Alekhine, Alexander [key], 1892–1946, Russian-French chess player, b. Moscow. He became a naturalized French citizen after the Russian Revolution. At the age of 16 he gained the rank of master and in 1927, by a surprising defeat of Capablanca at Buenos Aires, became world champion. In 1930 at San Remo, Italy, he did not lose a single game in a tournament that included all of the major European players. In 1935 he lost the championship to Max Euwe but regained it in 1937 and kept it until his death. His clear and realistic style and the brilliance of his middle-game and end-game combinations are found in his book, My Best Games of Chess, 1924–1937 (1939).
See study by R. G. Eales and A. H. Williams (1973).
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