Meet the Masters

MEET THE MASTERS BOOKS

PITD|AN

THE MODNRN CHESS CHAMPIONS AND THEIR MOST CHARACTERISTICGAMES

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By C. H, O'D. ALE)NDiR.

DR.MAX EUWE

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PREFACE

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IsaAc PTTIAN & so\s lc^NrDi), LrD

D61G':,6)

"Zoo Schaken Zrj" ("They Ts$ is a translation of play chesslike this") in which Dr. Euwe introduced the Dutch chess-playingpublic to the seven grand masters who were to paticipate with him in thc lamous A.V.R.O. toumament. From the first we tried to ke€p close to his text, becauseit is so highly personal. Fate helped by losing our MS., wh:th wal addrF,sedLo us in BuenosAires (where we were playing in the Intemational Team Tournament) a few days before war broke out and has never been seen since. In correcting the proofs, we had consequentlv to refer back to the Dutch Herr Hans Kmoch rounded otr "Zoo Schaken Zij" with a few paragraphs about Dr. Buwe himselt and this part ofthe book we have completelyrewritten and greatly extended. It was almost impossible for Herr Kmoch to furnish anything his Dutch public did not already know; but we were in a very different position, and our B tish and Amcrican readers will be grateful for anything we can tell about Dr. Euwe. Our only further departure from the original is the addition of a few remarks about events subsequent to its publication.

vi

PRETACE

Dr. Euwc has co-operaredin the kind and warm_ hcarted manner typical of him. We also owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. J. Creevey for ungrudging help in the correction of the proofs, to which labour Messls. R. BIow, W. Riison Morry, T. C. N{ Olsen, and G. P. Smith have also cont.ibrtted a noble part. L. PRINS B. H. WOOD

PREFACE TO THE SECONDEDITION Cur otr, as a result of the war, from both the author and my co-translater, I have taken th€ liberty of preserving the essential topicality of this work by adding a few more paragraphs at the end of each of the individual biographies

CONTENTS PREI]tCE

CHAPTER I WIIAT

DO TI{EY

LIKE ?

CHAPTER II Ar-EXANDERAT-ExANDRovrrcH ALEKI{.,'E (rirgrolt) Ar-EKHTNEAT IIrs BIST (gonrJ) .

16 20

CHAPTER III JosE RAouL CAPABLANCA (b;ograplAt) . CAPABLANCA Ilrrs OUT (gdrnff) .

64 69

'

CHAPTER IV sALo rlor{R (bkerafir))

r03 r08

HOW ILOEIIR PLA.IS \Eame,

B. H. WOOD

CHAPTER V MICHAEL BOT\/IIiIMK

MOISIAYOVTTCII BOTVINNIK MAKES IlIs BOw \gA'?'J]

CHAPTER VI Rxsr{EvsKYlbkgralht . SAMUEL RISHEVSKY AT WORK (gdlndr)

(bioe PJ,!)

r+2 r45

r74

CHAPTER VII REUBEN rrNE (bkelelb) FiNE rN ACTTON (gdr?6)

205

coNTENTS

viii

CHAPTER VIII 229

PAUL KERES(biae PIry\ KERIS I\

HIS CIFMLNT

gAfl'\

CHAPTER I

CHAPTER IX D R . M A C H G I tIrSI E \ W X \ b i o g a p b \ .,. ENOACESTlrE ENEMY (gdter)

ILLUSTRATIONS lrt?-A\.

t4al'J Cronp'a1 DR Al.xdDE" Chanfian t92l t',tttd JosE RAo!L cAPAsLANc^, sdo !LoHR. Mor,{Yo!rr''r Bo]:B!'K \hc.dl US Choaqioa Rr'tuv'(Y, S/|ffL R ! ! B .N F r N . PA@ Kls illME, U}{A DR.

MEET THE MASTERS

trotld ChanPian t')3'

'

. 1 6

. 6 4

, !58

WIIAT DO THEY LIKE? B€lorc passineunder rrview. one by one. the maslers .onsider"i no"adays as leading challengersfor the world's cbampionship, let us make d general survey of the outstanding learuresof their lndividual stylesof Dlav. We intend to focus on the most noteworthy :le;eni in the stvle of each in turn and thus give a picture of the divergent methods which they adopt to attain their end "What sort ol By our question we really mean " position is the particular forte of each? Here are th€ jlJehhiae I Fauautabl( Pa'ition' ,.whv.,. !ou miqhl exclaim,..ihat is whar Fveryfhess olav.' i.ri'.s. Wbat is rharacrerttic in this? You " iliEht u" w"ll say "omebody has a weaknessfor wealth -f,1 the su-e, thi" is Alekhinet great characte stic We shall show how he tries from the very outset to hlu to lbtain. a favourable position obe:'in.and l'nolu,s has gainedit giveshi" other potrer* he when and only reason is he famed as a con_ without Not ful rcin. To gain some advantaqc dreory. of opening noiss"ur ro him, and be is $illing to vital is opening from rhe ro al'a;n a' quicklv hazard even or risk anv diifi.ulrv f€els at home' How he ln which o position u, possitt", mlss opponu 'res masters other that often it happens

MEET

TIIi

MASTERS

through a faulty appraisal of the ratio of strength to weakness in thei. position ! This ratio is rarely so exaggerated as one to nought; it may be five to four or el€ven to ten, or even closer to equality. In this appraisai and judgment of almost incalculable situations Alekhine b unsurpassable.The ratio can be one hundred to ninety-nine and he will steerasconfidenily as ever for the more favourable ofthe positions offered him To pro6t from such minimal advantages,ar extraordinary flair is required for conceiving and carrying through an attack. Alekhire has this indeed. I{is grealnessis rhus basedon rwo toundatiorx: geniusin the creating, and virtuosity in the exploitation o{ attacking chances. He is the greatest attacking player of all time. Morphy has usually been given this title, but his task was much easier; in his time, about eighty years ago, people had naive ideas about opening strat€gy. Morphy was the first great positional player; none of his opponents could approach him in this respect Alekhine's can; and the fact that his attacking skill still triumphs again and again amply justifres our description of him as unchallenged champion of the art of attack. To understand Alekhine's greatnessproperly, one must-in view of the higher standard of play to-daygiv€ the phrase "atiacking skill" a wider interpretation than has been customary. How do we, and how used we to, tecognize an attacking player, and on what basis do we assesshis skill? Naturally on the way in which he decides his games; that is to say, on his technical ability. We admire his beautiful

WIIAT

DO TIIEY LIKE?

combinationsr especiaiiy when they are Prefaced by some sacrifice; the more ftequent and stdking the sacrifice, the greater our appreciation. This is an essenriailyotd-fashionedcriterion, for it confinesitself to visible resuhs, ignoring the mighty effolt which must precedethem. This latier is the most important, and nowadays is the decisive pa-rt. Ordinary mortals can enq, Alekhine\ genius in the discovery of charming and starding combinations; the morc skjlful player who feelshimselfquite capableofexecuting such combinatioirs has a difi'erent feeling on the subject. To quote Spielmann, who is surely competent to pass an opinion on combinative skill: "l can comprehend Alekhine's combinations well enough; but where he gets his attacking chances ftom and how he infuses such life into the very opening-that is beyond me. Give me the positionshe obtains, and I should seldom falter. Yet I continually get drawn games, even out ofthe King's gambit." Well said, Master Spielmann! Alekhine's real genius is in the preparation and construction of a position, long before combinations or mating attacks come rnto considerationat all. Capablancar

ClearPotit;ons The essenceof Capablancat greatnessis his rare talent for avoiding all that can complicate or contuse the conflict. He is a realist who has banished the romantic and the €xperimental completely. In the attainment of positions which suit his style, or rather temperament, he exhibits almost mystical insight; as soon as the leastcloud appearson the horizonr he alteN

4

rlEliT

IIIE MASTERS

his courseso as to remain in clear lvat€r. He lollows the sun, likes an easy lif€, is not sparing ir off'ersto agree to a draw. To spectatorsthis policy is not very attractive; he certainly drarvs an extremely high Percentageof his games, the quickest oftcn in unmistakably "grand master style," peace being signed before ever hostilitiesbegin. How, then, has he achi€ved such positir.e results? Whcrein lies his power? I'ilxtly, in the ability to Perceive the remotest danger or thc smallestopPortunity far in advance; sccondly,iD the almost fauldesstechnicat perfection wlich enablcs him to hold on to an advantage oncc acqLrired with inexorable ef[ciency and convet it into a rvin. When he has to cope lvith opponentsof equal stamp, he gets lesslrequent opportun;tics lor this, since hc doesnot set.them too diflicult He can be regarded as the great master of simplification. T'hc art of resolving the tension at the critical moment and in the most efficaciousway so as to ,lar.i, the position as desiredis Capablanca'sown. Fbrl.t Abr Positku Flohr's style recalls Capablanca's, but he lets the conflict become sharper. This revcals itself in his choice of opening, especially as Black. Like Capablanca, he tries to avoid complications; but, unlike hiT. he doe" r ot simphlyar "lmo.t cven oppo uni,y. H€ is more paticnt and hard+vorking, and, whilst h€ likes 4r?rl positions,does not go to extreme lengths to makc tLcm absolutely clear. Whereas Capablanca, if anything, is prone to simplily too soon, Flohr may

T,VHAT DO THEY LIKE?

simplify rather loo late His oPerationsare slow as a rule. He is a specialistin jockeyins for position, and in defencc-€minent tacrician as he is, hc can pcrmit bimself this style. Only very rarely docs he miss a favourable opportunity or fa;l to make the best of a dift ulr p".irion. 1he opnnirg rs nor l,i' rrronqFsr point: he treats it quiedy and solidly without setting such problems as Alekhine, but at the same time without Capablanca'scovert lcar of diflicultics. He is no theoist, putting his faith in sound common sense. Psychologically,he is not so tenseas Alekhine and not so fiercc as CapablaDcr- He has repeatedlyacceptedan o{Ier of a draw vhcn in a decidedlybetter position, lbr instance, three times against Capablanca,at HastiDgs in 1934and at Nfargatc in 1936 aDcl 1939,and against Reshevskyin the A.V.R.O. tournamcnt a thing Nhich the world championswc have mentioned would never have done. You get the impressionthat, mere ability apart, be is quitc content to demonstrate not his superiority over but his equality with the other leading masters. This explains why he draws practically all his Samesagainst the great mastersjrrhereashc bcats slightly inferior players \rith almost acchanical regularity. Botvinaik: Difrcult Position: Every player has, sooner or lat€r, to put up with a difficult position; Alekhine, for instance, vcry oftcn. Borvinnik almost makes you feel rhat dimculty artracts him and stimulates him to the full unfolding of his powers. Most players lecl uncol ortablc in dimcult positions,but Botvinnik seemsto enjoy thcm.

WIIAT DO THEY LIKE? MEET TIIE

MASTERS

the Where dangersthrealen nom ev'rv side and a in laral: be might ,muU"stttackJn;ngofatrention of sreeland intense u .'*" ".'i,i." *f i.r' '"i'l-, his el€ment His styl€ in is i.""."""C""-S"i"i"nik mi'tJ\e ro assume a i" is anvthins bur def'n,ive: ;r on lo so thar'h. ai"pts difficuh position' ar-.lohold so Steinitz did a' marerial advantage, some,mall -O" of alwavs are thougha ,1" contrarv, his .i,"". is very attack an uitacl. ffis m€thod of PreParing on Ihe ,iu.uct.tLti"; $hen hF ieemcio b" comPletely

hardlor a b'eak-rhrough' i.i.r'i'. r,. *rrr bcsrrivins .n.. i,.r-"*f, somedcepcombinationWilh deva