Hello and welcome to my new blog!

This will be the second episode of the series I started last month. The idea is to discover what was happening in the chess scene during the periods of important events and transformations that changed the history of the world forever.

As you may have noticed after reading the first episode (The Chessboard Of The World: 1900-1920), the consequences of historical facts sometimes have a direct impact on the chess world. Other times, even if the influence is not so strong, I still consider it important to understand what was happening and how our beloved game was going at the same time.

Today we are going to look at the years from 1920 to 1940, an era that, although not as eventful as the previous one (and especially the next one), was undoubtedly extremely decisive in the history of mankind. The escalation of geopolitical tensions in Europe, North Africa, and Asia prepared the ground for the terrible developments that were to come.

But that's not all. Apart from the obvious, we have also seen major advances in science and technology, as well as perhaps the biggest global economic collapse to date. Let's get started!

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. 1927

2. 1929

3. 1931

4. 1935

5. 1939

CONCLUSION

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1927

World - First Transatlantic Solo Flight

As you all know, I am passionate about aviation. Therefore, once again, we will open the blog with a historical fact related to it. On May 20, 1927, Charles Augustus Lindbergh flew the iconic Spirit of St. Louis aircraft and completed the first nonstop solo transatlantic flight.

Charles travelled from New York to Paris, covering a distance of 5,800 kilometres. The 33.5-hour flight was completed alone. To be honest, I am not even sure what is more incredible: the advanced technology or his great resilience.

Although this was not the first transatlantic flight, which took place in 1919 with two people on board, it was the longest at the time, beating the original world record by nearly 3,200 km. This feat brought Lindbergh worldwide fame and is considered one of the most significant flights in history. It certainly triggered a new era of air travel between different parts of the world.

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Chess - Capablanca's Fall

In the same year, the World Chess Championship title was decided in one of the most famous matches of all time. At that period, the Cuban legend José Raúl Capablanca was considered almost unbeatable, particularly in a match consisting of multiple games. Consequently, almost nobody in the chess world believed that his challenger, the Russian Alexander Alekhine, would be able to take the crown from him.

Prior to the match, the Austrian master Rudolf Spielmann said:

Capablanca certainly maintains his iron nerve throughout the five hours of play. For that reason alone, I believe that in his forthcoming match, Alekhine has no serious chance.

On the other hand, Richard Réti, one of the strongest players of the time, concluded:

There are no fundamental reasons for affirming with such certainty that the Cuban grandmaster must necessarily defeat the talented Slav player.

From 16 September to 29 November, they battled in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The rules stated that the first player to win six games would be crowned World Champion. A huge upset occurred in the very first game, when Alekhine won with the black pieces.

Capablanca then scored twice, regaining the lead and getting back on track. However, his opponent had meticulously studied his playing style and developed a specific plan to exploit his perceived weaknesses. After 34 exhausting games, the Russian player won the championship with six wins to three, a shock to the world!

The decisive game, in which Alekhine outplayed Capablanca in a nerve-racking endgame, is shown below.

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1929

World - Wall Street Crash

In October 1929, one of the biggest economic disasters in history took place. You will probably already be familiar with the famous Wall Street Crash, also known as the Great Crash, the most devastating in US and world history.

This event, also often referred to as Black Thursday (24 October) and Black Tuesday (29 October), was a major stock market collapse in the United States, which began with a sharp decline in prices on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Although a matter of debate, many agree that it was primarily caused by a combination of factors, including excessive speculation, the use of margin accounts, and a general lack of market confidence.

The consequences were immediate and catastrophic. It triggered a rapid erosion of confidence in the national banking system and marked the beginning of the Great Depression, a worldwide economic crisis that lasted until 1939, when something way worse happened.

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Chess - Karlsbad Tournament

Also in 1929, a large round robin chess tournament took place from 30 July to 28 August in the town of Karlsbad (also spelt Carlsbad in English), in Czechoslovakia. Today, this place is known as Karlovy Vary.

This event was one of the four famous international chess tournaments held there and counted with the participation of twenty-two of the best players of the time. The other tournament years were 1907, 1911, and 1923.

The winner was the Latvian-born Danish player Aaron Nimzowitsch, author of the famous book My System. The reigning world champion, Alexander Alekhine, did not play but wrote six articles for the New York Times during the tournament. Even the current Women's World Champion, Vera Menchik, took part, although she did not perform well.

Other strong names who played included Max Euwe, who will be mentioned in detail in this article shortly, José Raúl Capablanca, Akiba Rubinstein, and Savielly Tartakower.

Below you can see the game in which Nimzowitsch defeated Tartakower in round 21.

Nimzowitsch received 20,000 Czechoslovak crowns for the title. After this incredible performance, he was expected to become the world champion's challenger, a desire he had already expressed on his visiting cards. Alekhine praised the Danish in one of his reports:

His great chess knowledge certainly was a preliminary condition to his victory, but undoubtedly his fine physiological treatment of an opponent also contributed.

Unfortunately, bad results against Alekhine in upcoming tournaments led to him being passed over for Efim Bogoljubow and Max Euwe.

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1931

World - Japanese Invasion of Manchuria

On Friday, 18 September 1931, the Empire of Japan invaded Manchuria, a region that was part of China at the time. This event reinforced Japan's expansionist desires in Asia and was one of the disputes that paved the way for a much larger conflict a few years later.

This particular war was relatively short and ended in February 1932, less than six months after it began, with the invaders establishing the puppet state of Manchukuo, which controlled the region's people and resources. The occupation lasted until the end of the Second World War in August 1945.

Such invasion, of course, attracted great international attention. The League of Nations, the predecessor to the United Nations, established the Lytton Commission. They recommended that its members should not recognise the state of Manchukuo, and that Manchuria should be returned to Chinese sovereignty. The Japanese government obviously refused and withdrew from the League entirely.

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Chess - A New Star

I could talk about the 4th Chess Olympiad, which took place in Prague, Czechoslovakia, between 11th and 26th July, and that ended with the first title for the United States. However, I believe that the most remarkable thing that happened this year, although many did not know it yet at the time, was the results of the USSR Chess Championship.

And why do I say it? Because it was in 1931, when this tournament was still in its 7th edition, that a young 20-year-old promising player won his first national title, marking the beginning of an outstanding career for a future world champion who is considered one of the fathers of chess in the Soviet Union. Do you have any guesses?

You would be right to say Mikhail Botvinnik! In this event, held in Moscow from 10 October to 11 November, he scored 13.5/17 to win by 2 points over the runner-up. This edition had the largest number of participants to date, with an extensive series of preliminaries involving around 500 players, making his feat even more incredible.

To give you some context, the winners of the Soviet Chess Championship in its entire history include eight different World Chess Champions and four World Championship finalists. This is proof enough of how high the level has always been.

Today, Mikhail Botvinnik shares the record for most wins in this competition with Mikhail Tal. Both have won it six times. He went on to become world champion in three different occasions.

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1935

World - Induced Radioactivity

In 1935, the scientific world was introduced to the revolutionary concept of induced radioactivity. This process involves using radiation to make a previously stable material radioactive. The discovery was made by the married couple Irène Joliot-Curie and Frédéric Joliot-Curie, who shared the 1935 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for it.

And if you think this surname sounds familiar, you are right! Irène Curie was the daughter of the renowned scientist Marie Curie, who had previously studied the natural radioactivity of different isotopes. Not only was she the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, but also the only person to have won this award in two different areas.

Nowadays, the applications of induced radioactivity include medicine, for example in cancer treatment and imaging diagnostics; industry, where it can be used in monitoring fluids in tubes; agriculture, in studying the metabolism of vegetables; and even archaeology, to determine the age of some artefacts.

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Chess - Another Global Shock

Another great upset in the history of the World Chess Championship took place between October and December of the same year. This time, the reigning champion, Alexander Alekhine, played Max Euwe, a mathematician who, despite being a strong player, was not even considered a professional.

Most enthusiasts and analysts believed that Alekhine would probably win comfortably. However, this opinion was not shared by everyone. Asked for his views on the forthcoming match, former world champion José Raúl Capablanca told Dutch journalist Han Hollander:

Dr. Alekhine's game is 20% bluff. Dr. Euwe's game is clear and straightforward. Dr. Euwe's game — not so strong as Alekhine's in some respects — is more evenly balanced.

The rules stated that the first player to win six games and score more than 15 points would be crowned champion. Euwe won his sixth game in round 20, but still needed to reach the minimum score required.

On December 15, after 30 games in 13 different cities in the Netherlands, the Dutchman shocked the entire community and defeated Alekhine 15.5 - 14.5 (9 - 13 - 8) to become the World Chess Champion. Below is the decisive game that gave him the title, annotated by @SamCopeland.

They had a rematch in 1937, in which Alekhine regained his crown. It is interesting to note that Max Euwe considered both results to be unfair, as he said:

Alekhine outplayed me tactically; I outplayed him strategically. Alekhine should have won the 1935 match; I should have won the 1937 match.

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1939

World - World War II

Now, let's move on to the most obvious and famous event to happen between 1920 and 1940: The start of the Second World War, which began on 1 September 1939, when the Germans invaded Poland using their well-known (today) Blitzkrieg strategy.

This war, in which millions died around the world, divided power into two distinct groups. On one side, The Allies, a coalition consisting of the UK, France, and Poland, who were joined later mainly by the USA and the USSR. They were opposed by the Axis powers, primarily led by Germany and its infamous dictator, whose name I refuse to write, as well as Italy and Japan.

Of course, I will not be able to summarize everything about this conflict in three paragraphs, but I’m pretty sure all my readers are aware of its global impact and the fact that it still shapes the world we live in today.

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Chess - Federation Switches

Also in 1939, the 8th Chess Olympiad was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina (where Capablanca had previously played against Alekhine). The main team event took place between 21 August and 19 September, coinciding with the outbreak of World War II.

I don't know if it’s just a coincidence or some macabre twist of fate, but the champions were the Germans, while Poland, whose land had just been invaded by the winning country, came second.

However, it was not the results of the competition itself that had a real impact on the chess world, but the fact that, upon its conclusion, many participants decided to stay in Argentina or move elsewhere in South America rather than face an uncertain future by returning to a Europe engulfed in war.

All five members of the German team (Eliskases, Michel, Engels, Becker, and Reinhardt) chose not to return to Nazi Germany. They began representing the Argentinian chess federation, with the exception of Engels, who moved to Brazil and represented that country instead.

However, the whole list consists of 24 players who made similar decisions. Most of them were Jewish and had travelled to South America on the Belgian steamer Piriapolis. This ship has therefore come to be regarded as the epitome of Noah's Ark for a generation of chess players.

Miguel Najdorf, the creator of a famous line in the Sicilian Defense, was perhaps the most famous affected one. He played for the Polish team and decided to stay in Argentina from that day on.

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CONCLUSION

We have just reached the end of the next twenty years! I hope you have enjoyed reading the blog and have learnt some interesting historical facts about the world and the game we love.

I must reiterate that the influence of world events on chess is not always too direct. However, I believe this is part of the experience, and the idea in this blog is exactly to explain when it occurred more strongly or not.

As always, please let me know in the comments section if there is anything else you would have liked me to mention, bearing in mind the time range. To conclude, let's look at a table summarizing the information you have just read.

I cannot confirm when the next episodes will be released, as I currently have some other blog ideas in mind for the next few posts. But the plan is to continue the series, with episodes talking about every two-decade intervals, until we reach 2025. So, if you enjoy it, stay tuned!

Thank you very much for reading. We will meet again on 30 May to discuss a different topic, which I hope you will enjoy! Take care and see you soon!