José Raúl Capablanca – world chess champion 1921–1927

BornNovember 19, 1888, Havana
DiedMarch 8, 1942, New York
CountryCuba
World champion1921–1927
In the line of championsNo. 3 of 18
Highest ratingNo FIDE rating
FIDE's official lists began in July 1971

The boy who watched his father play

By Capablanca's own account, he learned chess at the age of four by watching his father play. He is said to have pointed out an illegal knight move by his father and then beaten him. No one can check the story today, but it is still told.

What came later is on firmer ground. In 1909 the young Capablanca beat the American champion Frank Marshall in a match, with eight wins, one loss and fourteen draws. Two years later he won the strong tournament at San Sebastián, ahead of Akiba Rubinstein among others.

The title matches

Capablanca's points come first, then wins (+), losses (−) and draws (=) in the classical games. A rapid tiebreak is given separately.
Year	Against	Result	Where
1921	Emanuel Lasker	9–5 (+4 −0 =10) Won the title	Havana
1927	Alexander Alekhine	15½–18½ (+3 −6 =25) Lost the title	Buenos Aires

How he played

Capablanca seemed to play without effort. He rarely calculated long lines; he simply seemed to know where the pieces belonged. His strength showed most of all in the endgame, when few pieces are left and plans matter more than single moves. He was also known for playing fast.

The world title

In 1921 Capablanca met Emanuel Lasker in Havana and won without losing a game: four wins and ten draws. Six years later, at Buenos Aires in 1927, he lost the title to Alexander Alekhine after 34 games. Capablanca had been the favorite, and the defeat surprised many. He wanted a return match, but it never happened.

Afterward

Capablanca remained one of the best players in the world until the end of the 1930s. At Moscow 1935 he finished fourth, behind, among others, the 66-year-old Lasker, and at the AVRO tournament of 1938 he lost a famous game to the young Mikhail Botvinnik. He died in New York in 1942.

Capablanca's games here

Capablanca vs. Marshall, New York 1918. After 24.Kc2: the white king has made it from g1 to c2, and Black's attack is over.

Capablanca vs. Marshall, New York 1918 (1918, Capablanca played White). Play like Capablanca: guess the moves, one at a time.
Botvinnik vs. Capablanca, AVRO 1938 (1938, Capablanca played Black). Play like Capablanca: guess the moves, one at a time.

Sources

Wikipedia: José Raúl Capablanca
Store norske leksikon: José Raúl Capablanca
OlimpBase: the title matches of 1921 and 1927
PGN Mentor: the title matches' games and the San Sebastián 1911 and Moscow 1935 tournaments

The facts on this page come from the sources above, checked against each other. Where the sources disagree, only what they agree on is given. The match results are also checked against the games themselves.

Updated November 8, 2026