Jose Raul Capablanca

Jose Raul Capablanca, born in Havana, already won a match at age 12 from the best player in Cuba. As a grown man, he was extremely charismatic, always dressed immaculately and had strong sense of honor. His understanding of chess was innate; the first major tournament he attempted was one of the strongest in the world and he came in first place (a distinction shared only with Pillsbury). After the first World War he was considered so invincible that his nickname became 'the chess machine.' In 1921 he captured the world championship from Lasker, but then surprisingly lost it to Alekhine in 1927. His intuition was phenomenal, his speed incredible. 'What others could not discover in a month, he saw at a glance,' noted Fine. He played prolifically and in his time, no other master sustained as few losses as he.