THE AMAZING CHESS PLAYER

Wanganui Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 15976, 19 November 1919, Page 9

THE AMAZING CHESS PLAYER

The most notable figure in the world of chess is just thirty years old, Senor Capablanca, an amazing Cuban. In those circles where they talk a language which sounds like algebra gone i mad, he has oeen known for ten years as one of the masters, and it is twenty years, since he scored his first big succyss. And it is longer still 1 since he won his first game. At the age of foup he played and defeated his own father,' At the age of 10 he played in his first tournament at Havana, and won all his games except ’ two, in which he was beaten by J. Corso, the champion of Cuba. Corso, however, was so impressed by the small boy who put up so good a fight that a match was arranged between them—and the small hoy won! 0 In time he left school and began to study mining engineering, with chess as a hobby. So sensational was his progress that in 1909 he toured the United States, played 590 simultaneous games (iij batches of from 25 to 48), out of which he won 560 and lost only 12. Following that he played Marshall, the champion of America, and beat him by 8 games to 1, 12 being drawn. Two years la,ter he toured Europe. He had his nearest approach to disaster when he mot 28 members of the City of London Chess Club, aud won only 16 of the games.

In 1913 the Cuban - Government sent him to the town, which in those days we knew as St. Petersburg, as assistant Consul, and there in 1914 he met the great Lasker, Experts will tell you still that Capablanca played by far the better game, but ho lost. It was one of his few defeats. In London recently ho played 28 simultaneous games, won 21, lost 3 and drew 4. The dress experts get notes of reverence into their voices when they talk about him. Swift in decision, he moves quickly from board to board when he is playing one of these large-scale battles. He can see at -a glance the perils and possibilities which the ordinary player can only discover after long study. His brain rs so constituted that to him the mogt- elaborate and complex of aill games is a simple; thing. And the careful skill of opponents is useless against his lightning moves.