Alexander Alekhine

Aleksander Alekhin (common spelling and pronunciation "Alekhine" is incorrect; 19 (31) October 1892,Moscow - 24 March 1946, Estoril, Portugal) was a Russian chess player who played for the Russian Empire, Soviet Russia and France and was the fourth world champion in chess. Alekhine was one of the strongest chess players in the world before the First World War, finishing third at the St. Petersburg tournament in 1914, in 1920 he became the first champion of the RSFSR, and in 1921 he left Russia and moved permanently to France, of which he became a citizen in 1925. In 1927 Alekhine won a world championship match with Jose Raoul Capablanca, who was considered unbeatable, and then for several years dominated the competition, winning the major tournaments of his time by a wide margin. Alekhine defended his title twice, in 1929 and 1934, in matches against Efim Bogoljubov, and in 1935 he lost a match to Max Euwe, but won a rematch two years later and held the title until his death. Alekhine was the only chess player who died while still the reigning world champion.

He was a versatile chess player. He is best known for his attacking style of play and his spectacular, deeply calculated combinations. At the same time he had a lot of theoretical developments in openings, and he had a high endgame technique.