Max Euwe was the fifth chess World Champion, and one of the strongest players in the game’s history. Below, I explore his life and games.
Theo van Haren Noman / Anefo, Nationaal Archief, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Table of contents:
Biography
Early life
Max Euwe was born in Amsterdam, Holland, in 1901. He learned to play chess at the age of four, along with his siblings, and joined the Amsterdam Chess Society around the age of 12. He proved to be gifted and made rapid progress, winning the B group of the national championship at the age of 15. After school, Euwe went on to study mathematics at Amsterdam University.
Dutch Champion
The start of the 1920s was a busy and successful time in his chess career. Euwe finished 4th at Amsterdam 1920, behind Réti, Maroczy and Tartakower. That same year, he played a four-game match against Réti. 1921 saw Euwe win the Dutch Championship for the first time and draw a 12-game match against Maroczy, one of the world’s leading players (+2 -2 =8). He then went on to finish 6th at the strong international tournament at Budapest later that year.
First duel with Alekhine
Euwe continued to work diligently and improve his chess, and was rewarded with 1st place at Hastings 1923/4, ahead of Maroczy. He won the Dutch Championship for the second time in 1924, before also finishing 1st at Wiesbaden in 1925, ahead of Spielmann, Schories and Sämisch.
1926 was a significant year for Euwe, as he gained his doctorate in mathematics, and got married. He won the Dutch Championship for the third time, before playing a match against Alekhine at the end of the year. This match formed part of Alekhine’s preparations for his World Championship Match against Capablanca in 1927, and the chess world expected Alekhine to win comfortably. However, Euwe put up great resistance, and Alekhine won the match by only one point by winning the last game, with the final score 5,5-4,5. Alekhine would go on to become World Champion in 1927, and this match showed that Euwe was capable of competing with the best players in the world.
Amateur World Champion
In 1927, Euwe scored 10,5/15 on board 1 for the Netherlands at the Olympiad in London. The following year, he won a world championship tournament in which only those deemed by FIDE to be amateurs were invited, an idea which was not repeated. Also in 1928, Euwe crushed Colle in a match (+5 =1), and lost two FIDE Championship matches to Bogoljubow, both by the score of 5,5-4,5. The end of the decade saw Euwe’s fourth Dutch Championship victory in 1929.
A new decade
At the start of the new decade, Euwe shocked the world by winning the Hastings tournament of 1930/1 with 7/9, ahead of Capablanca. The two then played a match in 1931 with Capablanca winning 6-4. In 1932, Euwe shared 2nd with Flohr at Bern, behind only Alekhine. He then drew a 16-game match against Flohr (+3 =10 -3) before winning a shorter match against Spielmann (+2 =2). 1933 saw Euwe win the Dutch Championship for a fifth time.
Euwe challenged Alekhine to a World Championship Match in 1934, which Alekhine accepted. The match was set for the following year, and Euwe set about preparing. He shared 2nd with Flohr at Zürich, behind only Alekhine, although he defeated Alekhine in their individual game. At Hastings 1934/5, Euwe shared 1st with Thomas and Flohr. He had a chance to win the tournament outright if he won the last round, but decided to offer a draw to Norman, who finished near the bottom of the table, supposedly to avoid delaying the start of the prizegiving.
World Champion
At the start of the World Championship Match, Alekhine was seen as the clear favourite, as he had dominated the international tournament scene for several years. However, Euwe proved to be a tougher opponent than many had anticipated. The match took place in various cities across the Netherlands and was played to the best of 30 games. Euwe shocked the world by winning the match by the narrowest of margins, 15,5-14,5. He had become the fifth chess champion of the world.
Soon after the match, Euwe offered Alekhine a return match, which would take place in 1937. Before this match took place, Euwe competed successfully in strong international events. He finished 2nd at Zandvoort 1936, behind only Fine, and ahead of players such as Tartakower, Keres, Bogoljubow and Maroczy. Euwe shared 3rd at Nottingham 1936 with Fine and Reshevsky, notably finishing ahead of Alekhine. He then shared 1st with Fine at Amsterdam 1936, again finishing ahead of Alekhine. At Bad Nauheim 1937, Euwe finished clear first, ahead of Alekhine once again.
Returning the crown
The chess world was therefore optimistic about Euwe’s chances of defending his title against Alekhine in 1937. However, Alekhine dominated the match, winning 15,5-9,5, and thus regained his title. Euwe’s reign as World Champion had lasted two years.
Euwe bounced back from this disappointment by winning the bronze medal for board 1 at the Olympiad in Stockholm 1937, before winning the Dutch Championship again in 1938. 1938 also saw Euwe finish in shared 4th at the famous incredibly strong AVRO tournament, before he won another Dutch Championship in 1939.
WWII
The start of WWII severely restricted opportunities for chess players to compete in strong events, and Euwe was no exception. However, he did manage keep playing. He played a match against Keres in 1939/40 in Holland, losing the match by the score +5 =3 -6. Euwe then travelled to Budapest in 1940, where he won a tournament ahead of Vidmar. He also won a match against Bogoljubow in Karlsbad 1941 (+5 =3 -2), before winning the Dutch Championship again in 1942.
After the war
After the war, Euwe won a tournament in London in 1946, and finished 2nd behind only Botvinnik at the strong international tournament at Groningen later that year. Euwe won the Dutch Championship twice more in 1947 and 1948, but then finished 5th and last at the World Championship tournament in 1948, held to select the next World Champion following Alekhine’s death. He was no longer seen as a serious challenger for the World Championship.
Later years
In his later years, Euwe competed successfully at Olympiads and at the Dutch Championship. He scored 8/12 on board 1 at the Olympiad at Dubrovnik in 1950 and won the Dutch Championship again in 1952. He competed in the 1953 Candidates Tournament at Zürich, but finished 14th out of 15. In 1954, Euwe scored 7,5/13 on board 1 at the Olympiad in Amsterdam, and won the Dutch Championship yet again in 1955, for the twelfth time. Euwe also played an interesting short exhibition match against a young Fischer in 1957, winning the match +1 =1.
At the age of 57, Euwe won a silver medal for board 1 at the Olympiad in Münich in 1958, scoring an impressive 8,5/11. He competed in two more Olympiads, continuing to lead the Dutch team despite his advancing years, in 1960 and 1962.
Off the board
However, Euwe would go on to achieve great things off the chessboard. In 1964, Euwe gained the title of Professor. In 1970, he became President of FIDE, the first and only World Champion to hold this post. He served in this position until 1978, and is today regarded as having been one of FIDE’s most successful and effective leaders. Euwe died a few years later, in 1981.
Legacy
Today Euwe is remembered as the fifth World Champion and for his gentlemanly behaviour. He achieved much both on the board and off it. Generations of players have grown up learning from his games, and from his enormous collection of chess books which he wrote over the course of his life.
Game Analysis
Euwe won an instructive game against Wertheim in Rotterdam in 1931, which illustrates the power of a passed pawn.
Lessons from this game:
- A rook on the same file as the enemy queen often allows for potential tactical ideas.
- Passed pawns can be very powerful in major piece endings, as their advance can tie down opposing rooks and condemn them to passivity.
- Exchanges can be useful for the side with less space, as the remaining pieces have more room to manoeuvre.
Puzzles
Euwe – Schweiger, Budapest 1921
Euwe – Weenink, Amsterdam 1923
Euwe – Colle, Amsterdam 1928
Euwe – Winter, Amsterdam 1937
Solutions
Further Reading
To find more about Euwe’s life and games, the following are useful sources:
My Great Predecessors, Volume 2 by Kasparov,
Euwe’s chessgames.com page,
his chess.com page,
this chessbase article by Eugene Manlapao,
and the chessnotes website run by Edward Winter.
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Wow! That is an amazing photo!
Thanks!