World Chess Championship 1934

Opponents of the 1934 World Chess Championship

Portraits
	Alexander Alekhine	Efim Bogolyubov
nation
status	Defending champion world champion since 1927	challenger
Age	41 years	44–45 years
Elo rating (April 1934)	2787	2698
Annotated game list

The World Chess Championship 1934 was the 14th duel for the title of world champion in chess . It took place as a rematch of the 1929 World Chess Championship from April 1 to June 14, 1934 in twelve German cities. Defending champion Alexander Alekhine defeated Efim Bogoljubow with 8 to 3 wins in 15 draws. The match was originally designed for the best result from 30 games and six wins, with Alekhine retaining his title at 15:15. After 26 games, however, he was already unassailable in the lead, which decided the duel.

organization

Ministerialrat Herbert Kraft ( NSDAP ) as head of the Baden Chess Association made the contract for the 1934 World Chess Championship possible

Since the world chess championship in 1929 there have been several attempts by José Raúl Capablanca , who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927, to organize another duel with Alekhine. In the 1920s and 1930s, other emerging strong players also emerged. Nevertheless, it was determined that Alekhine's opponent would be Bogolyubov, which was felt in the chess world as a show fight because of the assumed superiority of Alekhine. For example, Savielly Tartakower thought he would be a better opponent for Alekhine.

It was not until December 23, 1933 that a contract was signed in Karlsruhe for a new duel between Alekhine and Bogolyubov. The head of the Baden Chess Association , Ministerialrat Herbert Kraft , made the contract possible. On March 1, 1934, the German chess sheets reported that the competition should begin on Easter Sunday. Herbert Kraft had managed to accommodate the game dates in various southern German cities. According to Dutch newspapers, preparations for the 1935 World Chess Championship between Alekhine and Max Euwe in the Netherlands were already underway at that time .

Herbert Kraft, as head of Baden's regional association, was responsible for accommodating the lot. The fact that, contrary to the instructions of the Greater German Chess Federation (GSB), he also won cities outside Baden, later earned him criticism from GSB President Otto Zander . Zander wrote after the World Cup in the German chess sheets in relation to this: "Here he no longer acted as a regional association manager, but as a private person". Kraft would have had conflicts with the responsible state association managers who were planning "fights for German players in the same cities". Zander regarded Alekhine and Bogoljubow as "Russians who were guests in Germany" and criticized the naming of Bogolyubov as German champion by the World Cup organizers, in addition to the other outcome of the German championship in Aachen, as well as the "opinion that someone could become German through naturalization . In the future, the tournament for the championship of Germany will only be open to players of German blood . ”With this he was probably responding to the criticism of Alekhine and Bogolyubov about the German championship in Aachen, to which he referred. These are said to have previously, as the deputy federal manager Ehrhardt Post announced in the German chess sheets , to a southern German newspaper have made derogatory comments about the tournament. The newspaper then published a special edition and recommended that the Greater German Chess Federation take note of it. The costs for the organization of the competition amounted to 40,000 Reichsmarks (according to today's purchasing power approx. 179,000 euros), a considerable sum for chess events at that time.

The competition finally began on Easter Saturday in the large Kurhaussaal in Baden-Baden with a welcome evening. There the services of Minister of Education Dr. Bader highlighted for youth chess . Alekhine described Bogolyubov in a speech as one of his most dangerous opponents. Bogolyubov emphasized the upswing in chess in Germany. In a draw made by Rueb it was determined that Bogolyubov should lead the white stones in the first game .

The cooling-off period was two and a half hours for 40 moves per player, after which there was a hanging game .

Herbert Kraft opened the duel. Prominent guests included GSB treasurer Karl Miehe , FIDE President Alexander Rueb and Pierre Biscay , who had recently become President of the French Chess Federation . As rapporteur for De Telegraaf and Berlingske was Aaron Nimzowitsch present, who himself was considered a promising World Cup candidate. The first game took place on Easter Sunday. For referee Albert Hild was appointed. The equivalent of approximately US $ 10,000 was made available as a prize fund.

A guest book that was displayed at all venues has been preserved and was published as a facsimile in 2014 . The original is in the university library of the Mozarteum in Salzburg. On 30 double pages there are around 840 signatures from participants and, above all, participants in the simultaneous games and guests as well as 17 photos.

Counterparty history

Alekhine and Bogolyubov first competed against each other in the All-Russian Tournament in Petersburg in 1914. Alekhine and Nimzowitsch shared first place there, while Bogolyubov only reached eighth place. Nevertheless, Bogolyubov managed to defeat Alekhine with a queen sacrifice .

When he met Bogolyubov in Hastings in 1922, there was a well-known game of chess , which Alekhine won.

The climax of the meetings so far was five years earlier the World Chess Championship in Germany and the Netherlands in 1929, in which Alekhine defended the world championship title after 25 games with six wins from 30 games. Alekhine had won eleven, Bogolyubov five games. Nine games ended in a draw.

Bogolyubov, who had last been noticed by a drop in his performance, had carried out an intensive study of the openings and partly analyzed them until after the 25th move. At the time of the competition Alekhine lived in Paris and Bogoljubow in Triberg , where he also trained by playing against Hans Müller.

Hans Kmoch was active as Alekhine's second , while Bogoljubow could also fall back on Hans Müller for this purpose .

Game table

The world championship was won by Alekhine, who thus defended his title. The high number of black victories (7), which exceeded that of white victories (4), was unusual. Such an incident occurred later at a World Cup only in 1951 and again in 2013 .

Lot	place	Date (1934)	White	Result	opening	ECO code	Trains	Alekhine	Bogolyubov
1	Baden-Baden	1st – 2nd April	Bogolyubov	½: ½	Queen's Gambit	D50	65	+0 = 1 −0	+0 = 1 −0
2	Baden-Baden	4. April	Alekhine	1-0	Semi-Slav Defense	D48	37	+1 = 1 −0	+0 = 1 −1
3	Baden-Baden	April 6th	Bogolyubov	½: ½	Queen's Gambit accepted	D22	27	+1 = 2 −0	+0 = 2 −1
4th	Villingen	11-12 April	Alekhine	1-0	Semi-Slav Defense	D31	29	+2 = 2 −0	+0 = 2 −1
5	Villingen	13-14 April	Bogolyubov	½: ½	Queen's Gambit accepted	D26	35	+2 = 3 −0	+0 = 3 −2
6th	Freiburg im Brsg.	18. – 19. April	Alekhine	½: ½	Queen's Gambit	D30	60	+2 = 4 −0	+0 = 4 −2
7th	Freiburg im Brsg.	20th of April	Bogolyubov	½: ½	Queen's Gambit accepted	D28	17th	+2 = 5 −0	+0 = 5 −2
8th	Freiburg im Brsg.	22-23 April	Alekhine	½: ½	Nimzowitsch-Indian Defense	E24	64	+2 = 6 −0	+0 = 6 −2
9	Pforzheim	25-26 April	Bogolyubov	0: 1	Benoni Defense	A44	46	+3 = 6 −0	+0 = 6 −3
10	Pforzheim	27.-28. April	Alekhine	0: 1	Cambridge Springs variant	D52	81	+3 = 6 −1	+1 = 6 −3
11	Stuttgart	April 29th and May 1st	Bogolyubov	0: 1	Dutch defense	A92	62	+4 = 6 −1	+1 = 6 −4
12	Stuttgart	2-3 May	Alekhine	½: ½	Semi-Slav Defense	D49	75	+4 = 7 −1	+1 = 7 −4
13	Munich	6-7 May	Bogolyubov	½: ½	Ladies Indian construction	A47	74	+4 = 8 −1	+1 = 8 −4
14th	Munich	May 8th and 10th	Alekhine	½: ½	Orthodox defense	D60	54	+4 = 9 −1	+1 = 9 −4
15th	Munich	11-12 May	Bogolyubov	½: ½	Queen's Gambit accepted	D21	70	+4 = 10 −1	+1 = 10 −4
16	Bayreuth	13-14 May	Alekhine	1-0	Spanish game	C77	43	+5 = 10 −1	+1 = 10 −5
17th	Bad Kissingen	May 20th	Bogolyubov	0: 1	Queen's Gambit accepted	D24	41	+6 = 10 −1	+1 = 10 −6
18th	Bad Kissingen	May 21	Alekhine	½: ½	Colle system	D05	28	+6 = 11 −1	+1 = 11 −6
19th	Nuremberg	26.-27. May	Bogolyubov	½: ½	Queen's Gambit accepted	D27	58	+6 = 12 −1	+1 = 12 −6
20th	Nuremberg	May 27th	Alekhine	½: ½	Cambridge Springs variant	D52	44	+6 = 13 −1	+1 = 13 −6
21st	Karlsruhe	30th May	Bogolyubov	0: 1	Queen's Gambit	D30	63	+7 = 13 −1	+1 = 13 −7
22nd	Mannheim	June 1st	Alekhine	½: ½	Nimzowitsch-Indian Defense	E35	42	+7 = 14 −1	+1 = 14 −7
23	Mannheim	3rd to 4th June	Bogolyubov	1-0	Queen's Gambit accepted	D23	58	+7 = 14 −2	+2 = 14 −7
24	Mannheim	6th of June	Alekhine	0: 1	Queen's Gambit	D30	39	+7 = 14 −3	+3 = 14 −7
25th	Berlin	11-12 June	Bogolyubov	0: 1	Slav Defense	D11	44	+8 = 14 −3	+3 = 14 −8
26th	Berlin	14th June	Alekhine	½: ½	King's Indian Defense	E67	24	+8 = 15 −3	+3 = 15 −8

course

Bogolyubov - Alekhine
1st game

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Position after 61. Rh8 – c8 +

→ Main article : 1934 World Chess Championship / games

Bogolyubov - Alekhine
19th game

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Position after 16.… Ra8 – d8

Alekhine - Bogolyubov
, game 26

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Position after 24.Rd1xd6

After Bogoljubow had missed the win several times in the first game, there was a rook ending with two extra pawns. After the next sequence of moves 61 ... Kd4 62. Rd8 + Kc3 63. Rc8 + Kd3 64. Rd8 + Kc3 65. Rc8 + Kd3 Alekhine claimed a draw by repeating the position. Referee Hild followed the request. It was only after the game that Bogolyubov realized that the position had not appeared on the board three times. The chess world speculated whether Bogolyubov had lost half a point as a result or whether the position was already a draw. Most recently, the analysts agreed that the position would have been won for Bogolyubov.

Alekhine won in the second game after a wrong combination by Bogolyubov. In the third game Alekhine introduced the innovation 3.… a6 after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3. The ECO code D22 was assigned later when the opening key was created for this variant. A draw after 27 moves. Alekhine's winning combination in the fourth game went down in the tactics textbooks. In the fifth game, which was played in Villingen, Bogoljubow came again in positional advantage, but only achieved a draw. Before leaving Villingen on April 15th, Alekhine played a live chess game against Bogoljubow on the old Münsterplatz . In addition, the white stones wore Villinger and the black Black Forest costumes. The UFA recorded the event in a tape for the newsreel . During the performance, there was a short breakdown when the white lady's tower, dressed in an old soldier's uniform, first aimed at its own king with a firearm, which it was supposed to fire to reinforce the mating demonstration, but still noticed his mistake and then it did shot the opposing king. Alekhine gave a simultaneous performance in Constance in which he won 33 out of 38 games, drew three and lost two.

Alekhine saw the sixth game in attack. After he had missed the win in the victim attack, Bogolyubov was able to defend the game. In the final position after 60 moves, the fortress could not be breached, which is why the opponents agreed on a draw.

The following two games also ended in a draw, with the seventh only lasting 17 moves; as a substitute for the short game, the audience was offered simultaneous games against Hans Kmoch and a lecture by Efim Bogolyubov on the demonstration board. In the eighth game, Bogoljubow reached a won rook ending, which he spoiled for a draw.

Alekhine, who spent significantly less time, won the ninth game. It was only in the tenth game that Bogolyubov managed to win a first victory after a careful game that was widely praised. In the eleventh game, Bogolyubov lost another good position. Two draw games followed. In the 14th game, which also ended in a draw, Minister of Culture Hans Schemm and Reich Minister Hans Frank were present. The game was interrupted for a whole day because the two opponents gave a simultaneous performance in the Bürgerbräukeller on May 9th , which was followed by 700 spectators. Alekhine won 34, drew 12 and lost 4 of 50 games. Bogolyubov scored 39 wins, 9 draws and 3 defeats.

The 15th game was also drawn. The players did not leave for Bayreuth until 11 p.m. Alekhine initially wanted to take a day off, but then played. He won with a combination, but rest days followed after the game.

The duel was resumed on Pentecost Sunday. Bogolyubov played risky and lost the 17th game. The 18th game resulted in a draw after 20 moves. Several days of rest followed.

In the 19th game, Bogolyubov again awarded a win. In the diagram position 17. Bxa6 would have been very strong. Curiously, on May 27, 1934, the second half of the 19th game in the morning and the 20th game in the evening were played, which, unusually for a World Cup, meant that two games were played in one day.

The 21st game was clearly won for Bogolyubov, but after an inexplicable mistake he spoiled the game and later even lost. A curiosity occurred before the 22nd game: Alekhine had stayed in the wrong hotel and could only be found shortly before the start of the game, which then ended in a draw. Alekhine then lost the 23rd game. The challenger also won the 24th game, in which, according to the commentators, Bogolyubov played highly doubtful. In the 25th game, however, the decision followed when Alekhine won another victory.

Since Bogoljubow could still have reached a tie, another game followed, in which Alekhine offered a draw with Mehrbauer. Bogolyubov agreed in the diagram position, with which Alekhine had successfully completed his title defense.

Reviews

The critics were at odds over Alekhine's play. According to the Deutsche Schachblätter, Capablanca is said to have assumed “25 percent talent and 75 percent bluff” in Alekhine's game play, while Alekhine was judged by other critics for “his ingenuity, his amazing resilience, his brilliant tactics and - last but not least - his psychological treatment of the Opponent ”was praised. Much was suspended in the games because they did not meet the chess expectations. One reason for this was seen in the fact that Bogolyubov often failed to take advantage of game advantages to win.

After the first half of the competition, Hans Kmoch pointed out that the opponents showed great fighting spirit. He expressed his admiration to both players for their courageous play. After the competition he wrote that Bogolyubov “showed himself capable of achieving winning positions against everyone (including the world champion!)”, But was unable to take advantage of his weakened nerves. Kmoch found that both champions had not shown their best performance. Bogolyubov had nevertheless accomplished "a number of splendid strategic feats", although he played stronger than in 1929. The games were generally sharp, which made them captivating.

In an article in the Wiener Schachzeitung, from which its editor Albert Becker partially distanced himself, Jacques Hannak took a different opinion: Alekhine had clearly won. In contrast to 1929, Bogolyubov was not a serious challenger. In Hannak's opinion, a worthy opponent would have been Capablanca, Euwe or Flohr, but not Bogoljubow, whom Hannak accused of lacking ability due to the many opportunities given. Bogolyubov had "played very miserably", but Alekhine was also beginning to slacken. He must show that he has earned the world title.

Alekhine described the 1934 World Cup in his book My Best Games of Chess as "useless from a sporting point of view" and he was "certain that Bogolyubov would no longer be able to exhaust his opportunities in the game against me."

Aaron Nimzowitsch reported in his chess column in the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf that Bogoljubow felt hypnotized by Alekhine and therefore missed winning continuations. Emanuel Lasker stated in his tournament book, however, that Bogoljubow tired too quickly in complicated positions and that his defeat was therefore due to a lack of training.

Savielly Tartakower said in a review of the year that the world championship throne was further consolidated, which was mainly due to Alekhine's successes outside of the duel. In 1934 Alekhine won the last eight games of the major Zurich tournament, where, according to Tartakower, he achieved a "brilliant victory against Lasker". As the most beautiful final game, however, Tartakower named the controversial game between Ortueta and Sanz in Madrid from today's perspective . In a world rankings also proposed, Tartakower only wanted Alekhine to be placed on the highest and Capablanca and Lasker on the honor level.

From today's perspective, Stefan Kindermann rates the quality of the games as "astonishingly weak". Bogoljubow was strategically clearly superior to Alekhine in the competition, but mostly gambled away the advantages gained in the opening and the early middlegame due to gross mistakes in the time emergency phase . Alekhine seemed unimaginative and exhausted, but was able to pull himself together in critical moments.

consequences

A duel between Alekhine and Euwe in the fall of 1935 and a revenge fight against Capablanca in two years at the earliest were targeted after the end of the World Cup. Preparations for both duels were in progress in the Netherlands and Buenos Aires, respectively.

Alekhine then lost the world championship fight against Max Euwe in 1935 and won the title back in 1937 . A new match against Capablanca did not take place. Thus, the 1927 World Chess Championship remained the only world championship match between Alekhine and Capablanca. The Estonian champion Paul Keres , who was considered the strongest player in the world at the time, challenged Alekhine after winning the 1938 AVRO tournament ; However, this made excessive demands, which was to be equated with a rejection of the challenge. Alekhine was then unable to play another duel because of the Second World War , although preparations for a match against Mikhail Botvinnik were already underway. According to other sources, negotiations with Botvinnik had also failed. Alekhine died in 1946 as the undefeated world champion, which led to a two-year interregnum . Finally Botvinnik succeeded in winning the FIDE World Championship tournament in 1948 and thus succeeding Alekhine.

The duel between Alekhine and Bogolyubov was the last World Chess Championship in Germany until the 2008 World Chess Championship .

Notes and individual references

1. ^ During the tournament on April 14, 1934, Bogolyubov's 45th birthday took place
2. ↑ ^{a b} Chessmetrics April 1934 rating list ( English ) Retrieved October 26, 2008.
3. ↑ http://www.chess-poster.com/english/great_players/alexander_alekhine.htm (accessed on July 10, 2015)
4. ↑ 1934 World Chess Championship ( Memento from September 20, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
5. ↑ http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?tid=54142 (accessed on October 26, 2008)
6. ↑ ^{a b c d} Deutsche Schachblätter , edition 05/1934, March 1, 1934, pp. 65–66
7. ↑ Deutsche Schachzeitung , 1934, issue 1, p. 5
8. ↑ German chess sheets , issue 02/1934, p 27
9. ↑ All quotations from: Otto Zander: Zum Kampfe Aljechin-Bogoljubow. In: Deutsche Schachblätter , edition 13/1934. July 1, 1934. p. 197
10. ↑ Ehrhardt Post: Critics of a different kind. In: Deutsche Schachblätter , Edition 12/1934. P. 183
11. ↑ Willi Sauberer, quoted from Rainer Buland: The World Chess Championship 1934 and the guest book: Prehistory, organization, course and assessment. In: The guest book of the 1934 World Chess Championship in Germany . LIT Verlag, Münster 2014. p. 29
12. ^ ^{A b} Albert Becker : From the world championship fight . In: Wiener Schachzeitung , edition 08/1934 (April 1934), pp. 113–115
13. ^ Freiburger Zeitung , Sportblatt dated April 3, 1934. P. 3 ( online view )
14. ^ Rainer Buland: The World Chess Championship 1934 and the guest book: Prehistory, organization, process and assessment. In: The guest book of the 1934 World Chess Championship in Germany . LIT Verlag, Münster 2014. p. 18
15. ↑ ^{a b c} German chess sheets , edition 08/1934, pp. 128–132
16. ^ The Chess Review , April 1934. p. 50
17. ↑ http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?tid=54141 , accessed on November 11, 2008
18. ↑ Wiener Schachzeitung , edition 21/1934 (October 1934). P. 332
19. ↑ Deutsche Schachblätter , Edition 10/1934, pp. 150–154
20. ↑ ^{a b c d} Hans Kmoch: The competition for the world championship . In: Wiener Schachzeitung , issue 10-11 / 1934 (May-June 1934). Pp. 145-156.
21. ↑ Hans Kmoch: World Champion Dr. Alekhine: Bogolyubov beaten 8: 3 in 15 draws . In: Wiener Schachzeitung , issue 12/1934 (June 1934). Pp. 177-181.
22. ↑ ^{a b c d} Hans Kmoch: The competition Dr. Alekhine — Bogolyubov . In: Wiener Schachzeitung , edition 09/1934 (May 1934). Pp. 129-135
23. ^ Edward Winter: Chess Notes , entry 5834. Internet, November 11, 2008 .
24. ↑ Deutsche Schachblätter , Edition 09/1934, May 1, 1934, pp. 136–141
25. ↑ Original source : "While Capablanca is said to have commented on it". Quoted from: Dr. Alekhine remains world champion . In: Deutsche Schachblätter , edition 13/1934. July 1, 1934. p. 203
26. ↑ ^{a b} Dr. Alekhine remains world champion . In: Deutsche Schachblätter , edition 13/1934. July 1, 1934. pp. 203-204.
27. ↑ Hans Kmoch: Has Bogolyubov failed? In: Wiener Schachzeitung , edition 13/1934 (July 1934). Pp. 193-194.
28. ↑ Jacques Hannak: To the world championship . In: Wiener Schachzeitung , edition 13/1934 (July 1934). Pp. 195-196.
29. ↑ Quotations from the English version My Best Games of Chess, 1924-1937 : "useless from the sporting point of view" and "I felt sure that Bogolubov was no longer able to take advantage of the opportunities my play might present to him." Quoted on 1934 World Chess Championship ( Memento from September 20, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
30. ↑ Lasker 1935, p. 11f.
31. ↑ Savielly Tartakower: A year of transitions: 1934 . In: Wiener Schachzeitung , issue 23-24 / 1934. Pp. 353-357.
32. ↑ Stefan Kindermann: The world championship fight between Alexander Alekhine and Efim Bogoljubow in 1934 in the light of modern analysis. In: Power games and ambivalences. Chess and Culture in the 30s of the 20th Century. GHS Chess and Culture Foundation, Baldham 2014. p. 61
33. ↑ World Chess Championship 1935 Euwe - Alekhine Title Match , mark-weeks.com, accessed on March 25, 2015 (English)
34. ↑ World Chess Championship 1937 Alekhine - Euwe Title Match , mark-weeks.com, accessed on March 25, 2015 (English)
35. ↑ http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?tid=54140 , accessed on November 11, 2008
36. ↑ ^{a b} Erich Carl: Paul Keres . Joachim Beyer Verlag 1983. ISBN 3-88805-007-3 . Pp. 10-11
37. ↑ ^{a b} http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?tid=54194 , accessed on November 11, 2008
38. ↑ The World Chess Championship ( Memento from January 12, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
39. ↑ http://de.chessbase.com/post/interview-mit-vladimir-kramnik-4 (accessed on October 26, 2008)

literature

• Efim Bogolyubov: Chess fight for the world championship . Karlsruhe 1935.
• Rainer Buland, Bernadette Edtmaier, Georg Schweiger: The guest book of the 1934 World Chess Championship in Germany. Facsimile, research results, history and context . LIT Verlag, Münster 2014. ISBN 978-3-643-50606-1 .
• Emanuel Lasker : Games played in the return match for the world's championship . London 1935.
• Fred Reinfeld and Reuben Fine : A. Alekhine vs. ED Bogoloyubov . Philadelphia 1934.

Web links

• Tournament report and games at chessgames.com (English)