Max Euwe vs Bobby Fischer
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
| Max Euwe | Bobby Fischer | |
| Field | Sports | Sports |
| Sub-field | Chess | Chess |
| Born | 1901 | 1943 |
| Died | 1981 | 2008 |
| Country of birth | Netherlands | - |
| Star sign | Aries | Pisces |
Who they are
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…
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.
- Their lifetimes overlap.
Where they part
- 42 years separate their births (1901 and 1943).
Questions people ask
- Who came first, Max Euwe or Bobby Fischer?
- Max Euwe. Max Euwe was born in 1901, Bobby Fischer in 1943.
- What field is each of them in?
- Max Euwe is filed under Sports (Chess). Bobby Fischer is filed under Sports (Chess).
- Were they contemporaries?
- Yes - their lifetimes overlap.