Das Schachgenie CAPABLANCA Add to Watch List Watching View Watchlist >

Sportverlag Berlin, 1988, 1st edition, in German, hardcover with dustjacket, 304 pp, 360 grams, a few photos, condition: very good. 80+ annotated games , a few b/w photos, many chess diagrams. Score tables of all Capa tournaments and matches

José Raúl Capablanca possessed one remarkable quality: a phenomenal memory. This likely enabled the young Cuban to recall countless patterned positions during a chess game. Capablanca never hesitated; his moves were swift and precise, making him one of the best chess players of the 20th century. José Raúl Capablanca is said to have played his first chess game at just four years old . The Cuban prodigy soon attracted attention far beyond Cuba's borders. The French newspaper " Le Figaro " wrote of the twelve-year-old: " While his opponents think about a move for five or ten minutes, Capablanca plays immediately. " He earned the nickname "the chess machine."
World War I delayed his pursuit of the world championship. It wasn't until 1921 that he faced the reigning world champion, the German Emanuel Lasker. Capablanca won. However, he lost the title six years later to the Russian Alexander Alekhine, likely because Capablanca had arrogantly underestimated his opponent. Despite years of effort, Alekhine denied him a rematch.