Editing Alexander Alekhine (section)

===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>