Recently, the column delivered some insights into chess openings and the middle game. Each phase has had players who excelled in a superior fashion. After the middle game comes the ending. One name keeps popping up in this phase – Cuba’s world champion, Jose Raul Capablanca (1888-1942) properly remembered as the “Cuban Chess Machine “ for his unerring accuracy of play. It is said the ending belonged to Capablanca. He was famous for swapping out the major pieces on the chess board to reach a favourable endgame. Capablanca was wrapped in a mantle of invincibility losing a single game in a decade of play. In the 1970s much was written about the “Fischer- fear” but the concept had been used long before in relation to the great Cuban player. Capablanca possessed an aura of invincibility about him and even the best players in the world had a feeling of inferiority and inadequacy when they sat before him. Without seeming to do anything wrong, they would somehow drift into lost positions. One writer said the games of other players showed “tension, struggle, work “ while Capablanca’s games were simple-looking, smooth and effortless. How did he do it? Was it magic?
Jose Raul Capablanca: ` Cuban Chess Machine’
