Alexander Alekhine vs Max Euwe
Two chess prodigies, compared on what is actually documented: field, era, country and record. No invented numbers.
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The record, side by side
| Alexander Alekhine | Max Euwe | |
| Field | Sports | Sports |
| Sub-field | Chess | Chess |
| Born | 1892 | 1901 |
| Died | 1946 | 1981 |
| Country of birth | France | Netherlands |
| Star sign | Scorpio | Aries |
Who they are
Alexander Alekhine
When Alexander Alekhine arrived in Buenos Aires in September 1927 to challenge José Raúl Capablanca for the World Championship, the chess world expected a formality. Capablanca had not lost a competitive game in eight years. Grandmasters whispered that chess had reached its apex in the Cuban — that the game, played perfectly, would always draw, and that Capablanca was the player who played perfectly. Alekhine, a Russian émigré living in France, was a fine attacking player, perhaps the best combinational talent of his generation, but attacking chess against someone who never made errors was considered…
Full biography of Alexander Alekhine →
Max Euwe
In December 1935, in a match played across fifteen Dutch cities, a mild-mannered Amsterdam schoolteacher and mathematician accomplished one of the most stunning upsets in chess history. Machgielis "Max" Euwe defeated Alexander Alekhine — the dazzling, terrifying, seemingly invincible World Champion — by a score of 15.5 to 14.5, claiming the title of 5th World Chess Champion. The chess world was stunned. Alekhine was widely considered the strongest player alive; Euwe was a respected amateur — gifted, studious, but surely not in Alekhine's category. The match proved otherwise. For two years, the most powerful chess…
What they share
- Both are held here under Sports.
- Same sub-field: Chess.
- Near contemporaries - 9 years apart.
- Their lifetimes overlap.
Where they part
- Born in different countries: France and Netherlands.
Questions people ask
- Who came first, Alexander Alekhine or Max Euwe?
- Alexander Alekhine. Alexander Alekhine was born in 1892, Max Euwe in 1901.
- What field is each of them in?
- Alexander Alekhine is filed under Sports (Chess). Max Euwe is filed under Sports (Chess).
- Were they contemporaries?
- Yes - their lifetimes overlap.