Many people agree that Capablanca, the legendary chess player, is the best player of all time. He was known for his spectacular and carefree style of playing and, of course, he was known worldwide for holding the title of best chess player in the world.
José Raúl Capablanca was born in 1888 in La Habana, Cuba. His parents divorced when he was a toddler, and he began learning chess at the age of 6 after his older sister bought him a chess set. Early, he decided to go abroad to learn from the best masters and to participate in tournaments.
During the early 1900s, he continued to be involved in world championship matches but was also making a name for himself. After having a 31 game winning streak in the early 1910s, Capablanca once again made chess history in 1914 with his defeat of Emmanuel Lasker at the San Sebastian Open, marking the first time a Cuban chess player had won this title. Capablanca’s historic win also made chess a popular game around the world.
Since Capablanca had won the Moscow 1925 chess tournament overwhelmingly and had never lost a game, most experts regarded the Cuban as the clear favorite in their World Chess Championship 1927 match, so he didn’t prepare his next game. However, to everyone’s surprise, at the last minute of the game, Capablanca lost to his rival, Alekhine. I am sure that Capablanca would have won if he had prepared the game well. But despite this, he will always be remembered by everybody who loves chess.
José Raúl Capablanca died in 1942. He made the sport more exciting to watch, increasing the game’s popularity all over the world, including in less economically privileged countries. His great influence on chess continues nowadays.
Álvaro Expósito Cerero