Alexander Alekhine vs Paul Keres
Two chess prodigies, compared on what is actually documented: field, era, country and record. No invented numbers.
The record, side by side
| Alexander Alekhine | Paul Keres | |
| Field | Sports | Sports |
| Sub-field | Chess | Chess |
| Born | 1892 | 1916 |
| Died | 1946 | 1975 |
| Country of birth | France | Estonia |
| Star sign | Scorpio | Capricorn |
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 →
Paul Keres
Paul Keres appeared on Estonia's five-kroon banknote long before chess decided to honor him — a nation recognized something in him that the chess world's bureaucratic misfortunes kept denying. "The Eternal Second" was his curse and his epithet, but the truth embedded in that nickname is that four times across three decades he reached the penultimate stage of the World Championship cycle, and four times the title slipped away through circumstance, politics, and the Soviet chess system's invisible hand. The chess world is unanimous: had history offered Keres one clean shot at the championship, he…
Full biography of Paul Keres →
What they share
- Both are held here under Sports.
- Same sub-field: Chess.
- Their lifetimes overlap.
Where they part
- Born in different countries: France and Estonia.
- 24 years separate their births (1892 and 1916).
Questions people ask
- Who came first, Alexander Alekhine or Paul Keres?
- Alexander Alekhine. Alexander Alekhine was born in 1892, Paul Keres in 1916.
- What field is each of them in?
- Alexander Alekhine is filed under Sports (Chess). Paul Keres is filed under Sports (Chess).
- Were they contemporaries?
- Yes - their lifetimes overlap.