Capablanca was a chess anomaly, and I have no doubt that if he were not around, Lasker would have extended his reign up to at least 1925.) This is what precisely makes him the greatest chess player ever IMO. Lasker may not have been as talented as Capa, but it is not only pure talent that makes one great. Fighting spirit, tenacity, a strong will, longevity are equally important. Capablanca the machine's magical reign was over by 1924. There are reports, which I believe to be true, that in New York 1924, he fell sick, and sought consultation from doctors after his loss to Reti. I believe that this was the time when his familial hypertension began to bother him, to become symptomatic- headaches and a general feeling of discomfort. From this point on, errors began to creep into his games, something rarely seen before. Capa I think recognized this, and he began to change his style, and became more prone to simplifications. Nevertheless, I believe he would have beaten AAA in a hypothetical re-match, and any other player in the world in a WC match until he began suffering from outright strokes in 1938. Alekhine did not have a dominating run before the 1927 match. However AAA did dominate afterward, until 1934. I think his drinking did him in; there was a sharp drop in his chess strength in 1935. The Alekhine of 1934 was still monstrously strong. Peculiarly enough Alekhine gained a second wind, and in 1941 suddenly began playing very well again. Maybe he cut down on his drinking. Then he had a bout with scarlet fever and near death, and his strength fell off permanently. Botvinnik was similar to Lasker. They both had dominating runs before taking the Title. Afterward, they kept playing well until age began to take its toll. I think the main difference is that Lasker was an inherently stronger chess player than Botvinnik. In spite of all state support, I do not think Botvinnik could have beaten Capablanca in a match until about 1938, although I think he would have beaten a weakened AAA if it was he instead of Euwe that played him in 1935. In 1935, Botvinnik was about 24 years old, just about the age bracket of Lasker, Tal, Karpov, Kasparov, Kramnik, and Carlsen when they won the Title. A world caliber class chessmaster beginning to enter his peak period. However, I don't fancy Botvinnik's chances against a reinvigorated Alekhine in 1941 and 1942. But he surely would have won a 1946 match against AAA. Regarding Anand, in spite of all his talent he is not a Lasker or a Botvinnik. Somehow he lacks their indomitable will. Unless he gets a second wind (like AAA did in 1941), I don't think he stands much of a chance against Carlsen, who on the other hand may have the indomitable will necessary for a long reign Aug-18-14    Chessman1504: Yes, this is all true. I, however, admire Anand's approach in the Candidates tournament, how he decided to just play chess. Look where it got him, playing Carlsen again! I think he calmed down and played very clearly and straightforward, like Capablanca. Another thing about his play is that it was virtually error free. I think Carlsen will still win, but I think Anand will make it closer. Nov-10-14    nikrj: Hi guys! Here's an excerpt from the book Capablanca: A Compendium of Games, Notes, Articles, Correspondence, Illustrations and Other Rare Archival Materials on the Cuban Chess Genius José Raúl Capablanca, 1888-1942 by Edward Winter McFarland & Co. Publishers: "In the game against Ralph Murphey, Capablanca displayed his ability on the chess board in a spectacular way. Murphey challenged Capablanca to mark a pawn and mate him with that piece. He agreed and marked the queen's knight pawn. By forcing through another pawn, making a queen, Capablanca succeeded without running into a stalemate in checkmating his opponent. [Source: Nebraska State Journal, 3 December 1909, page 7.]" Since I read this passage I was fascinated by that "mate with the marked pawn". Oh, how I would love to see this Capa game! Does anyone of you have heard about or know this game Capablanca - Ralph Murphey 1909? Cheers Nov-10-14    RookFile: That's the highest form of odds there is. If I was black I would keep it complicated. Just think about it - with queens on the board, etc., all you need is some crazy combination - sac the queen, whatever - to capture the QNP and you win the game. Nov-11-14    nikrj: [RookFile: That's the highest form of odds there is. If I was black I would keep it complicated. Just think about it - with queens on the board, etc., all you need is some crazy combination - sac the queen, whatever - to capture the QNP and you win the game.] Yeah, dude. I think a few Grandmasters would agreed to give such odd, even in a simultaneous. And yet Capablanca managed to win... Nov-14-14    Caissanist: Interesting 1939 interview with Capablanca, where he discusses the effects of his high blood pressure and aging in general on his playing strength: http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/... (English translation) http://chessdishblog.blogspot.com/2... (Spanish original) Nov-14-14    chancho: <In the AVRO tournament I played under physical conditions that were absolutely abnormal. Although I am not up to date with chess literature, I played the openings well in all my games for the simple reason that I have judgment. But after the first three hours of play, I felt my head was splitting. It was impossible for me to think and coordinate ideas. Against Fine I had two won games; against Alekhine I should have won one game; and another one against Keres, thanks to an advantageous position which I built up conscientiously. But at the moment of transforming my advantage into victory, I found that my brain was not functioning and I then continued playing not with my head but with my hands. Despite the bitter cold of Holland in November, I immersed my congested head in icy water to try to clear it, although without any result ... I thus participated in the AVRO tournament playing like an automaton after the third hour, and it is therefore understandable how frequently I failed to win.> http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/... Sounds like someone whose hypertension was giving him troubles. Nov-14-14    Petrosianic: <Against Fine I had two won games> Possibly, but I read one story in Chess Life where he didn't realize that one of them was a win even on the train ride home, and pronounced it a "Pullman Draw". Here's the position: click for larger view The game continued 40.Rxg5 Rb8 41. Kh3 e5 42. Rg1 Draw Except White wins easily with 41. h5. The pawn can't be stopped. Capablanca vs Fine, 1938 Nov-14-14    Petrosianic: Sorry, my mistake. It was Chess REVIEW. March 1939: <The struggle between Capablanca and Fine developed along lines to Capablanca's liking. Fine tried to upset the Cuban's plans by sacrificing a piece, but Capablanca returned it and brought the game into a difficult Rook and Pawn ending, in which he had a slight advantage. On the train, homeward bound, Capablanca looked over the position and found the winning chances so tenuous that he agreed then and there to call it a draw. "A Pullman-Draw!" says Tartakover.> Okay, so the "Pullman Draw" phrase came from Tartakover, not Capa. But according to this, Capa didn't see the win even after the tournament. And they couldn't be talking about their other game because that was a Queen and Pawn ending. Nov-15-14    visayanbraindoctor: <chancho: <In the AVRO tournament I played under physical conditions that were absolutely abnormal. Although I am not up to date with chess literature, I played the openings well in all my games for the simple reason that I have judgment. But after the first three hours of play, I felt my head was splitting. It was impossible for me to think and coordinate ideas. Against Fine I had two won games; against Alekhine I should have won one game; and another one against Keres, thanks to an advantageous position which I built up conscientiously. But at the moment of transforming my advantage into victory, I found that my brain was not functioning and I then continued playing not with my head but with my hands. Despite the bitter cold of Holland in November, I immersed my congested head in icy water to try to clear it, although without any result ... I thus participated in the AVRO tournament playing like an automaton after the third hour, and it is therefore understandable how frequently I failed to win.> http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/... Sounds like someone whose hypertension was giving him troubles.> If someone were to say this to me, I would immediately diagnose him as having a stroke, and advise him hospital admission and a CT scan. <I found that my brain was not functioning> Capablanca was experiencing an abnormal change in sensorium. Nowadays a doctor would have forced Capa to stop playing in such a strenuous tournament. Nov-15-14    SugarDom: Yup, Capablanca is alive today. His name is Carlsen. Although the newer version does not agree to draw easily. Nov-16-14    visayanbraindoctor: <SugarDom> I have studied many of both of their games. IMO Carlsen has the iron fortitude, which Capablanca lacked and Fischer had, to play out every position until the end, which garners him a lot of points. From this perspective Carlsen is better than the rather lazy Capablanca. (And when Alekhine played like a Carlsen in their 1927 match, grinding out prolonged endgames and fighting out for every square, Capa probably could not mentally handle it and lost.) Regarding positional play IMO they are equally good, and a large part of their chess strength stem from their ability to exploit the most minute of positional weaknesses. (Which is probably why many chess pundits say their styles are similar.) Regarding opening prep, they also resemble each other in that they essay safe openings just to get into playable middlegames; one can say that their openings avoid sharp theoretical variations, almost non-descript. Regarding accuracy, Capablanca I believe was slightly more accurate in general, and significantly more accurate in tactical situations, rarely missing any tactical shot. You would not see the prime Capablanca making the errors Carlsen and Anand are making in their WC match. (Until now, the way Capablanca at his prime handled highly complicated bizarre positions where tactics rule without once committing losing errors, which he did for 8 years, defies my normal chess beliefs. Everyone must make losing errors in such positions, even Kasparov, but the prime Capablanca never did. If we were to see a Capablanca playing live in the internet today, we would probably get shocked at how he would consistently avoid red moves and always plays the top computer lines even in the most complicated positions, and nickname him exactly what his colleagues called him, a chess machine.) Regarding endgames, they look about equal, except in rook endgames where Capablanca was superior. (He lost only two classical game rook endgames in his entire career, both to Alekhine in their 1927 match, something that again beggars my imagination.) Regarding time, Carlsen is fast; Capa even faster. Nov-18-14    iamsheaf: Happy Birthday Champ... :-) Nov-19-14    RookFile: If there was a better blitz player in chess history than Capa, I don't know who that would be. Nov-19-14    domradave: I just took out of the library Alekhine's MY BEST GAMES OF CHESS, 1908-1937. I went through the five games of the Capablanca match and I think Alekhine was fair to Capablanca. I wonder if Capablanca ever took a look at anything Alekhine wrote. I think it would have helped him! Nov-19-14    keypusher: <Nov-19-14 RookFile: If there was a better blitz player in chess history than Capa, I don't know who that would be.> Probably somebody who actually played blitz. Nov-19-14    keypusher: <visayanbraindoctor>< If we were to see a Capablanca playing live in the internet today, we would probably get shocked at how he would consistently avoid red moves and always plays the top computer lines even in the most complicated positions, and nickname him exactly what his colleagues called him, a chess machine.) > Nonsense. Put an engine on the games from London 1922, in the middle of his undefeated run, and you'll see plenty of red moves. Compared to modern GMs, Capablanca was blesssed by the caliber of his opposition. Nov-19-14    RookFile: keypusher, what are you saying. Capa definitely played speed chess games. Nobody could touch him. Is this a battle over semantics, like they called it rapid transit? Nov-19-14    Penguincw: R.I.P. Jose Raul Capablanca, one of the best players who ever lived (and the best positional player ever). Nov-19-14    maxi: When I was young I studied Capa's games (among other) in detail. (I also studied chess endings in detail and understood them pretty well.) Sometimes when I follow a Carlsen game he reminds me of Capa, but my understanding and analysis of today's chess so superficial I really cannot say much about today's players that is well fundamented. So it is interesting to me to read your opinion about this topic, <visayanbraindoctor>. Nov-19-14    keypusher: <RookFile: keypusher, what are you saying. Capa definitely played speed chess games. Nobody could touch him. Is this a battle over semantics, like they called it rapid transit?> Rapid transit and blitz are different games. Different things should be called by different names. Going back to your previous post, we have no idea whether prime Capablanca would have been a better blitz player than, say circa-1970 Fischer or other blitz wizards. We have blitz scores for Fischer, but we don't have fast-game scores for Capablanca as far as I know. 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