INTRODUCING MAX EUWE

The 5th World Champion, a Dutchman named Max Euwe (pronounced "Erver," born in 1901) won the title by defeating Alexander Alekhine in a match in 1935. While many people say that this was due to Alekhine's personal problems at that time, Euwe was legitimately a super-strong chess player for decades.

Euwe may well be the strongest "amateur" chessplayer ever. How can a world champion be considered an amateur? Well, Euwe's primary career was as a mathematics professor, much like the 2nd World Champion Emanuel Lasker. Dr. Euwe was considered a gentleman and generally admired by all. Unlike Lasker, who avoided Capablanca as long as possible; and Capablanca, who insisted upon very difficult conditions for challengers (a $10,000 stake in Gold); and Alekhine, who avoided even playing in the same tournaments as Capablanca; Euwe graciously agreed to a rematch with Alekhine in 1937. However, Alekhine returned to his best form and regained the title.

Euwe put in strong performances in many top-flight events, such as Nottingham 1936 and AVRO 1938, and continued to be a formidable opponent into the 1950s, participating in the 28-round marathon Zurich 1953 event.

A great chess teacher, Max Euwe's legacy includes many books, including Judgment and Plannign in Chess, A Guide to Chess Endings, and his most famous work The Middlegame (Books 1 and 2), among many others.

Euwe later became the President of FIDE (the International Chess Federation) and it was largely through his efforts that the often-impossible to deal with Robert James Fischer finally agreed to play (and subsequently win) the 1972 World Championship match. His tenure lasted from 1970-1978.

Euwe died in 1981 at the age of 79.

"There is something wrong with that man. He's too normal." --Bobby Fischer.


To see a complete biography of Max Euwe on the Wikipedia site, click here.

To see a games collection of Max Euwe on ChessGames.com, click here.