Editing José Raúl Capablanca (section)

== Biography and career ==
=== Childhood ===
[[File:Capablanca jogando com o seu pai.jpg|thumb|left|Capablanca playing chess with his father José María Capablanca in 1892]]
José Raúl Capablanca, the second surviving son of a [[Spaniards|Spanish]] army officer, José María Capablanca, and a [[Spaniards|Spanish]] woman from [[Catalonia]], Matilde María Graupera y Marín,<ref>{{cite web
| url=http://www.chess-poster.com/english/great_players/jose_capablanca.htm | access-date=19 February 2015
| title=Jose Capablanca
}}</ref> was born in [[Havana]] on 19 November 1888. According to Capablanca, he learned to play chess at the age of four by watching his father play with friends, pointed out an [[Rules of chess#Illegal move|illegal move]] by his father, and then beat his father.<ref>{{cite news
| title=How I learned to play chess |author1=Capablanca, J. R. | magazine= Munsey's Magazine | year=1916 | pages=94–96
| url= http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/capablanca4.html| access-date=27 January 2020}}</ref> At the age of eight he was taken to Havana Chess Club, which had hosted many important contests, but on the advice of a doctor he was not allowed to play frequently. Between November and December 1901, he narrowly beat the Cuban Chess Champion, [[Juan Corzo]], in a match.<ref name="Dumont1959MemoirOfCapa">{{cite book|author=Du Mont, J.|title=Capablanca's Hundred Best Games of Chess|publisher=G. Bell & Sons|year=1959|editor=Golombek, H.|pages=1–18|chapter=Memoir of Capablanca}}</ref><ref name="Reynolds1935OneMansMind" /><ref name="HooperBrandrethUnknownCapaCorzo">{{cite book
| title=The Unknown Capablanca |author1=Hooper, D. |author2=Brandreth, D.A. | publisher=Courier Dover Publications | year=1994 | isbn=0486276147
| chapter=The Corzo Match | pages=116–140
| chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rIrb_zLiVd4C&q=capablanca+corzo&pg=PA116 | access-date=2 January 2009
}}</ref> However, in April 1902 he came in fourth out of six in the National Championship, losing both his games with Corzo.<ref name="HooperBrandrethUnknownCapaCorzo" /> In 1905 Capablanca easily passed the entrance examinations for [[Columbia College (New York)]], where he wished to play for Columbia's strong [[baseball]] team, and soon was starting [[shortstop]] on the [[freshman]] team.<ref name="Reynolds1935OneMansMind" /> In the same year he joined the [[Manhattan Chess Club]], and was soon recognized as the club's strongest player.<ref name="Dumont1959MemoirOfCapa" /> He was particularly dominant in [[Fast chess|rapid chess]], winning a tournament ahead of the reigning World Chess Champion, [[Emanuel Lasker]], in 1906.<ref name="Dumont1959MemoirOfCapa" /> He represented Columbia on top board in intercollegiate team chess.<ref>''The Bobby Fischer I Knew And Other Stories'', by [[Arnold Denker]] and Larry Parr, Hypermodern, San Francisco, 1995, p. 5.</ref> In 1908 he left the university to concentrate on chess.<ref name="Dumont1959MemoirOfCapa" /><ref name="Reynolds1935OneMansMind">{{Cite news | title=One Man's Mind | author=Reynolds, Q. | newspaper=Collier's Weekly | date=2 March 1935 | url=http://www.chessarch.com/excavations/0017_capablanca/capablanca.shtml | access-date=2 January 2009 | archive-date=18 January 2000 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000118142330/http://www.chessarch.com/excavations/0017_capablanca/capablanca.shtml | url-status=dead }}</ref>

According to Columbia University, Capablanca enrolled at Columbia's School of Mines, Engineering and Chemistry in September 1910, to study chemical engineering.<ref>Columbia University: [http://www.c250.columbia.edu/c250_celebrates/remarkable_columbians/jose_raul_capablanca.html José Raúl Capablanca] (C250 Celebrates Columbians Ahead of Their Time).</ref> Later, his financial support was withdrawn because he preferred playing chess to studying engineering. He left Columbia after one semester to devote himself to chess full-time.

=== Early adult career ===
[[File:José Raúl Capablanca young cr.jpg|thumb|Capablanca in 1919]]
Capablanca's skill in rapid chess lent itself to [[simultaneous exhibition]]s, and his increasing reputation in these events led to a US-wide tour in 1909.<ref name="Reinfeld1942ImmortalGamesOfCapaBio">{{cite book|last=Reinfeld|first=F.|title=The Immortal Games of Capablanca|publisher=Courier Dover Publications|orig-year=1942|year=1990|pages=1–13|chapter=Biography|isbn=0-486-26333-9|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bUdw5Zc1diEC&pg=PA1}}</ref> Playing 602 games in 27 cities, he scored 96.4%—a much higher percentage than, for example, [[Géza Maróczy]]'s 88% and [[Frank Marshall (chess player)|Frank Marshall]]'s 86% in 1906. This performance gained him sponsorship for an exhibition match that year against Marshall, the [[US Chess Championship|US champion]],<ref>{{cite book | title=The Unknown Capablanca |author1=Hooper, D. |author2=Brandreth, D.A. | publisher=Courier Dover Publications | year=1994 | isbn=0-486-27614-7 | chapter=Simultaneous Exhibitions | page=141| chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=rIrb_zLiVd4C&pg=PA116
}}</ref> who had won the 1904 [[Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania|Cambridge Springs]] tournament ahead of World Champion [[Emanuel Lasker]] and [[Dawid Janowski]], and whom [[Chessmetrics]] ranks as one of the world's top three players at his peak.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://chessmetrics.com/cm/CM2/PlayerProfile.asp?Params=199510SSSSS3S081701000000111000000000018610100 | access-date=2 January 2009 | title=Chessmetrics Player Profile: Frank Marshall}}</ref> Capablanca beat Marshall, 15–8 (8&nbsp;wins, 1&nbsp;loss, 14&nbsp;[[Draw (chess)|draws]])—a margin comparable to what [[Emanuel Lasker|Lasker]] achieved against Marshall (8&nbsp;wins, no&nbsp;losses, 7&nbsp;draws) in winning his [[World Chess Championship 1907|1907 World Championship match]]. After the match, Capablanca said that he had never opened a book on [[chess opening]]s.<ref name="Dumont1959MemoirOfCapa" /><ref>{{cite book | last = Kasparov |first = Garry | author-link=Garry Kasparov | year=2003 | title=My Great Predecessors, part I | publisher = [[Everyman Chess]]
|isbn=1-85744-330-6 | page=232|title-link = My Great Predecessors }}</ref> Following this match, Chessmetrics rates Capablanca the world's third strongest player for most of the period from 1909 through 1912.<ref name="ChessmetricsProfileCapa">{{cite web|url=http://chessmetrics.com/cm/CM2/PlayerProfile.asp?Params=199510SSSSS3S019593000000131000000000000010100|title=Chessmetrics Player Profile: José Capablanca |last=Sonas|first=J.|access-date=1 June 2009}} (select the "Career Details" option)</ref>

Capablanca won six games and drew one in the 1910 [[New York (state)|New York]] State Championship. Both Capablanca and Charles Jaffe won their four games in the knock-out preliminaries and met in a match to decide the winner, who would be the first to win two games. The first game was drawn and Capablanca won the second and third games. After another grueling series of simultaneous exhibitions,<ref name="Reinfeld1942ImmortalGamesOfCapaBio" /> Capablanca placed second, with 9½ out of 12, in the 1911 National Tournament at [[New York City|New York]], half a point behind Marshall, and half a point ahead of [[Charles Jaffe]] and [[Oscar Chajes]].<ref name="Golombek1959Capas100BestResults" /><ref name="storiascacchiTornei1910Al1919">{{cite web | url = http://xoomer.alice.it/cserica/scacchi/storiascacchi/tornei/1900-49/1910ny.htm | archive-url = https://archive.today/20110605085423/http://xoomer.alice.it/cserica/scacchi/storiascacchi/tornei/1900-49/1910ny.htm | url-status = dead | archive-date = 5 June 2011 | access-date = 2 January 2009 | title = New York 1910 }}</ref> Marshall, invited to play in a tournament at [[San Sebastián]], Spain, in 1911, insisted that Capablanca also be allowed to play.<ref>{{cite web
| url=http://www.chessville.com/vignettes/Capablanca.htm | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120524003200/http://www.chessville.com/vignettes/Capablanca.htm | url-status=usurped | archive-date=24 May 2012 | access-date=2 January 2009 | title=Chessville vignettes: José Raoul Capablanca y Graupera}}</ref>

According to [[David Vincent Hooper|David Hooper]] and [[Ken Whyld]], [[San Sebastián chess tournament|San Sebastián 1911]] was "one of the strongest five tournaments held up to that time", as all the world's leading players competed except the World Champion, [[Emanuel Lasker|Lasker]].<ref name = "HooperWhyldOCC_SanSeb1911">{{cite book | author=David Hooper | author2=Kenneth Whyld | author-link=David Hooper (chess player) | author2-link=Kenneth Whyld | name-list-style=amp | title=The Oxford Companion to Chess | url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont0000hoop | url-access=registration | edition=2 | year=1992 | page=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont0000hoop/page/67 67] | isbn=0-19-866164-9 | publisher=Oxford University Press | location=Oxford}}</ref><ref name="Fine1952WorldsGreatChessGamesCapa" /> At the beginning of the tournament, [[Ossip Bernstein]] and [[Aron Nimzowitsch]] objected to Capablanca's participation because he had not fulfilled the entry condition of winning at least third prize in two master tournaments.<ref name="Dumont1959MemoirOfCapa" /> Capablanca won brilliantly against Bernstein in the very first round, more simply against Nimzowitsch,<ref name="Reinfeld1942ImmortalGamesOfCapaBio" /> and astounded the chess world by taking first place, with six wins, one loss and seven draws, ahead of [[Akiba Rubinstein]], [[Milan Vidmar]], Marshall, [[Carl Schlechter]] and [[Siegbert Tarrasch]], et al.<ref name="Dumont1959MemoirOfCapa" /> His loss, to Rubinstein, was one of the most brilliant achievements of the latter's career.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kmoch|first=H.|title=Rubinstein's Chess Masterpieces|publisher=Dover|year=1960|pages=65–67|isbn=0-486-20617-3}}</ref> Some European critics grumbled that Capablanca's style was rather cautious, though he conceded fewer draws than any of the next six finishers in the event. Capablanca was now recognized as a serious contender for the world championship.<ref name="Reinfeld1942ImmortalGamesOfCapaBio" />

=== World title contender ===
In 1911, Capablanca challenged [[Emanuel Lasker|Lasker]] for the [[World Chess Championship]]. [[Emanuel Lasker|Lasker]] accepted his challenge while proposing 17 conditions for the match. Capablanca objected to some of the conditions, which favored [[Emanuel Lasker|Lasker]], and the match did not take place.<ref>Hooper & Whyld 1992, pp. 67–68.</ref><ref name="graemecree1921WorldChessChampionship">{{Cite web
 | url=http://members.aol.com/graemecree/chesschamps/world/world1921.htm
 | title=1921 World Chess Championship
 | access-date=21 November 2008
| date=20 January 2005
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050120165616/http://members.aol.com/graemecree/chesschamps/world/world1921.htm |archive-date = 20 January 2005}} This cites: a report of [[Emanuel Lasker|Lasker]]'s concerns about the location and duration of the match, in ''New York Evening Post''. 15 March 1911; Capablanca's letter of 20 December 1911 to [[Emanuel Lasker|Lasker]], stating his objections to [[Emanuel Lasker|Lasker]]'s proposal; [[Emanuel Lasker|Lasker]]'s letter to Capablanca, breaking off negotiations; [[Emanuel Lasker|Lasker]]'s letter of 27 April 1921 to Alberto Ponce of the Havana Chess Club, proposing to resign the 1921 match; and Ponce's reply, accepting the resignation.</ref>
[[File:Capablanca vs Alekhine 1914.jpg|left|thumb|First Match game between [[Alexander Alekhine|Alekhine]] and Capablanca on 14 December 1913 in an exhibition in St. Petersburg ]]
In 1913, Capablanca won a tournament in [[New York City|New York]] with 11/13, half a point ahead of Marshall.<ref name="Golombek1959Capas100BestResults" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Hooper |first=D.|author2=Brandreth, D.|title=The Unknown Capablanca|year=1975|publisher=R.H.M. Press|pages=170|isbn=0890582076}}</ref> Capablanca then finished second to Marshall in Havana, scoring 10 out of 14 and losing one of their individual games.<ref name="Golombek1959Capas100BestResults" /><ref name="MarshallBestGames">{{cite book|last=Marshall|first=F.J.|title=Frank J. Marshall's Best Games of Chess|publisher=Dover|year=1960|pages=19–20|isbn=0-486-20604-1}} Page 19: "My two 1913 tournaments took a curious course. At New York, Capa beat me out by half a point, but a month later I reversed the procedure at Havana." P. 20: Marshall thought the crowd were "after my blood for defeating their idol and asked for an escort to my hotel. It turned out, however, that the good Cubans were just showing their sportsmanship and were cheering ''me''!"</ref> The 600 spectators naturally favored their native hero, but sportingly gave Marshall "thunderous applause".<ref name="MarshallBestGames" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Winter|first=E.G.|title=Capablanca chess|publisher=McFarland|chapter=Rapid ascent|isbn=0-89950-455-8|year=1989}}</ref> In a tournament in New York in 1913, at the Rice Chess Club, Capablanca won all 13 games.<ref name="Reinfeld1942ImmortalGamesOfCapaBio" /><ref name="Golombek1959Capas100BestResults" />

In September 1913, Capablanca accepted a job in the Cuban Foreign Office,<ref name="Dumont1959MemoirOfCapa" /> which made him financially secure for life.<ref name="Fine1952WorldsGreatChessGamesCapa" /> Hooper and Whyld write, "He had no specific duties, but was expected to act as a kind of ambassador-at-large, a well-known figure who would put Cuba on the map wherever he travelled."<ref>Hooper & Whyld 1992, p. 68.</ref> His first instructions were to go to [[Saint Petersburg]], where he was due to play in a major tournament.<ref name="Reinfeld1942ImmortalGamesOfCapaBio" /> On his way, he gave [[simultaneous exhibition]]s in London, Paris and Berlin, where he also played two-game matches against [[Richard Teichmann]] and [[Jacques Mieses]], winning all four games.<ref name="Dumont1959MemoirOfCapa" /><ref name="Reinfeld1942ImmortalGamesOfCapaBio" /> In Saint Petersburg, he played similar matches against [[Alexander Alekhine]], [[Eugene Znosko-Borovsky]] and [[Fyodor Duz-Chotimirsky]], losing one game to Znosko-Borovsky and winning the rest.<ref name="Dumont1959MemoirOfCapa" />

The [[St. Petersburg 1914 chess tournament]] was the first in which Capablanca confronted [[Emanuel Lasker|Lasker]] under tournament conditions.<ref name="Reinfeld1942ImmortalGamesOfCapaBio" /> This event was arranged in an unusual way: after a preliminary single [[round-robin tournament]] involving 11 players, the top five were to play a second stage in [[Round-robin tournament|double round-robin]] format, with total scores from the preliminary tournament carried forward to the second contest.<ref name="Reinfeld1942ImmortalGamesOfCapaBio" /> Capablanca placed first in the preliminary tournament, 1½ points ahead of [[Emanuel Lasker|Lasker]], who was out of practice and had made a shaky start. Despite a determined effort by [[Emanuel Lasker|Lasker]], Capablanca still seemed on course for ultimate victory. But in their second game of the final, [[Emanuel Lasker|Lasker]] reduced Capablanca to a helpless position and Capablanca was so shaken by this that he blundered away his next game to Tarrasch.<ref name="Reinfeld1942ImmortalGamesOfCapaBio" /> [[Emanuel Lasker|Lasker]] then won his final game, against Marshall, thus finishing half a point ahead of Capablanca and 3½ ahead of Alekhine.<ref name="Dumont1959MemoirOfCapa" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Soltis|first=A.|title=The Great Chess Tournaments and Their Stories|publisher=Chilton Book Company|year=1975|pages=96–103|isbn=0-8019-6138-6}}</ref>
Alekhine commented:

<blockquote>His real, incomparable gifts first began to make themselves known at the time of St. Petersburg, 1914, when I too came to know him personally. Neither before nor afterwards have I seen—and I cannot imagine as well—such a flabbergasting quickness of chess comprehension as that possessed by the Capablanca of that epoch. Enough to say that he gave ''all'' the St. Petersburg masters the odds of 5–1 in quick games—and won! With all this he was always good-humoured, the darling of the ladies, and enjoyed wonderful good health—really a dazzling appearance. That he came second to [[Emanuel Lasker|Lasker]] must be entirely ascribed to his youthful levity—he was already playing as well as [[Emanuel Lasker|Lasker]].<ref name="AlekhineTribToCapa">{{cite book
| last=Alekhine|first=A.|author2=Winter, E.G.|title=107 Great Chess Battles'|publisher=Dover|date=1980|pages=157–158|isbn=0-486-27104-8
| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ErJqoQ8oZ3wC&q=Capablanca+%22london+rules%22&pg=PA157 | access-date=2009-06-02
}}</ref></blockquote>

After the breakdown of his attempt to negotiate a title match in 1911, Capablanca drafted rules for the conduct of future challenges, which were agreed to by the other top players at the 1914 Saint Petersburg tournament, including [[Emanuel Lasker|Lasker]], and approved at the [[Mannheim]] Congress later that year. The main points were: the champion must be prepared to defend his title once a year; the match should be won by the first player to win six or eight games, whichever the champion preferred; and the stake should be at least £1,000 (worth about £26,000 or $44,000 in 2013 terms<ref>Using average incomes for the conversion; if average prices are used, the result is about £66,000. {{cite web | url=http://www.measuringworth.com/ukcompare/result.php | title=Five Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a U.K. Pound Amount, 1830–2006 | access-date=9 June 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331194822/https://measuringworth.com/ukcompare/result.php | archive-date=31 March 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref>).<ref name="graemecree1921WorldChessChampionship" />

=== During World War I ===
[[World War I]] began in midsummer 1914, bringing international chess to a virtual halt for more than four years.<ref name="Reinfeld1942ImmortalGamesOfCapaBio" /> Capablanca won tournaments in New York in 1914, 1915, 1916 (with preliminary and final round-robin stages) and 1918, losing only one game in this sequence.<ref name="Golombek1959Capas100BestTowardsWorldChamp" /> In the 1918 event, Marshall, playing Black against Capablanca, unleashed a complicated counterattack, later known as the [[Marshall Attack#Marshall Attack|Marshall Attack]], against the [[Ruy Lopez]] opening. It is often said that Marshall had kept this secret for use against Capablanca since his defeat in their 1909 match;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scottishcca.co.uk/books/marshall.html|title=The Total Marshall|date=15 April 2002|access-date=1 June 2009}}</ref> however, [[Edward Winter (chess historian)|Edward Winter]] discovered several games between 1910 and 1918 where Marshall passed up opportunities to use the Marshall Attack against Capablanca; and an 1893 game that used a similar line.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/marshallgambit.html|title=The Marshall Gambit|last=Winter|first=E.G.|access-date=1 June 2009}}</ref> This [[gambit]] is so complex that [[Garry Kasparov]] used to avoid it,<ref name="SilmanReviewMarshallAtt">{{cite web|url=http://www.jeremysilman.com/book_reviews_js/js_marshall_attack.html|title=Marshall Attack|last=Silman|first=J.|year=2004|access-date=1 June 2009|archive-date=12 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412033128/http://jeremysilman.com/book_reviews_js/js_marshall_attack.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> and Marshall had the advantage of using a {{chessgloss|prepared variation}}. Nevertheless, Capablanca found a way through the complications and won.<ref name="Fine1952WorldsGreatChessGamesCapa">{{cite book
 | author=Fine, R. | title=The World's Great Chess Games | chapter=José Raúl Capablanca| pages=109–121
 | year=1952 | publisher=André Deutsch (now as paperback from Dover)
 | author-link=Reuben Fine
}}</ref> Capablanca was challenged to a match in 1919 by [[Borislav Kostić]], who had come through the 1918 tournament undefeated to take second place. The match was to go to the first player to win eight games, but Kostić resigned the match after losing the first five.<ref name="Dumont1959MemoirOfCapa" /><ref>{{cite book
 | author=Winter, E. | title=World Chess Champions | page=58
 | year=1981 | publisher=Pergamon Press | isbn=0-08-024094-1 | author-link=Edward Winter (chess historian)}}</ref> Capablanca considered that he was at his strongest around this time.<ref name="Reinfeld1942ImmortalGamesOfCapaBio" /><ref name="Capa1939InterviewGrafico" />

=== World Champion ===
[[File:José Raúl Capablanca 1920.jpg|thumb|Capablanca in 1920]]
The [[Hastings International Chess Congress#Summer Congress|Hastings]] Victory tournament of 1919 was the first international competition on Allied soil since 1914. The field was not strong,<ref name="Reinfeld1942ImmortalGamesOfCapaBio" /> and Capablanca won with 10½ points out of 11, one point ahead of Kostić.<ref name="Golombek1959Capas100BestTowardsWorldChamp" />

In January 1920, [[Emanuel Lasker|Lasker]] and Capablanca signed an agreement to play a World Championship match in 1921, noting that Capablanca was not free to play in 1920. Because of the delay, [[Emanuel Lasker|Lasker]] insisted that if he resigned the title, then Capablanca should become World Champion. [[Emanuel Lasker|Lasker]] had previously included in his agreement before World War I to play [[Akiba Rubinstein]] for the title a similar clause that if he resigned the title, it should become Rubinstein's.<ref name="WinterHowCapaBecameChampion">{{cite web
 | url=http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/capablanca2.html
 | title=How Capablanca Became World Champion
 | author=Winter, Edward
 | website=Chesshistory.com
 | access-date=5 June 2008
| author-link=Edward Winter (chess historian)
}}. Winter cites: ''American Chess Bulletin'' (July–August 1920 issue) for Lasker's resignation of the title, the ''ACB'''s theory about Lasker's real motive and Havana's offer of $20,000; [[Amos Burn]] in ''The Field'' of 3 July 1920, the ''British Chess Magazine'' of August 1920 and other sources for protestations that Lasker had no right to nominate a successor; [[Amos Burn]] in ''The Field'' of 3 July 1920 and E.S. Tinsley in ''The Times'' (London) of 26 June 1920 for criticism of the conditions Lasker set for the defense of the title; ''American Chess Bulletin'' September–October 1920 for Lasker's and Capablanca's statements that Capablanca was the champion and Lasker the challenger, for Capablanca's statement that Lasker's contract with Rubinstein had contained a clause allowing him to abdicate in favor of Rubinstein, for Lasker's intention to resign the title if he beat Capablanca and his support for an international organization, preferably based in the Americas, to manage international chess. Winter says that before Lasker's abdication, some chess correspondents had been calling for Lasker to be stripped of the title. For a very detailed account given by Capablanca after the match, see {{Cite journal
 | journal=British Chess Magazine
 | author=Capablanca, J.R.
 | date=October 1922
 | url=http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/capablancalasker.html
 | title = Capablanca's Reply to Lasker
 | access-date=5 June 2008
}}</ref> Lasker then resigned the title to Capablanca on 27 June 1920, saying, "You have earned the title not by the formality of a challenge, but by your brilliant mastery." When Cuban enthusiasts raised $20,000 to fund the match provided it was played in [[Havana]], Lasker agreed in August 1920 to play there, but insisted that he was the challenger as Capablanca was now the champion. Capablanca signed an agreement that accepted this point, and soon afterwards published a letter confirming it.<ref name="WinterHowCapaBecameChampion" />

The match was played in March–April 1921; Lasker resigned it after 14 games, having lost four and won none.<ref name="WinterHowCapaBecameChampion" /> [[Reuben Fine]] and [[Harry Golombek]] attributed the one-sided result to Lasker's mysteriously poor form.<ref name="Golombek1959Capas100BestTowardsWorldChamp" /><ref>{{cite book
 | author=Fine, R. | title=The World's Great Chess Games | chapter=The Age of Capablanca | page=109
 | year=1976 | edition=2nd | publisher=Dover (first edition published by André Deutsch in 1952) | author-link=Reuben Fine
}}</ref> [[Fred Reinfeld]] mentioned speculations that Havana's humid climate weakened Lasker and that he was depressed about the outcome of World War I, especially as he had lost his life savings.<ref name="Reinfeld1942ImmortalGamesOfCapaBio" /> On the other hand, [[Vladimir Kramnik]] thought that Lasker played quite well and the match was an "even and fascinating fight" until Lasker blundered in the last game. Kramnik explained that Capablanca was 20 years younger, a slightly stronger player, and had more recent competitive practice.<ref name="KramnikSteinitzToKasparov">{{cite web
 |url          = http://www.kramnik.com/eng/interviews/getinterview.aspx?id=61
 |access-date  = 2 January 2009
|title        = Kramnik Interview: From Steinitz to Kasparov
 |author       = Vladimir Kramnik
 |author-link  = Vladimir Kramnik
 |website      = Kramnik.com
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080512052013/http://www.kramnik.com/eng/interviews/getinterview.aspx?id=61
 |archive-date = 12 May 2008
|url-status   = dead
}}</ref>

Edward Winter, after a lengthy summary of the facts, concludes, "The press was dismissive of Lasker's wish to confer the title on Capablanca, even questioning the legality of such an initiative, and in 1921 it regarded the Cuban as having become world champion by dint of defeating Lasker over the board."<ref name="WinterHowCapaBecameChampion" /> Reference works invariably give Capablanca's reign as titleholder as beginning in 1921, not 1920.<ref>{{cite book | author1=Hooper, D. | author2=Whyld, K. | title=The Oxford Companion to Chess | pages=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont0000hoop/page/67 67, 217] | year=1992 | edition=2nd | publisher=Oxford University Press | isbn=0-19-866164-9 | author-link1=David Hooper (chess player) | author-link2=Kenneth Whyld | title-link=The Oxford Companion to Chess }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | editor=Golombek, H.
 | title=Golombek's Encyclopedia of Chess | pages=58, 172 | year=1977 | publisher=Crown Publishers | isbn=0-517-53146-1 | editor-link=Harry Golombek }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | author=B. M. Kazić | title=International Championship Chess: A Complete Record of FIDE Events | page=218
 | year=1974 | publisher=Pitman | isbn=0-273-07078-9 }}</ref>

[[Image:Planilha Réti e Capablanca.gif|thumb|left|upright|The score sheet of Capablanca's defeat by Richard Réti in the New York 1924 chess tournament, his first loss in eight years]]
Capablanca won the [https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/london1922.html London tournament of 1922] with 13 points in 15 games with no losses, ahead of Alekhine with 11½, [[Milan Vidmar]] (11), and [[Akiba Rubinstein]] (10½).<ref name="Golombek1959Capas100BestWorldChamp" /> During this event, Capablanca proposed the "London Rules" to regulate future World Championship negotiations: the first player to win six games would win the match; playing sessions would be limited to 5 hours; the time limit would be 40 moves in 2½ hours; the champion must defend his title within one year of receiving a challenge from a recognized master; the champion would decide the date of the match; the champion was not obliged to accept a challenge for a purse of less than US$10,000 (about $260,000 in 2006 terms<ref>Using incomes for the conversion; if prices are used, the result is about $103,000. {{cite web | url=http://www.measuringworth.com/ukcompare/result.php | title=Six Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a U.S. Dollar Amount, 1774 to Present | access-date=9 June 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331194822/https://measuringworth.com/ukcompare/result.php | archive-date=31 March 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref>); 20% of the purse was to be paid to the title holder and the remainder divided, 60% to the winner of the match, and 40% to the loser; the highest purse bid must be accepted.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/london.html|title=The London Rules|last=Winter|first=E.G.|access-date=1 June 2009
}}</ref> Alekhine, [[Efim Bogoljubow]], [[Géza Maróczy]], [[Richard Réti]], Rubinstein, [[Savielly Tartakower|Tartakower]] and Vidmar promptly signed them.<ref name="chessvilleLondonRules">{{cite web
 |url=http://www.chessville.com/misc/History/Mad_Aussie_Trivia_Archive_Three.htm
 |title=The Mad Aussie's Chess Trivia: Archive #3
 |author=Clayton, G.
 |access-date=9 June 2008
|url-status=usurped
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516220224/http://www.chessville.com/misc/History/Mad_Aussie_Trivia_Archive_Three.htm
 |archive-date=16 May 2008
}}</ref> Between 1921 and 1923 Alekhine, Rubinstein and Nimzowitsch all challenged Capablanca, but only Alekhine could raise the money, in 1927.<ref name="chessmaniacCapablancaOnlineTribute">{{cite web
 | title=Jose Raul Capablanca: Online Chess Tribute
 | url=http://www.chessmaniac.com/2007/06/jose-raul-capablanca-online-chess.php
 | date=28 June 2007
 | website=Chessmaniac.com
 | access-date=20 May 2008
 | archive-date=13 May 2008
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513151615/http://www.chessmaniac.com/2007/06/jose-raul-capablanca-online-chess.php
 | url-status=dead
 }}</ref>

In 1922, Capablanca had also given a simultaneous exhibition in [[Cleveland]] against 103 opponents, the largest in history up to that time, winning 102 and [[draw (chess)|drawing]] one—setting a record for the best winning percentage ever in a large simultaneous exhibition.<ref>{{cite book | last=Damsky | first=Yakov | year=2005 | title=The Batsford Book of Chess Records | page=[https://archive.org/details/batsfordbookofch0000dams/page/253 253] | publisher=Batsford | location=London | isbn=0-7134-8946-4 | url=https://archive.org/details/batsfordbookofch0000dams/page/253 }}</ref>

After beginning with four draws, followed by a loss,<ref name="Reinfeld1942ImmortalGamesOfCapaBio" /> Capablanca placed second at the [[New York 1924 chess tournament]] with the score of 14½/20 (+10−1=9), 1½ points behind Lasker, and 2½ ahead of third-placed Alekhine.<ref name="Golombek1959Capas100BestWorldChamp" /> Capablanca's defeat by Réti in the fifth round was his first in serious competition in eight years.<ref name="Golombek1959Capas100BestResults" /><ref name="GuinessRecordsCapaStreak" /> He made another bad start at the [[Moscow 1925 chess tournament]],<ref name="Reinfeld1942ImmortalGamesOfCapaBio" /> and could only fight back to third place, two points behind Bogoljubow and ½ point behind Lasker. Capablanca won at [[Lake Hopatcong]], 1926 with 6 points out of 8, ahead of [[Abraham Kupchik]] (5) and Maroczy (4½).<ref name="Golombek1959Capas100BestVictoryDisaster" />

A group of Argentinian businessmen, backed by a guarantee from the president of Argentina, promised the funds for a World Championship match between Capablanca and Alekhine in 1927.<ref name="chesscornerCapablanca">{{cite web
| url=http://www.chesscorner.com/worldchamps/capablanca/capablanca.htm
| title=Jose Raul Capablanca
| website=Chesscorner.com
| access-date=23 May 2008
}}</ref> Since Nimzowitsch had challenged before Alekhine, Capablanca gave Nimzowitsch until 1 January 1927, to provide a deposit in order to arrange a match.<ref name="graemecreeWorldChessChampionship1927">{{Cite web
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050121124900/http://members.aol.com/graemecree/chesschamps/world/world1927.htm
| url=http://members.aol.com/graemecree/chesschamps/world/world1927.htm |archive-date=21 January 2005 |title=1927 World Chess Championship |last=Cree |first=G. |access-date=2 June 2009
}}</ref> When this did not materialize, a [[World Chess Championship 1927|Capablanca–Alekhine match]] was agreed, to begin in September 1927.<ref name="AlekhineBestGames1924To1937WCC1927">{{cite book|last=Alekhine|first=A.|title=My Best Games of Chess 1924–1937|publisher=Bell|year=1960|edition=2|pages=38–53
}}</ref>

In the [[New York 1927 chess tournament]], held from 19 February to 23 March 1927,<ref>{{cite book|last=Reti |first=R. |title=New York 1927 |editor=Tartakower, S. |editor2=Leach, C. |chapter=Introduction |chapter-url=http://labatechess.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=133&products_id=237 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713180121/http://labatechess.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=133&products_id=237 |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 July 2011 |access-date=2 June 2009 }}</ref><ref name="AlekhineBestGames1924To1937NY1927">{{cite book|last=Alekhine|first=A.|title=My Best Games of Chess 1924–1937|publisher=Bell|year=1960|edition=2|pages=28–33
}}</ref> six of the world's strongest masters played a quadruple [[Round-robin tournament|round-robin]], with the others being Alekhine, [[Rudolf Spielmann]], [[Milan Vidmar]], Nimzowitsch and Marshall,<ref name="Golombek1959Capas100BestVictoryDisaster" /> with Bogoljubow and Lasker absent.<ref name="Fine1952WorldsGreatChessGamesCapa" /> Before the tournament, Capablanca wrote that he had "more experience but less power" than in 1911, that he had peaked in 1919 and that some of his competitors had become stronger in the meantime.<ref name="Reinfeld1942ImmortalGamesOfCapaBio" /> But Capablanca had overwhelming success: he finished undefeated with 14/20, winning the mini-matches with each of his rivals, 2½ points ahead of second-place Alekhine, and won the "best game" prize for a win over Spielmann.<ref name="Golombek1959Capas100BestVictoryDisaster" />

In December 1921, shortly after becoming World Champion, Capablanca married Gloria Simoni Betancourt. They had a son, José Raúl Jr., in 1923 and a daughter, Gloria, in 1925.<ref name="WinterCapaCompendiumCh5">{{cite book|last=Winter |first=E.G.|title=Capablanca: A Compendium ...|publisher=McFarland|year=1990|chapter=5: Champion|isbn=0-89950-455-8}}</ref> According to Capablanca's second wife, Olga, his first marriage broke down fairly soon, and he and Gloria had [[Affair#Extramarital affair|affairs]].<ref name="WinterGeniusAndPrincess">{{cite web|url=http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/capablancaolga.html|title=The Genius and the Princess|last=Winter|first=E.G.|access-date=2 June 2009}}</ref> Both his parents died during his reign, his father in 1923 and mother in 1926.<ref name="WinterCapaCompendiumCh5" />
<!-- *********
Capablanca had overwhelming success at [[New York City|New York]] 1927, a quadruple-[[Round-robin tournament|round robin]] with six of the world's top players. He was undefeated, with 14/20, and 2½ points ahead of the second-placed [[Alexander Alekhine]]. Capablanca also defeated Alekhine in their first game,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1012524|title=Alexander Alekhine vs Jose Raul Capablanca (1927)|website=Chessgames.com|access-date=8 October 2018}}</ref> won the first brilliancy prize against [[Rudolf Spielmann]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1007840|title=Jose Raul Capablanca vs Rudolf Spielmann (1927) One Man Gathers What Another Man Spiels|website=Chessgames.com|access-date=8 October 2018}}</ref> and won two games against Nimzowitsch.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1007807|title=Aron Nimzowitsch vs Jose Raul Capablanca (1927)|website=Chessgames.com|access-date=8 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1007846|title=Aron Nimzowitsch vs Jose Raul Capablanca (1927) Heavy Artillery|website=Chessgames.com|access-date=8 October 2018}}</ref>
********* -->
<!-- ******
The only match played under those rules was Capablanca vs. [[Alexander Alekhine|Alekhine]] in 1927, although there has been speculation that the actual contract might have included a "two-game lead" clause.<ref name="WinterCapablancaVsAlekhine1927">{{cite web
 | title=Capablanca v Alekhine, 1927
 | url=http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/capablancaalekhine1927.html
 | author=Winter, E. | access-date=9 June 2008
}} Regarding a possible "two-game lead" clause, Winter cites Capablanca's messages to Julius Finn and Norbert Lederer dated 15 October 1927, in which he proposed that, if the Buenos Aires match were drawn, the second match could be limited to twenty games. Winter cites ''La Prensa'' 30 November 1927, for Alekhine's conditions for a return match.</ref> Alekhine, Rubinstein and [[Aron Nimzowitsch|Nimzowitsch]] had all challenged Capablanca in the early 1920s, but only Alekhine could raise the US $10,000 Capablanca demanded and only in 1927.<ref name="chessmaniacCapablancaOnlineTribute" /> Immediately after winning, Alekhine announced that he was willing to grant Capablanca a return match provided Capablanca met the requirements of the "London Rules".<ref name="WinterCapablancaVsAlekhine1927" /> Negotiations dragged on for several years, often breaking down when agreement seemed in sight.<ref name="Fine1952WorldsGreatChessGamesAlekhine">{{cite book
 | author=Fine, Reuben
 | author-link=Reuben Fine
 | title=The World's Great Chess Games | chapter=Alexander Alexandrovitch Alekhine | pages=149–162
 | year=1952 | publisher=Andre Deutsch (now as paperback from Dover)
}}</ref>
****** -->

=== Losing the title ===
[[Image:Alekhine Capablanca WCC 1927.jpg|right|thumb|Alekhine vs. Capablanca]]
Since Capablanca had won the [[New York 1927 chess tournament]] overwhelmingly and had never lost a game to Alekhine, most pundits regarded the Cuban as the clear favorite in their [[World Chess Championship 1927]] match.<ref name="Reinfeld1942ImmortalGamesOfCapaBio" /> But Alekhine won the match, played from September to November 1927 at Buenos Aires, by 6 wins, 3 losses, and 25 draws<ref name="graemecreeWorldChessChampionship1927" />—the longest formal World Championship match until the [[World Chess Championship 1984–1985|contest in 1984–85]] between [[Anatoly Karpov]] and [[Garry Kasparov]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Byrne|first=R.|date=21 December 1984|title=Chess title match to become longest one in modern era|journal=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/21/nyregion/chess-title-match-to-become-longest-one-in-modern-era.html|access-date=3 June 2009}}</ref> Alekhine's victory surprised almost the entire chess world.<ref name="graemecreeWorldChessChampionship1927"/> After Capablanca's death, Alekhine expressed surprise at his own victory, since in 1927 he had not thought he was superior to Capablanca, and he suggested that Capablanca had been overconfident.<ref name="AlekhineTribToCapa" /> Capablanca entered the match with no technical or physical preparation,<ref name="Dumont1959MemoirOfCapa"/><ref name="Reinfeld1942ImmortalGamesOfCapaBio"/> while Alekhine got himself into good physical condition<ref name="Fine1952WorldsGreatChessGamesAlekhine">{{cite book
 | author=Fine, Reuben | title=The World's Great Chess Games | chapter=Alexander Alexandrovitch Alekhine | pages=149–162
 | year=1952 | publisher=André Deutsch (now as paperback from Dover) | author-link=Reuben Fine
}}</ref> and had thoroughly studied Capablanca's play.<ref>{{cite book
|last=Pachman|first=L.|author2=Russell, A.S.|title=Modern chess strategy|publisher=Courier Dover|year=1971|pages=306|chapter=Individual Style: Psychological Play|isbn=0-486-20290-9|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TdWNkSYLQ8gC&q=alekhine+change+style&pg=PA306|access-date=2 June 2009
}}</ref> According to Kasparov, Alekhine's research uncovered many small inaccuracies, which occurred because Capablanca was unwilling to concentrate intensely.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chesscafe.com/text/skittles209.pdf|title=Interview with Garry Kasparov: Part 2|last=Kasparov|first=G.|author2=Russell, H. W.|date=28 July 2003|access-date=3 June 2009}}</ref> [[Vladimir Kramnik]] commented that this was the first contest in which Capablanca had no easy wins.<ref name=KramnikSteinitzToKasparov /> [[Luděk Pachman]] suggested that Capablanca, who was unaccustomed to losing games or to any other type of setback, became depressed over his unnecessary loss of the 11th game in a grueling endgame featuring errors by both players.<ref name="Pachman1987WCC1927">{{cite book|last=Pachman|first=L.|title=Decisive Games in Chess History|publisher=Courier Dover|year=1987|pages=86–90|chapter=World Championship 1927: Why Did Alekhin Win?|isbn=0-486-25323-6}}</ref><ref name="AlekhineBestGames1924To1937WCC1927Game11">Alekhine described the game as a "comedy of errors", and included it in his "Best Games" collection only because it was "the crucial point of the match": {{cite book|last=Alekhine|first=A.|title=My Best Games of Chess 1924–1937|publisher=Bell|year=1960|edition=2|pages=41–45
}}</ref> The match became somewhat notorious for its extremely lopsided use of the [[Queen's Gambit Declined]]; all games after the first two used this opening, and Capablanca's defeat has been partially attributed to his unwillingness to attempt any other openings.

Immediately after winning the match, Alekhine announced that he was willing to give Capablanca a rematch, on the same terms that Capablanca had required as champion—the challenger must provide a stake of US$10,000, of which more than half would go to the defending champion even if he was defeated.<ref name="WinterCapablancaVsAlekhine1927">{{cite web
 | title=Capablanca v Alekhine, 1927
 | url=http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/capablancaalekhine1927.html
 | author=Winter, E. | access-date=9 June 2008
}} Regarding a possible "two-game lead" clause, Winter cites Capablanca's messages to Julius Finn and Norbert Lederer, dated 15 October 1927, in which he proposed that, if the Buenos Aires match were drawn, the second match could be limited to 20 games. Winter cites ''La Prensa'' 30 November 1927 for Alekhine's conditions for a return match.</ref> Alekhine had challenged Capablanca in the early 1920s, but Alekhine could not raise the money until 1927.<ref name="chessmaniacCapablancaOnlineTribute" /> After Capablanca's death, Alekhine wrote that Capablanca's demand for a $10,000 stake was an attempt to avoid challenges.<ref name="AlekhineTribToCapa" /> Negotiations dragged on for several years, often breaking down when agreement seemed in sight. Their relationship became bitter, and Alekhine demanded much higher appearance fees for tournaments in which Capablanca also played.<ref name="Fine1952WorldsGreatChessGamesAlekhine" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Fine|first=R.|title=Lessons from My Games: A Passion for Chess|publisher=Dover|orig-year=1958|year=1983|pages=80|isbn=0-486-24429-6}}</ref>

===Post-championship and partial retirement===
[[Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-07977, Berlin, José Raul Capablanca bei Schachturnier.jpg|thumb|Giving a simultaneous display on thirty boards in Berlin, June 1929|left]]
After losing the World Championship in late 1927, Capablanca played more often in tournaments, hoping to strengthen his claim for a rematch.<ref name="Golombek1959Capas100BestRehab" /> From 1928 through 1931, he won six first prizes, also finishing second twice and one joint second.<ref name="Golombek1959Capas100BestResults" /> His competitors included rising stars such as [[Max Euwe]] and [[Isaac Kashdan]],<ref>{{cite book
 | author=Fine, Reuben | title=The World's Great Chess Games | chapter=Max Euwe | pages=192–200
 | year=1952 | publisher=André Deutsch (now as paperback from Dover) | author-link=Reuben Fine
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 | author=Fine, Reuben | title=The World's Great Chess Games | chapter=Isaac Kashdan | pages=175–179
 | year=1952 | publisher=André Deutsch (now as paperback from Dover) | author-link=Reuben Fine
}}</ref> as well as players who had been established in the 1920s, but Capablanca and Alekhine never played in the same tournament during this period, and next met only at the [[Nottingham]] 1936 tournament, after Alekhine had lost the world title to Euwe the previous year.<ref name="Golombek1959Capas100BestRehab" /><ref name="Golombek1959Capas100Best1929" /><ref name="Golombek1959Capas100BestPreRetirement" /> In late 1931, Capablanca also won a match (+2−0=8) against Euwe,<ref name="Golombek1959Capas100BestResults" /><ref name="Golombek1959Capas100BestPreRetirement" /> whom [[Chessmetrics]] ranks sixth in the world at the time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chessmetrics.com/cm/CM2/PlayerProfile.asp?Params=199510SSSSS3S035520000000131000000000000010100|title=Chessmetrics Player Profile: Max Euwe |last=Sona|first=J.|website=Chessmetrics.com|access-date=3 June 2009}}</ref>

Despite these excellent results, Capablanca's play showed signs of decline: his play slowed from the speed of his youth, with occasional [[time trouble]];<ref name="Fine1952WorldsGreatChessGamesCapa" /> he continued to produce many superb games, but also made some gross blunders.<ref name="Reinfeld1942ImmortalGamesOfCapaBio" /><ref name="Fine1952WorldsGreatChessGamesCapa" /><ref name="Golombek1959Capas100BestPreRetirement" /> Chessmetrics nonetheless ranks Capablanca as the second strongest player in the world (after Alekhine) from his loss of the title through to autumn 1932, except for a brief appearance in the top place.<ref name="ChessmetricsProfileCapa" />

Alekhine's offer to play Capablanca in a rematch if $10,000 could be raised came to naught due to the [[Great Depression]]. After winning an event at New York in 1931, he withdrew from serious chess,<ref name="Golombek1959Capas100BestResults" /> perhaps disheartened by his inability to secure a rematch with Alekhine,<ref name="Golombek1959Capas100BestPreRetirement" /> and played only less serious games at the [[Manhattan Chess Club]] and {{chessgloss|simultaneous chess|simultaneous displays}}.<ref name="Manhat"/> On 6 December 1933, Capablanca won all 9&nbsp;of his games in one of the club's weekly [[rapid chess]] tournaments, finishing 2&nbsp;points ahead of [[Samuel Reshevsky]], [[Reuben Fine]] and [[Milton Hanauer]].<ref name="Manhat">{{cite web|url=http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter30.html#4817._Capablancas_clean_sweep|title=Capablanca's clean sweep|last=Winter|first=E.G.|access-date=3 June 2009}} Based on reports in: ''American Chess Bulletin'', January 1934, page 15; ''The New York Times'', 7 December 1933, page 31.</ref>

It is from this period that the only surviving voiced film footage survives. He is with Euwe and Dutch radio sports journalist [[Han Hollander]]. Hollander asks Capablanca for his views on the upcoming world Championship match between Euwe and Alekhine in October of that year (1935). Capablanca replies: "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." Then Euwe gives his assessment in Dutch, explaining that his feelings alternated from optimism to pessimism, but in the previous ten years, their score had been evenly matched at 7–7.<ref>[http://www.geschiedenis24.nl/speler.program.7099385.html Han interviews Dutchman Max Euwe and Capablanca], ''Dutch Public Broadcasting'' archives, 18 May 2012</ref>

=== Return to competitive chess ===
At first Capablanca did not divorce his first wife, as he had not intended to remarry. Olga, Capablanca's second wife, wrote that she met him in the late spring of 1934; by late October the pair were deeply in love, and Capablanca recovered his ambition to prove he was the world's best player.<ref name="WinterGeniusAndPrincess" /> In 1938 he divorced his first wife and married Olga on 20 October,<ref name="WinterGeniusAndPrincess" /> about a month before the [[AVRO 1938 chess tournament|AVRO tournament]].<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://chessmetrics.com/cm/CM2/SingleEvent.asp?Params=193805SSSSS3S000000000000111100201300000010100|title=Event Details: AVRO, 1938 |last=Sonas|first=J.|publisher=Chessmetrics|access-date=4 June 2009
}}</ref>

Starting his comeback at the Hastings tournament of 1934–35, Capablanca finished fourth, although coming ahead of [[Mikhail Botvinnik]] and [[Andor Lilienthal]].<ref name="Golombek1959Capas100BestReturn" /> He placed second by ½&nbsp;point in the Margate tournaments of 1935 and 1936. At [[Moscow 1935 chess tournament|Moscow 1935]] Capablanca finished fourth, 1&nbsp;point behind the joint winners,<ref name="Golombek1959Capas100BestReturn" /> while Lasker's third place at the age of 66 was hailed as "a biological miracle."<ref>{{cite book
 | author=Fine, R. | title=The World's Great Chess Games | chapter=The Age of Lasker | page=51
 | year=1976 | edition=2nd | publisher=Dover (first edition published by André Deutsch in 1952) |isbn=0-486-24512-8 | author-link=Reuben Fine}}</ref> The following year, Capablanca won an even stronger tournament in Moscow, one point ahead of Botvinnik and 3½ ahead of [[Salo Flohr]], who took third place;<ref name="Golombek1959Capas100BestReturn" /> A month later, he shared first place with Botvinnik at Nottingham, with a score of (+5−1=8), losing only to Flohr. The loss to Flohr was because of being disturbed while in [[time trouble]] by the bystander Euwe.<ref>{{cite book|last=Winter|first=E.G.|title=Capablanca chess|publisher=McFarland|chapter=Rapid ascent|isbn=0-89950-455-8|year=1989}}, p. 279.</ref> Alekhine placed sixth, only one&nbsp;point behind the joint winners.<ref name="Golombek1959Capas100BestReturn" /> These tournaments of 1936 were the last two Lasker played,<ref>{{cite book
 | author=Hannak, J. | title=Emanuel Lasker: The Life of a Chess Master | pages=284, 297
 | year=1959 | publisher=Simon and Schuster
}}</ref> and the only ones in which Capablanca finished ahead of Lasker, now 67.<ref>{{cite book
 | author=Fine, R. | title=The World's Great Chess Games | chapter=The Age of Lasker | page=50
 | year=1976 | edition=2nd | publisher=Dover (first edition published by André Deutsch in 1952) |isbn=0-486-24512-8 | author-link=Reuben Fine}}</ref> During these triumphs Capablanca began to suffer symptoms of [[hypertension|high blood pressure]].<ref name="Capa1939InterviewGrafico">{{cite journal|last=Winter|first=Edward|year=1939|title=Capablanca Interviewed|url=http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/capablanca11.html|journal=El Gráfico|access-date=3 June 2009}}</ref> He tied for second place at [[Semmering, Austria|Semmering]] in 1937, then could only finish seventh of the eight players at the 1938 [[AVRO]] tournament,<ref name="Golombek1959Capas100BestFinal" /> an elite contest designed to select a challenger for Alekhine's world title.<ref name="WinterWorldChampionshipDisorder">{{cite web
 | title=World Championship Disorder
 | url=http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/disorder.html | access-date=15 September 2008
| author=Winter, E.
}}</ref><ref name="EndgameAVRO1938">{{cite web
 |title=AVRO 1938
 |url=http://www.endgame.nl/AVRO1938.htm
 |access-date=15 September 2008
|url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081020142455/http://www.endgame.nl/AVRO1938.htm
 |archive-date=20 October 2008
}}</ref>

Capablanca's high blood pressure was not correctly diagnosed and treated until after the AVRO tournament, and caused him to lose his train of thought towards the end of playing sessions.<ref name="Capa1939InterviewGrafico" /> In 1940, he had extremely dangerous hypertension of 210 [[Systole (medicine)|systolic]]/180 [[diastolic]] ([[hypertensive crisis]] is 180/120 or above, and even after treatment Capablanca had 180/130).<ref>[http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/capablanca13.html Capablanca's Death], ''chesshistory.com''.</ref>

After winning at Paris in 1938 and placing second in a slightly stronger tournament at Margate in 1939, Capablanca played for Cuba in the [[8th Chess Olympiad]], in Buenos Aires, and won the gold medal for the best performance on the {{chessgloss|first board|top board}}.<ref name="olimpbase1930Intro">{{cite web
 |url=http://www.olimpbase.org/1930/1930in.html
 |title=3rd Chess Olympiad: Hamburg 1930
 |access-date=23 May 2008
}}</ref> While Capablanca and Alekhine were both representing their countries in Buenos Aires, Capablanca made a final attempt to arrange a World Championship match. Alekhine declined, saying he was obliged to be available to defend his adopted homeland, France, as World War II had just broken out.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter28.html#4696._Capablanca_and_Alekhine_in_Buenos|title=4696. Capablanca and Alekhine in Buenos Aires, 1939|last=Winter|first=E.G.|access-date=3 June 2009}} See also {{cite web|url=http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter28.html#4742._Capablanca_and_Alekhine_in_Buenos|title=4742. Capablanca and Alekhine in Buenos Aires, 1939 (C.N. 4696)|last=Winter|first=E.G.|access-date=3 June 2009}}</ref> Capablanca announced in advance that he would not play Alekhine if their teams met.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter28.html#4696._Capablanca_and_Alekhine_in_Buenos|title=4696. Capablanca and Alekhine in Buenos Aires, 1939|last=Winter|first=E.G.|access-date=3 June 2009}}</ref>

===Death===
[[File:Cabaplanca grave.jpg|thumb|right|Capablanca's grave at [[Colon Cemetery|Colón Cemetery]]]]

Not long before his death, his familial hypertension had shot up to the hazardous 200–240/160+. The day before his fatal [[stroke]], his vascular specialist Dr. Schwarzer strongly advised him that his life was endangered unless he totally relaxed, but Capablanca said that he could not because his ex-wife and children had started court proceedings against him. The doctor blamed his death on "his troubles and aggravation".<ref name="WinterCapasDeath">{{cite web|url=http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/capablanca13.html|title=Capablanca's Death|last=Winter |first=E.G.|access-date=4 June 2009}}</ref>

On 7 March 1942, Capablanca was observing a {{chessgloss|skittles}} game and chatting with friends at the [[Manhattan Chess Club]] in New York City, when he asked for help removing his coat, and collapsed shortly afterward. Eminent physician [[Eli Moschcowitz]] administered first aid and then arranged an ambulance. He was taken to [[Mount Sinai Hospital, New York|Mount Sinai Hospital]], where he died at 6:00 AM the next day. Emanuel Lasker had died in the same hospital only a year earlier.<ref name="World Chess Champions">{{cite book
 | editor=Edward Winter
 | title=World Chess Champions
 | publisher=Pergamon Press
 | year=1981
 | page=64
 | isbn=0-08-024094-1
}}</ref> The cause of death was given as "a [[cerebral hemorrhage]] provoked by [[hypertension]]", in particular a hypertensive [[thalamus|thalamic]] hemorrhage. The hospital admissions report stated:

<blockquote>When admitted to Mt. Sinai Hospital, the examination showed: Patient critically ill in deep coma, unreceptive to nocioceptive stimuli, unequal pupils with the left one dilated (fixed and unresponsive to light), left facial palsy, left hemiplegia, globally depressed tendinous reflexes and arterial tension 280/140. A lumbar puncture was performed which showed hemorrhagic cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) with a pressure of 500 mm of water.<ref name="Sanchez biography">Miguel Angel Sánchez (2015). ''Jose Raul Capablanca: A Chess Biography'', Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, p. 490.</ref></blockquote>

The full autopsy, by Drs. Moschcowitz, Prill, and Levin, showed that the right [[thalamus]] was almost totally destroyed, and in its place was a [[hematoma]] 2 inches wide and 2 inches high. The whole [[ventricular system]] and [[cisterna magna]] were flooded with blood. The [[gyrus|gyri]] were flattened and [[sulcus (neuroanatomy)|sulci]] narrowed, consistent with years of extreme hypertension. His heart was enlarged, 575 g instead of the normal 300–350 g, including 3&nbsp;cm hypertrophy of left ventricle wall. This wall had a number of subendiocardial hemorrhages, which was later proved to be common in patients with severe intercranial hypertension. This caused the release of a large amount of [[vasoactive]] substances into the bloodstream, including [[acetylcholine]] and [[noradrenaline]] that caused these hemorrhages.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11620526 | pmid=11620526 | year=1998 | last1=Hernandez-Meilan | first1=O. | last2=Hernandez-Meilan | first2=M. | last3=Machado-Curbelo | first3=C. | title=Capablanca's stroke: An early case of neurogenic heart disease. Cuban-world-champion of chess 1921–1927 | journal=Journal of the History of the Neurosciences | volume=7 | issue=2 | pages=137–140 | doi=10.1076/jhin.7.2.137.1866 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |journal=[[British Medical Journal]]|year=1964 |pmc=1814701 |last1=Koskelo |first1=P. |last2=Punsar |first2=S. |last3=Sipilä |first3=W. |title=Subendocardial Haemorrhage and E.C.G. Changes in Intracranial Bleeding |volume=1 |issue=5396 |pages=1479–1480 |doi=10.1136/bmj.1.5396.1479 |pmid=14132084 }}</ref>

The [[lumbar puncture]] was a bad idea, as intracranial hypertension is now a well-known [[contraindication]] because it releases the pressure of the [[cerebrospinal fluid]] counteracting the [[Brain herniation|herniating]] force of the hypertension. But neurosurgeon [[Orlando Hernández-Meilán]] has said that it made no difference, as Capablanca could not have been revived even if the best modern medicine had been available.<ref name="Sanchez biography" />

Capablanca was given a public funeral in Havana's [[Colon Cemetery|Colón Cemetery]] on 15 March 1942.<ref name="WinterCapasDeath" />

====Tributes====

Alekhine wrote in a tribute to Capablanca: "Capablanca was snatched from the chess world much too soon. With his death, we have lost a very great chess genius whose like we shall never see again."<ref name="AlekhineTribToCapa" /> Lasker once said: "I have known many chess players, but only one chess genius: Capablanca."<ref>[http://www.artchess.org/chess/kh.capablanca.html Jose Raul Capablanca] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230602074308/https://www.artchess.org/chess/kh.capablanca.html |date=2 June 2023 }}, ChessGames.com. Retrieved on 14 January 2021</ref>

An annual [[Capablanca Memorial]] tournament has been held in Cuba, most often in Havana, since 1962.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.endgame.nl/capamem.htm|title=All Capablanca Memorial chess tournaments|access-date=4 June 2009|archive-date=13 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091013235907/http://www.endgame.nl/capamem.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>