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Happened Today in the Chess World - Oct 31, 2023

THE THEORY OF SHADOWS

Berlin, 1929. Alekhine (left) plays Bogoljubow (World Championship).
Former World Champion Emmanuel Lasker (center) watches the game.
Source: chessentials.com

Today, we remember the former World Champion Alexander Alekhine, born in Moscow, USSR, on October 31, 1892.
After winning the Russian Championship in 1914 and the Soviet Championship in 1920, Alekhine moved to France and started dominating the international scene.
He was pursuing a World Championship match against José Raul Capablanca.
The match took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1927, with a clear win for Alekhine.
Once World Champion, Alekhine didn't concede a rematch to Capablanca and won two matches against Bogoljubow (1929 and 1934).
In 1935, the great Russian player unexpectedly lost his crown in a match against Max Euwe.
After the loss, Alekhine overcame his problem with alcoholism, and in 1937, he won the rematch with Euwe to regain the World Championship Crown.
During WWII, Alekhine continued playing chess in the tournaments organized by the nazi Germany.
Alekhine died in Portugal in 1946 while he was arranging a possible match against Botvinnik.
Alekhine was a tactic genius with an unparalleled will to succeed. He won an impressive number of tournaments and played many memorable games, tying his name to the 1.e4 Nf6 defense.

Alexander Alekhine - Efim Bogoljubow, (World Championship rematch) 1934

White to move