Alexander Alekhine ranks as one of the greatest players in chess history. He was born in Moscow on the 1st November, 1892. As a chess player he attained the title of Master at the age of sixteen, and at 22, in 1914, that of Grand Master.
After taking his law degree in 1914, he entered the Russian Foreign Office, but during the Revolution he immigrated to France, where he later obtained the degree of Docteur en Droit of Paris University.
Alekhine won many International Tournaments, and, moreover, established three world records for Blindfold Chess. He won the World Title from Capablanca in 1927, successfully defended it against Bogoljubow in 1929 and 1937, lost it by one point against Dr. Euwe in 1935, and then won it back from him by six points in 1937.
Alekhine's book, My Best Games of Chess 1908-1923, was first published on January 1, 1939, followed by My Best Games of Chess 1924–1937. The two books were reprinted many times, usually as a single volume, which has advanced to a classic of chess literature. Spanning almost thirty years of tournament play, it includes historic matches against Capablanca, Euwe, and Bogoljubov – personal accounts of the dazzling victories that made Alekhine a legend.
The original English edition used English descriptive notation and looked like this:
It is a wonderful feeling to own the book, but who can read it? Who has ever set up a chessboard and tried to replay the moves and the variations? I hope the situation will change, and that the wonderful historic treasures of chess may soon be published in electronic form. Below is what the above game would look like – remember, you can click on the moves to get a replay board, which you can resize and move to the best place on the screen. You can play through the moves, and even start an engine to understand moves that Alekhine did not explain. Suddenly you have full access to the game on your notebook, your tablet or even your mobile phone. Good times ahead!