José Raúl Capablanca

Capablanca, José Raúl (hōsā' räūl' käpäbläng'kä), 1888-1942, Cuban chess player, b. Havana. Champion of Cuba at the age of 12, he won the world's championship from Emanuel Lasker in 1921, retaining the title until he was defeated by Alexander Alekhine in 1927. His game was almost free from false interpretations of position, and his technique, although facile, was highly refined.

Bibliography

See his My Chess Career (1920, rev. ed. 1966), Chess Fundamentals (1921, repr. 1967), A Primer of Chess (1935), and Capablanca's Last Chess Lectures (1967); H. Golombek, ed., Capablanca's Hundred Best Games of Chess (1947, repr. 1965).