It'll be a fascinating book.

I believe Alekhine drank too much <for one game>, when a game was rescheduled. But, like Tal, Alekhine could play chess roughly as well when he had been drinking as when he was totally sober.

<Euwe's huge achievement has been underestimated.>

Alekhine had won San Remo (1930) by a distance, then Bled (1931) by a large margin. Then he had beaten Bogolubov, who was a very strong player and previous world number one, in Alekhine - Bogoljubov World Championship Rematch (1934).

I won't say Euwe was brave because there was no danger of physical injury, but there <was> a chance of a very embarrassing 6 or 7-nil shutout in front of his home crowd.

But he assessed his chances, thought they were reasonable and played the great Alekhine, and won!

No, I think he's referring to the 85 Alekhine-Euwe <games>, not a specific year.

Although I actually see 86 games between them in the database.>

Alekhine met Euwe 86 times.

Two great players 100 years previously did the same. 86 games.

McDonnell- La Bourdonnais

Yeah, but I wouldn't put too much stock in it, mainly because they're the only KNOWN meetings, not necessarily all the meetings.

For example, this game is in the database, and actually counted against their lifetime record, even though it's only an "Offhand" game.

Alekhine vs Euwe, 1921

It's odd that you should mention that, because there <is> a book about the earlier series of matches.

The snappily titled "<De La Bourdonnais Versus McDonnell, 1834: The Eighty-Five Games of Their Six Chess Matches, with Excerpts from Additional Games Against Other Opponents>" by Cary Utterberg has won an award as "The Best-Looking Book Containing The Worst Set Of Games In History".

Games 8-14 were 4-1 to Euwe.

"Does the general public, do even our friends the critics, realize that <Euwe <virtually never made an unsound combination?>> He may, of course, occasionally fail to take account of an opponent's combination, but when he has the <initiative in a tactical operation his calculation is impeccable.>"

<Benko: How did the match with Alekhine come about?>

<Euwe: Before Alekhine's 1927 World Championship match with Capablanca, I had played Alekhine a training match. It was a ten-game match in Amsterdam and the score was 5½-4½, in his favor. But to play a match with him for the championship was not my idea at all. I didn't dare to consider the possibility. At that time most masters looked upon Alekhine as a chess god. I thought I would have no chance against him, and neither did anyone else. But Alekhine approached me and asked whether I would play a ten-game match with him on board a ship to Indonesia. The match would be for the title. I told him I didn't think I could raise the money for-it, that nobody would take the idea seriously. We continued negotiating, and finally we agreed on ten thousand guilders [about $ 3,000 at then-current exchange rates] for Alekhine's fee. The Dutch people became enthusiastic and found sponsors. An Euwe Committee was set up to meet expenses and Alekhine's fee. In addition to my summer vacation, I took an extra three months vacation to prepare. Hans Kmoch was my second even then. During that period, 1933—36, he was living in my house and the Committee paid him a salary. He was the only one who was optimistic about the outcome of the match, because he had been studying Alekhine's games, even those played at Hastings in 1934, which had just ended. He thought that Alekhine's play was not convincing, even though he had won at Hastings. Kmoch said there was a lot of luck involved, and the time for me to play a match with Alekhine was now or never.

But first Alekhine had to play his second match with Bogoljubov [the first was in l929]. Of course Alekhine would have to win the match to be able to play me for the title, and we put that in the contract. Bogoljubov didn't like that at all. Actually, that match, just like the first one against Bogoljubov, was cat-and-mouse play for Alekhine. And Alekhine thought he would have just as easy a time against me. Alekhine needed money, which is why he wanted to play these matches. He was a big spender.

Just before our match we played in a strong tournament in Zurich, which Alekhine won, but I beat him. I finished second, with 12 out of 15, after losing to Lasker in the first round. In analyzing the games, we came to the conclusion that Alekhine's superiority over other masters was his opening knowledge. If he could not get the initiative or some advantage in the opening, he was willing to enter complications to try to muddy the water. So I went to Vienna for a couple of months to study Becker's files on the openings, which were the most complete and up to date at that time. Besides Kmoch, who was an expert in the openings, I also had Maroczy's help, mostly in the endgame.

The match was a close fight. Even after the 24th game the standing was 12— 12 (the match was for thirty games). But then I won two games in succession, while Alekhine could only win one more. Of course it was stupid for me to give him a draw in the last game, since I had a won game. But the draw was enough for me to win the world title.>

<Benko: I have heard many rumors that Alekhine was drinking heavily during the match and was behaving strangely sometimes. Can you comment?>

<Euwe: I don't think he was drinking more then than he usually did. Of course he could drink as much as he wanted: at his hotel it was all free. The owner of the Carlton Hotel, where he stayed, was a member of the Euwe Committee, but it was a natural courtesy to the illustrious guest that he should not be asked to pay for his drinks. I think it helps to drink a little, but not in the long run. I regretted not having drunk at all during the second match with Alekhine. Actually, Alekhine's walk was not steady because he did not see well but did not like to wear glasses. So many people thought he was drunk because of the way he walked.>

<Besides mental training, physical training is also of great Importance. Dr. Alekhine has changed his mode of living entirely of late. Contrary to Dr. Euwe, he likes a drink and smokes excessively. During his match with Bogolubow (1934) he hardly changed this procedure, but now, facing Dr. Euwe, he adheres to a strict diet. In this he is ably assisted by his wife.>

This is oddly written. It starts off by talking about drinking and smoking, then gives an example about diet, which hadn't been mentioned.

Then it says:

<Dr. Alekhlne, playing in a recent tournament, had his wife seated at the table with him. There also was on the table, within reach, a box of cigarettes. During the game, and in a particularly tlcklish situation, Dr. Alekhine looked longingly at the box as if he expected great help from that direction. All at once, as a matter of habit, his hand shot out to the box_but the commanding voice of Mrs. Alekhine, "Don't, Sacha!", stopped the movement in time. Obedient to his trainer, no cigarettes were smoked then.>