New York 1927

Six of the world's strongest masters gathered in New York for a grueling quadruple round-robin, and World Champion José Raúl Capablanca won it without losing a game, finishing two and a half points clear of Alexander Alekhine. Seven months later Alekhine took Capablanca's title in Buenos Aires, and the standard book on New York 1927 was written by Alekhine himself, the man who went on to beat its winner.

◇An elite six

New York 1927 was one of the most exclusive tournaments ever held: just six players — Capablanca, Alekhine, Aron Nimzowitsch, Milan Vidmar, Rudolf Spielmann, and the veteran American Frank Marshall — met one another four times each, twenty games apiece, in the Trade Banquet Hall of the Hotel Manhattan Square. Julius Finn presided, and the prizes were lavish for the era: $2,000 for first, $1,500 for second, $1,000 for third, with non-prize-winners paid $50 for every win and $25 for every draw.

The event was widely read as a dress rehearsal for the world-championship match Capablanca and Alekhine had already agreed to play later that year. Games were contested at 40 moves in two and a half hours, and with the same small field circling one another four times, there was nowhere for a weakness to hide.

◇Capablanca in superb form

Capablanca was at the height of his powers and won easily, scoring 14 out of 20 without losing a game — eight wins and twelve draws — a full two and a half points ahead of Alekhine on 11½. Nimzowitsch took third with 10½, just ahead of Vidmar on 10, while Spielmann and Marshall trailed on 8 and 6.

It was the most complete win of Capablanca's career. He also took the $125 First Brilliancy Prize, and his flawless play convinced much of the chess world that he was practically unbeatable.

◇Prelude to Buenos Aires

The tournament's afterlife is inseparable from what followed. From 16 September to 29 November 1927, Capablanca and Alekhine met in Buenos Aires for the world title, and Alekhine — who had finished a distant second in New York — won a marathon of 34 games to become champion. The upset was so total that New York 1927 came to look like the last unclouded triumph of Capablanca's reign.

Alekhine wrote the tournament book, International Chess Tournament New York 1927. The man who annotated Capablanca's triumph beat him for the world title later that year.