Ossip Bernstein had a turbulent life: Born in 1882 in Czarist Russia he was a successful lawyer in Moscow until he had to flee from the Bolsheviks. He emigrated to Paris where he rebuilt his successful law firm but then had to flee again when the Nazis occupied France. After the war, Bernstein returned to Paris. Apart from his career as a lawyer and businessman he was also a successful chess player and at his peak he was one of the world's best players. Eugene Manlapao takes a look at the life and career of this brilliant amateur player.
Hastings 1895 was a grand tournament that gathered the day’s greatest players without exception. At the time it was played, it was arguably the greatest tournament in history. On the occasion of its recent 127th anniversary, Eugene Manlapao revisits the tournament that introduced the brilliant and perennial title contender, Harry Nelson Pillsbury.
London 1899 and Paris 1900 are two celebrated events that helped shape the legend of an all-time great and influenced the battles for the chess crown in the 20th century’s first decade. Eugene Manlapao revisits these tournaments on the occasion of their 123rd and 122nd anniversaries respectively.
For Friedrich Sämisch s 125th Birthday chessbase.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from chessbase.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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As the table shows, Alekhine did not suffer a single loss, whereas Schmidt lost two games: one against Georg Kieninger and one against Alekhine. The two later tournament winners, Schmidt and Alekhine, met each other in the fourth round and in this game Schmidt had what he later described as his most unforgettable chess experience . According to Schmidt, Alekhine in this game moved a rook and just took the move back . (See Eva Regina Magacs, Michael Negele,
Paul Felix Schmidt: A Winning Formula, Exzelsior Verlag, Edition Randstein 2017, p. 106).
What happened?
Alekhine shared his version of the events in this game with Francesco Lupi, who then retold Alekhine s tales to the chess public in the British magazine CHESS. Alekhine probably overlooked the simple mate after 31.Rb8+ because he had drunk too much cognac during the game. In his account of the incident Alekhine more or less openly admits that he was drunk during the game, but he provides a different explanation fo