Alexander Alekhine vs Vasily Smyslov
Two chess prodigies, compared on what is actually documented: field, era, country and record. No invented numbers.
The record, side by side
| Alexander Alekhine | Vasily Smyslov | |
| Field | Sports | Sports |
| Sub-field | Chess | Chess |
| Born | 1892 | 1921 |
| Died | 1946 | 2010 |
| Country of birth | France | Russia |
| Star sign | Scorpio | Pisces |
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 →
Vasily Smyslov
There is a quality in the chess of Vasily Smyslov that analysts have struggled for decades to name precisely. The word most often used is harmony — his pieces moved as if pulled by gravitational attraction to their correct squares, his positions unfolded with the logic of a musical composition, his endgame technique translated apparently equal positions into victories with a consistency that approached the mechanical. But harmony is an aesthetic judgment, and Smyslov's chess was something more than aesthetically pleasing. It was, in the deepest sense, correct — and correctness sustained over a career…
Full biography of Vasily Smyslov →
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 Russia.
- 29 years separate their births (1892 and 1921).
Questions people ask
- Who came first, Alexander Alekhine or Vasily Smyslov?
- Alexander Alekhine. Alexander Alekhine was born in 1892, Vasily Smyslov in 1921.
- What field is each of them in?
- Alexander Alekhine is filed under Sports (Chess). Vasily Smyslov is filed under Sports (Chess).
- Were they contemporaries?
- Yes - their lifetimes overlap.