Paul Keres defeated former world champion Max Euwe 7½–6½ in a fourteen-game match played across the Netherlands over Christmas and the New Year. Keres won six games, Euwe five, and three were drawn.
A match across the Netherlands
This friendly match, regarded at the time as relevant to future world-title contention, opened on Christmas Eve 1939 and concluded on 14 January 1940. Its fourteen games were staged in several Dutch cities, following the travelling pattern used for major Dutch chess events of the period.
Euwe led 4–3 after seven games. Keres then won games eight, nine and ten in succession, turning the match before the final four rounds.
One point between two elite rivals
Keres finished with six wins to Euwe's five, with three draws. The resulting 7½–6½ score is preserved in the Max Euwe Centrum's fourteen-game match table.
Five games were played before the end of 1939 and nine after New Year. The source database files them under two years, but it was one match.
Cross table
1 win · ½ draw · 0 loss — click a game number to replay it.