Chess Villain
How Alexander Alekhine Alienated the World and Changed the Game
$39.95
In stock
About the Book
Starting his reign in 1927, Alexander Alekhine dominated the world of elite chess for more than a decade. To this day, he is the only world chess champion to die while holding the title. On his way to the top, Alekhine dodged artillery on World War I battlefields, narrowly escaped a Bolshevik firing squad and negotiated with Nazis to escape occupied Paris. He also earned a reputation as a “grandmonster” of chess: arrogant, amoral and alcoholic.
This book explores both the triumphs that established Alekhine as one of the most creative minds ever to storm the chess world and the tragic choices that ended his career and, finally, his life. He is still one of the most controversial figures in chess history, but competitive chess as we know it would not exist without him.
About the Author(s)
Bibliographic Details
Steve Rauls
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 235
Bibliographic Info: 15 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2025
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9681-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5491-1
Imprint: McFarland
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
1. Prologue 3
2. Early Years 5
3. Chess at the Top 11
4. St. Petersburg 16
5. Mannheim 23
6. The Great War 26
7. Revolution 29
8. Comrade Alekhine 34
9. The West 40
10. Paris 45
11. London 1922 48
12. Waiting for Capablanca 53
13. New York 1924 57
14. Doctor Alekhine 63
15. The Challenge 69
16. Euwe 73
17. New York 1927 76
18. Buenos Aires 82
19. The Breakthrough 89
20. The Rift 94
21. The Feud 101
22. Top of the World 106
23. Treading Water 113
24. An Unwilling Challenger 117
25. Hubris Strikes 122
26. Ex-Champion 128
27. Chess and Politics 133
28. Euwe Again 137
29. AVRO 1938 145
30. War in Europe 151
31. Occupation 156
32. Looking for an Exit 162
33. Nazi Chess 165
34. Champion of Occupied Europe 170
35. Sojourn in Spain 175
36. Ostracized 182
37. A Challenge from the East 187
38. Conspiracy Theories 191
39. A Vacant Throne 195
40. Legacy 200
Richard Réti vs. Alexander Alekhine Baden-Baden 1925 205
Chapter Notes 207
Bibliography 221
Index 223
