A Century of Chess: Pasadena/Mexico City 1932

A couple of new points show up on the atlas of chess history — with the first-ever international tournament in California followed by the first-ever in Mexico. Both were opportunities to benefit from the celebrity of Alekhine and for Alekhine to earn some extra cash. 

The results of both tournaments were pretty much a forgone conclusion. Alekhine scored +7-1=3 in Pasadena and +8-0=1 in Mexico City. Isaac Kashdan was his only real rival here and shared first in Mexico City, but Kashdan didn’t have the tournament ruthlessness that Alekhine did and finished a point behind him in Pasadena. 

The main value of the tournament is that it introduces us to a golden era of American chess. Sammy Reshevsky was already famous as a child prodigy, but it wasn’t clear how he would perform in an international tournament. His shared third place finish here — +5-4=1 — wasn’t quite the scintillating début one might expect of a player of his talent but did help to validate him as a credible member of the elite. Reuben Fine, at 17 years old, impressed by drawing his individual game against Alekhine, although he also lost a famous miniature. 

Arthur Dake, almost certainly the most Jack Londonesque figure in chess history, had his shining moment here. Dake was a sailor. He wandered off a merchant ship into New York in 1929 and showed himself fully capable of holding his own against the world’s very best. At Pasadena he finished shared third and won his individual game against Alekhine, which would cement his legend for, really, the rest of his life. Beset by family responsibilities and the Depression, Dake would subsist on odd jobs, only rarely playing chess. There’s the sense with him of an immense talent that went largely unfulfilled.

And, meanwhile, Kashdan — one of the driest-ever players in chess history — had another good result. Here is a classy win of his over Reshevsky. 

Mexico was more underwhelming and none of the Mexican players were able to challenge Alekhine or Kashdan. Here is a smooth win of his against the strongest Mexican player, Jose Joaquin Araiza Munoz.