AMAZING CHESS PLAYER

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 29, 29 October 1919, Page 8

AMAZING CHESS PLAYER

CAPABLANCA THE CUI3AN. The most notable figure in the world of chess is just thirty years old. Senor C'apablanca, that amazing Cuban who played ill the Victory tournament at Hastings recently, is already a veteran. In those circles where they talk a languago which sounds like algebra £ono mail, he has been known for ten years as ono of the musters, awl it is twenty years since ho scored his lirst big suc'ce'ss! And it is longer still since ho won his first game, At the age of four he played and defeated his own father. At the nge of 10 he played in his lirst tournament at Havana, and won all his game? except two, in which ho wni. beaten by J. Corso, llio champion of Cuba. Oorso, however, was so impressed by the small toy who put up so good a fight that a match was arranged between them—and tho small boy won! In tijnio ho left school and began to study mining engineering, with chess as a hobby. So sensational was his progress that in 190!) ho toured the United States, played 590 simultaneous games (in batches of from 25 to *15), out of which he won 500 and lost only 12. Following that ho played. Marshall, the champion of America, and beat luni by 8 games to 1. 12 being drawn. Two years later ho loured Europe. Ho had his nearest approach to disaster when ho met 28 members of the City of London Chess Club, and won only 16 of tho games. 11l 1913 the Cuban Government sent him to the town which in those days wo knew as St. Petersburg, as Assist-ant-Consul, and there in 1911 he met the great Lasker. Experts will tell you still that Capablanca played by fur tho bettor game, but ho lost. It was ono of his few (Meats. In London recently. he played 2S simultaneous games, won 21, lost 3 and drew' 4. The chess experts get notes of rcverenco into their voices when they talk about him. Swift in decision, he moves quickly from board to board when he is playing one of tlioso large-scale battles. Ho can 60e at a glanco the perils and possibilities which tho ordinary player can only discover after long study. His brain is so constituted that to him the most elaborate and complex of nil games is a simple thing. And the careful skill of opponents is useless against his lJßhtmnj moves. —H, L. in tho "Daily Mail.