Max Euwe vs Reuben Fine
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 | Reuben Fine | |
| Field | Sports | Sports |
| Sub-field | Chess | Chess |
| Born | 1901 | 1914 |
| Died | 1981 | 1993 |
| Country of birth | Netherlands | United States |
| Star sign | Aries | Libra |
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…
Reuben Fine
In 1948, FIDE organized a round-robin tournament in The Hague and Moscow to determine who would succeed Alexander Alekhine as World Chess Champion. Five players were invited. The sixth invitation — by many accounts the most interesting one — went to Reuben Fine of New York, ranked by most contemporary observers among the top two or three players in the world. Fine declined. He was in the middle of his psychoanalytic training and felt that his professional obligations took priority over competing for the world title. He was thirty-three years old. He never played serious…
Full biography of Reuben Fine →
What they share
- Both are held here under Sports.
- Same sub-field: Chess.
- Their lifetimes overlap.
Where they part
- Born in different countries: Netherlands and United States.
- 13 years separate their births (1901 and 1914).
Questions people ask
- Who came first, Max Euwe or Reuben Fine?
- Max Euwe. Max Euwe was born in 1901, Reuben Fine in 1914.
- What field is each of them in?
- Max Euwe is filed under Sports (Chess). Reuben Fine is filed under Sports (Chess).
- Were they contemporaries?
- Yes - their lifetimes overlap.