Chess Champion. He was the World Chess Champion from 1921 to 1927. He is considered by many to have been one of the greatest chess players of all time. While participating in a tournament in Sebastian, Spain in 1911, Capablanca came to world attention after winning first place against the leading players of that day. At the age of thirteen, he beat Cuban chess champion Juan Corzo. In New York City, he entered Columbia's School of Mines, Engineering, and Chemistry in the fall of 1910, studying chemical engineering, but after a few months, he left to devote himself to playing chess. In 1913 he was given nominal employment as a diplomat with the Cuban Foreign Ministry, a cover which secured for him a steady income while he played chess full-time. In 1914, he was one of the five players first given the title "Grandmaster of Chess" by Czar Nicholas II of the Russian Empire. In 1925, he was featured on the cover of "Time" magazine. Two years later, he lost the world championship to Alexander Alekhine; several times in the past, he had played Alekhine, winning each time. Having suffered from uncontrolled hypertension, he died after a cerebral hemorrhage at the Manhattan Chess Club while analyzing a game. His book "Chess Fundamentals" remains a classic; in this book, he emphasized the importance of studying the endgame first.
Chess Champion. He was the World Chess Champion from 1921 to 1927. He is considered by many to have been one of the greatest chess players of all time. While participating in a tournament in Sebastian, Spain in 1911, Capablanca came to world attention after winning first place against the leading players of that day. At the age of thirteen, he beat Cuban chess champion Juan Corzo. In New York City, he entered Columbia's School of Mines, Engineering, and Chemistry in the fall of 1910, studying chemical engineering, but after a few months, he left to devote himself to playing chess. In 1913 he was given nominal employment as a diplomat with the Cuban Foreign Ministry, a cover which secured for him a steady income while he played chess full-time. In 1914, he was one of the five players first given the title "Grandmaster of Chess" by Czar Nicholas II of the Russian Empire. In 1925, he was featured on the cover of "Time" magazine. Two years later, he lost the world championship to Alexander Alekhine; several times in the past, he had played Alekhine, winning each time. Having suffered from uncontrolled hypertension, he died after a cerebral hemorrhage at the Manhattan Chess Club while analyzing a game. His book "Chess Fundamentals" remains a classic; in this book, he emphasized the importance of studying the endgame first.
Bio by: Kenneth Cohen
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