José Raúl Capablanca vs Bobby Fischer
Two chess prodigies, compared on what is actually documented: field, era, country and record. No invented numbers.
The record, side by side
| José Raúl Capablanca | Bobby Fischer | |
| Field | Sports | Sports |
| Sub-field | Chess | Chess |
| Born | 1888 | 1943 |
| Died | 1942 | 2008 |
| Country of birth | Cuba | - |
| Star sign | Libra | Pisces |
Who they are
José Raúl Capablanca
The story begins, as so many chess legends do, with a four-year-old watching his father play. In Havana, Cuba, in 1892, José Raúl Capablanca sat beside his father and watched the pieces move across the board. He had not been taught the rules. No one had explained the moves. But children observe what adults say cannot be taught, and when his father's knight moved incorrectly, young José spoke up. His father, startled, challenged the boy to a game. He lost. The child who had never formally learned chess had already mastered it.
Full biography of José Raúl Capablanca →
Bobby Fischer
On a July evening in 1972, in a stark hall in Reykjavik, Iceland, two men sat down to play chess with the eyes of the world upon them. One represented the Soviet Union, the dominant chess power that had held the World Championship for twenty-four consecutive years. The other was a twenty-nine-year-old from Brooklyn who had learned the game from a pamphlet at age six, who had barely slept in weeks, who had already threatened to withdraw from the match twice, and who was now the most famous chess player on earth. Robert James Fischer…
Full biography of Bobby Fischer →
What they share
- Both are held here under Sports.
- Same sub-field: Chess.
Where they part
- 55 years separate their births (1888 and 1943).
- Their lifetimes never overlapped.
Questions people ask
- Who came first, José Raúl Capablanca or Bobby Fischer?
- José Raúl Capablanca. José Raúl Capablanca was born in 1888, Bobby Fischer in 1943.
- What field is each of them in?
- José Raúl Capablanca is filed under Sports (Chess). Bobby Fischer is filed under Sports (Chess).
- Were they contemporaries?
- No - their lifetimes do not overlap.