José Raúl Capablanca

Capablanca, born in Havana, Cuba, was something of a chess prodigy having beaten the Cuban national champion at the age of 12. His brilliance was noted at an early age, and he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players ever, especially his handling of the endgame and his positional style are renowned.

He said never having studied chess, and learned it by watching his father play. It was also his statement, that chess would in near future, die a death of draws, meaning that every game would end in a draw. This has never come to pass.

His bitter rival Alexander Alekhine, who had beaten Capablanca to become the fourth World Champion, wrote on Capablanca's death that, "With his death, we have lost a very great chess genius whose like we shall never see again."

Capablanca invented his variation on chess, called "Capablanca Chess", played on a 10x8 board.

See also: List of chess players, List of chess world championship matches, Milan Vidmar.

External link

• A more complete biography: http://www.chesscorner.com/worldchamps/capablanca/capablanca.htm