The Life Of Capablanca
Capablanca
J.R. While Capablanca (or "Capa" colloquially) is arguably one of the most important characters in the history of chess, he also has a special place in the hearts of Turkish chess fans. As one of these chess enthusiasts, when I hear the name Capa, my first thought is not chess; rather, it comes to an idyllic picture of happy people dancing in the countryside to beautiful tunes, because for many of us—perhaps every young person learning chess in the country from the late 1950s to the 2000s—read the book “The Fundamentals of Chess” with the Nezih Yazgaç translation -and softly engage in chess. - coincides with the same age when they begin to discover the outside world, the “nature of things” and life, to make sense of it from their own perspective, and finally to define everything in their lives through chess.
“The Fundamentals of Chess” remained the only contemporary work published in the field of chess for a long time, and, along with a few other valuable books that were written and translated later on, is a book that influenced the Turkish chess player's view of both chess and life. Anyone who reads this book feels that he has really started to think like Capa and understand chess from one end. This is an indescribable intellectual pleasure, and chess enters the blood in these moments. Moving from a novice to a mediocre novice, the actor doesn't realize much in those moments that he's also assimilating a part of Capa's character. While Capa ruthlessly criticizes his own mistakes, on the other hand, he does not hesitate to show his ego in some situations even while writing. I create the perfect combination at the critical moment.” he modestly shows that they do not have a very warm relationship. Noting that many of today's young masters are much more modest, it is something to ponder whether some of the high egos of the ancients were borrowed from Capa as a "natural part of chess".
Of course, this “perfect example” is not the only one. Of course, there are others who have an important place in Turkish chess culture (you can read the example just before going on to the matches) and I say these not to overshadow Capa's genius, but to describe the profound effect he left on us. Capa's brilliance probably comes primarily from the fact that his plays are as natural as the flow of a river. Almost all of his moves are in a coherence and fluency that fits perfectly into a rulebook that has not been written before but is in the common consciousness of humanity; just like the laws of nature.
Capablanca won at San Sebastian. The photo above shows it.
Heraclitus of Ephesus (~500 BC) “The world itself consists of the change symbolized by the fire within the elements themselves. Thus the world is defined not by a particular substance, but by a continuous process governed by the law of change. The underlying law of nature also expresses itself as a moral law for humans.” says.
A few centuries later, Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC) added to this the idea that "moral laws, whose source is in nature, are superior to laws that vary with time and country." Indeed, the laws of countries may change, but many legal concepts are timeless. So is Capa's chess. The book that is the subject of this review was published in 1920. Although a medical book written in the same year -for example- may still contain valid information in the light of current developments, it may be filled with outdated, inaccurate and completely wrong information in many places. Such a book can only have cultural value today, because medicine has progressed at a dizzying pace in the intervening hundred years. The situation is no different for chess. Although almost all of the theories and concepts we use today were introduced at the beginning of the 1900s, the knowledge and opening analyzes of technical game competence have advanced a lot; Many continuation routes, which were not even named in those days, are completely examined and finished today.
Actually, in my opinion, the answer to this question is quite simple: Despite all the advances in chess, the games, analyzes and narratives in this book are still largely valid today and do not seem to lose their value in the future. These words should not be perceived as “a structure without a foundation cannot be built without taking lessons from the past and tradition”. The structure of this book is still new, still fresh; It also perfectly explains the natural laws of chess to today's chess player. With the motivation, support and active participation of Ustad, the duo, who was disturbed by the fact that the first translation draft was finished in three days, and that the work was completed in 100 pages when they were at the peak of their productivity, completed another book in the book, which they called "Appendixes", and it was probably not only written in our language, but probably in our language. they have signed one of the most comprehensive Capablanca studies in the world.
Now let's move on to sample games.
Jose Raul Capablanca - Rafael Blanco Estera
Jose Raul Capablanca - White
Rafael Blanco Estera - Black
Black leaves because of white supremacy.
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