Editing Alexander Alekhine (section)

==World Chess Champion, second reign (1937–1946)==

===1937–1939===
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Alexander Alekhine.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Alekhine around 1945]] -->
[[Max Euwe]] was quick to arrange a return match with Alekhine, something [[José Raúl Capablanca]] had been unable to obtain after Alekhine won the world title in 1927. Alekhine regained the title from Euwe in December 1937 by a large margin (+10−4=11). In this match, held in the Netherlands, Euwe was seconded by Fine, and Alekhine by [[Erich Eliskases]]. The match was a real contest initially, but Euwe collapsed near the end, losing four of the last five games.<ref name="KramnikSteinitzToKasparov"/><ref name="chessgamesAlehineEuwe1937Table">{{cite web |url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?tid=54136 |title=Alekhine vs. Euwe 1937 |publisher=chessgames.com |access-date=2008-05-20 |archive-date=2008-10-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081018235839/http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?tid=54136 |url-status=live }}</ref> Fine attributed the collapse to nervous tension, possibly aggravated by Euwe's attempts to maintain a calm appearance. Alekhine played no more title matches, and thus held the title until his death.<ref name="Fine1952WorldsGreatChessGames"/>

1938 began well for Alekhine, who won the [[Montevideo 1938 chess tournament]] at Carrasco (in March) and at [[Margate]] (in April), and tied for first with Sir [[George Alan Thomas]] at [[Plymouth]] (in September). In November, however, he only tied for 4th–6th with Euwe and Samuel Reshevsky, behind Paul Keres, Reuben Fine, and Mikhail Botvinnik, ahead of Capablanca and Flohr, at the [[AVRO tournament]] in the Netherlands. This tournament was played in each of several Dutch cities for a few days at a time; it was therefore perhaps not surprising that rising stars took the first three places, as the older players found the travel very tiring, though Fine was dismissive of this explanation because the distances were short.<ref name="Fine1952WorldsGreatChessGames"/>

Immediately after the AVRO tournament, Botvinnik, who had finished in third place, challenged Alekhine to a match for the world championship. They agreed on a prize fund of US$10,000 with two-thirds going to the winner, and that if the match were to take place in Moscow, Alekhine would be invited at least three months in advance so that he could play in a tournament to get ready for the match. Other details had not been agreed when World War II interrupted negotiations, which the two players resumed after the war.<ref name="KharitonBattleThatNeverWas">{{cite web |url=http://ryxi.com/games/78-639-lev-khariton-the-battle-that-never-was-read.shtml |title=Lev Khariton:The Battle That Never Was |author=Khariton, L. |date=2004-12-29 |access-date=2008-05-23 |archive-date=2005-11-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051123104452/http://ryxi.com/games/78-639-lev-khariton-the-battle-that-never-was-read.shtml |url-status=dead }} Based on Botvinnik's memoirs.</ref>

Keres, who had won the AVRO tournament on [[List of chess terms#Tiebreaks|tiebreak]] over Fine, also challenged Alekhine to a world championship match. Negotiations were proceeding in 1939 when they were disrupted by World War II. During the war Keres' home country, [[Estonia]], [[Occupation of the Baltic States|was invaded]] first by the [[USSR]], then by Germany, then again by the USSR. At the end of the war, the Soviet government prevented Keres from continuing the negotiations, on the grounds that he had collaborated with the Germans during their occupation of Estonia (by Soviet standards).<ref name="=KingstonKeresBotvinnik1">{{cite web |url=http://www.chesscafe.com/text/kb1.txt |title=The Keres-Botvinnik Case: A Survey of the Evidence |author=Kingston, T. |access-date=2008-05-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080126150822/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/kb1.txt |archive-date=January 26, 2008}}</ref>

Alekhine was representing France at first board in the [[8th Chess Olympiad]] at [[Buenos Aires]] 1939 when World War II broke out in Europe. The assembly of all team captains, with leading roles played by Alekhine (France), [[Savielly Tartakower]] (Poland), and [[Albert Becker (chess player)|Albert Becker]] (Germany), plus the president of the Argentine Chess Federation, [[Augusto de Muro]], decided to go on with the Olympiad.<ref>{{cite book |author=Gawlikowski, Stanisław |title=Olimpiady szachowe 1924–1974 |publisher=Wyd. Sport i Turystyka. Warszawa |year=1978 |pages=102 (Polish edition)}}</ref>

Alekhine won the individual silver medal (nine wins, no losses, seven draws), behind Capablanca (only results from finals A and B—separately for both sections—counted for best individual scores).<ref name="olimpbase1939Intro"/> Shortly after the Olympiad, Alekhine swept tournaments in [[Montevideo]] (7/7) and [[Caracas]] (10/10).

At the end of August 1939, both Alekhine and Capablanca wrote to Augusto de Muro regarding a possible world championship rematch. Whereas the former spoke of a rematch as a virtual certainty, even stating that the Cuban was remaining in Buenos Aires until it came about, the latter referred at length to the financial burden in the aftermath of the Olympiad.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter28.html|title=Chess Notes by Edward Winter|website=www.chesshistory.com|access-date=2021-10-29|archive-date=2017-12-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171211194614/http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter28.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Supported by Latin-American financial pledges, José R. Capablanca challenged Alexander Alekhine to a world title match in November. Tentative plans—not, however, backed by a deposit of the required purse ($10,000 in gold)—led to a virtual agreement to play at Buenos Aires, Argentina, beginning on April 14, 1940.

===World War II (1939–1945)===
Unlike many participants in the 1939 Chess Olympiad,<ref name="olimpbase1939Intro"/> Alekhine returned to Europe in January 1940. After a short stay in Portugal,<ref>{{cite book |author=Gawlikowski S. |title=Walka o tron szachowy |publisher=Wyd. Sport i Turystyka. Warszawa |year=1976}}</ref> he enlisted in the French army as a sanitation officer.<ref name="KmochGMsIveKnown"/>

After the fall of France (June 1940), he fled to [[Marseille]]. Alekhine tried to go to America by traveling to [[Lisbon]] and applying for an American visa. In October 1940, he sought permission to enter Cuba, promising to play a match with Capablanca. This request was denied.<ref name="WallAlekhineandtheNazis">{{cite web|author=Wall, W.|title=Alekhine and the Nazis|url=http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lab/7378/nazi.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091020193328/http://geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lab/7378/nazi.htm|archive-date=2009-10-20|access-date=2008-05-24}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|failed=y|date=December 2013}}

====Relationship with Nazi Germany====
[[List of chess historians|Chess historians]] have had a significant interest in Alekhine's affiliation with [[Nazi Germany]]. Of ongoing speculation among historians specialising in mid-20th century European chess is whether or not Alekhine was the author of numerous antisemitic pieces of propaganda published in relevant partisan materials at the time. While an analysis of writing styles is perceived to provide evidence supporting the theory Alekhine willingly worked as a propagandist in a non-coercive fashion, Alekhine himself denied this in written letters.<ref>[https://elib.uni-stuttgart.de/bitstream/11682/11576/1/2021_Rohrer_Alekhine.pdf Assessing Alexander Alekhine’s Closeness to the National Socialist Regime]</ref><ref>[https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/alekhine.html Winter, Edward. ''Was Alekhine a Nazi?'']</ref><ref>[https://www.europe-echecs.com/art/alekhine-et-la-guerre-6028.html Europe Echecs: Alekhine and the War]</ref>

By some accounts, to protect his wife, Grace, and her French assets (a castle at Saint Aubin-le-Cauf, near [[Dieppe, Seine-Maritime|Dieppe]], which the Nazis looted), he agreed to cooperate with the Nazis.<ref>Kasparov 2003</ref> Alekhine took part in chess tournaments in [[Munich]], [[Salzburg]], [[Kraków]]/[[Warsaw]], and [[Prague]], organised by [[Ehrhardt Post]], the chief executive of the Nazi-controlled ''Grossdeutscher Schachbund'' ("Greater Germany Chess Federation")—Keres, Bogoljubov, [[Gösta Stoltz]], and several other strong masters in Nazi-occupied Europe also played in such events.<ref name="SBchessVignettes">{{cite web |url=http://www.angelfire.com/games/SBChess/vignette.html |title=The Salzburg Tournament of 1942 |access-date=2008-05-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509135725/http://www.angelfire.com/games/SBChess/vignette.html |archive-date=May 9, 2008}}</ref> In 1941, he tied for second-third with [[Erik Lundin]] in the [[Munich 1941 chess tournament]] (''Europaturnier'' in September, won by Stoltz), shared first with [[Paul Felix Schmidt]] at Kraków/Warsaw (the 2nd [[General Government chess tournament]], in October)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.astercity.net/~vistula/fredvandervliet2.htm |title=CHESS IN FORMER GERMAN, NOW POLISH TERRITORIES |access-date=2008-07-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108163521/http://www.astercity.net/~vistula/fredvandervliet2.htm |archive-date=2012-01-08}}</ref> and won in [[Madrid]] (in December). The following year he won in the [[Salzburg 1942 chess tournament]] (June 1942) and in Munich (September 1942; the Nazis named this the ''Europameisterschaft'', which means "[[European Individual Chess Championship|European Championship]]").<ref>Gillam 2001</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Barcza, G. |title=A müncheni sakkmesterverseny Európa bajnokságáért 1942 |publisher=Kecskemét |year=1942 |author-link=Gedeon Barcza}}</ref> Later in 1942 he won at Warsaw/Lublin/Kraków (the 3rd GG-ch; October 1942) and tied for first with [[Klaus Junge]] in [[Prague]] (''[[Oldřich Duras|Duras]] Jubileé''; December 1942). In 1943, he drew a mini-match (+2−2) with Bogoljubov in Warsaw (March 1943), he won in Prague (April 1943) and tied for first with Keres in Salzburg (June 1943).

By late 1943, Alekhine was spending all his time in Spain and Portugal, as the German representative to chess events. This also allowed him to get away from the onrushing Soviet invasion into eastern Europe.<ref name="WallAlekhineandtheNazis"/>{{unreliable source?|failed=y|date=December 2013}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://chess.about.com/od/worldchampionship/p/aa05g09.htm |title=Birth of the FIDE World Championship |access-date=2008-05-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080719030716/http://chess.about.com/od/worldchampionship/p/aa05g09.htm |archive-date=July 19, 2008}}</ref> In 1944, he narrowly won a match against [[Ramón Rey Ardid]] in [[Zaragoza]] (+1−0=3; April 1944) and won in [[Gijón]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mendez |first1=Pedro |last2=Mendez |first2=Luis |title=The Gijon International Chess Tournaments |url=https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/the-gijon-international-chess-tournaments-1944-1965/ |publisher=McFarland |year=2019 |pages=7–49 |isbn=978-1-4766-7659-3 |access-date=2020-12-08 |archive-date=2021-01-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117124851/https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/the-gijon-international-chess-tournaments-1944-1965/ |url-status=live }}</ref> (July 1944). The following year, he won at [[Madrid]] (March 1945), tied for second place with [[Antonio Medina García|Antonio Medina]] at Gijón (July 1945; the event was won by [[Antonio Rico]]), won at [[Sabadell]] (August 1945), he tied for first with F. López Núñez in [[Almeria]] (August 1945), won in [[Melilla]] (September 1945) and took second in [[Cáceres, Spain|Caceres]], behind [[Francisco Lupi]] (Autumn 1945). Alekhine's last match was with Lupi at [[Estoril]] near [[Lisbon]], Portugal, in January 1946. Alekhine won two games, lost one, and drew one.<ref name="KhalifmanAlekhine1935To1946" />

Alekhine took an interest in the development of the chess [[Child prodigy|prodigy]] [[Arturo Pomar]] and devoted a section of his last book (''¡Legado!'' 1946) to him. They played at Gijon 1944, when Pomar, aged 12, achieved a creditable draw with the champion.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/event/linares2002/r6.html |title=Linares 2002 - round 6 |access-date=2008-05-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517073512/http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/event/linares2002/r6.html |archive-date=17 May 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Final year and death===
[[File:Alekhine tombe.jpg|thumb|upright|Grave of Alexander Alekhine in Paris, France (reconstruction of the original which was destroyed in 1999)]]
After World War II, Alekhine was not invited to chess tournaments outside the Iberian Peninsula, because of his alleged Nazi affiliation. His original invitation to the London 1946 tournament was withdrawn when the other competitors protested.<ref name="DenkerParr"/>

While planning for a World Championship match against Botvinnik,<ref name="KharitonBattleThatNeverWas"/> Alekhine died aged 53 in his hotel room in Estoril, Portugal, on March 24, 1946.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/alekhine3.html|title=Alekhine's Death by Edward Winter|website=www.chesshistory.com|access-date=2021-10-25|archive-date=2021-10-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025160633/https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/alekhine3.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The circumstances of his death are still a matter of debate. It is usually attributed to a heart attack, but a letter in ''[[Chess Life]]'' magazine from a witness to the autopsy stated that choking on meat was the actual cause of death. At autopsy, a three-inch-long piece of unchewed meat was discovered blocking his windpipe.<ref name="donaldson">{{cite book |first=Norman and Betty |last=Donaldson |title=How Did They Die? |year=1980 |publisher=Greenwich House |isbn=0-517-40302-1}}</ref> Some{{who|date=May 2023}} have speculated that he was murdered by a French "death squad". A few years later, Alekhine's son, Alexander Alekhine Jr., said that "the hand of Moscow reached his father."<ref>{{cite book |author=Kasparov Garri |title=My Great Predecessors. Part 1 |chapter=Alexander the Fourth, Invincible |publisher=Everyman Chess |year=2003 |isbn=1-85744-330-6 |pages=454 (Polish edition)}}</ref> [[Kevin Spraggett]], a Canadian [[Grandmaster (chess)|Grandmaster]] who has lived in Portugal since the late 1980s and has thoroughly investigated Alekhine's death, favors this possibility. Spraggett makes a case for the manipulation of the crime scene and the autopsy by the Portuguese secret police [[PIDE]]. He believes that Alekhine was murdered outside his hotel room, probably by Soviet agents.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kevinspraggett.blogspot.com/2009/03/part-1-alekhines-death.html |author=Kevin Spraggett |publisher=BlogSpot.com |title=Part 1: Alekhine's death |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091009102644/http://kevinspraggett.blogspot.com/2009/03/part-1-alekhines-death.html |archive-date=October 9, 2009 |author-link=Kevin Spraggett}}<br/>{{cite web |url=http://kevinspraggett.blogspot.com/2009/03/part-2-alekhines-death.html |author=Kevin Spraggett |publisher=BlogSpot.com |title=Part 2: Alekhine's death |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091009123714/http://kevinspraggett.blogspot.com/2009/03/part-2-alekhines-death.html |archive-date=2009-10-09}}
</ref>

Alekhine's burial was sponsored by [[Fédération Internationale des Échecs|FIDE]], and the remains were transferred to the [[Cimetière du Montparnasse]], Paris, France, in 1956.

His gravestone suffered heavy damage by [[Cyclone Lothar|a cyclone on 26 December 1999]]. The headstone monument was blown over, shattered and fell on the main gravestone. It was later restored.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3005 |title=Alekhine's death – an unresolved mystery? |date=25 March 2006 |access-date=2008-05-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080505082215/http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3005 |archive-date=5 May 2008  |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Moran 1989</ref>