JOSE RAUL CAPABLANCA

CHESS GRAND MASTER

NIVEL: intermedio – avanzado

30 minutos

Part 1

Jose Raul Capablanca, the chess grand master, was born in Havana, Cuba in 1888. He learned chess at the age of four by watching his father play and in 1901, at the age of 12, he beat Juan Corzo, the Cuban chess champion.

Capablanca was regarded as the most naturally (1) ……….…………. chess player anyone had ever seen. He was educated in America, studied

(2) ….…………………... at Columbia University and spent much of his free time playing chess masters at the Manhattan Chess Club in New York City.

He achieved a sensational win in a chess (3) ………..…………… against US Champion Frank Marshall, beating him by 8 wins to 1 with 14 draws in 1909 when he was 20 years old. In 1911, on the

(4) …………………… of Marshall from competitive chess, Capablanca played in San Sebastian, Spain, at one of the strongest tournaments in the world at that time.

He (5) …………….……….. everyone by taking first place at this tournament with a score of 6 wins, 7 draws and 1 loss. This was his first major tournament.

In 1911 Capablanca challenged Emanuel Lasker for the world chess championship. Lasker (6) ………………. to the challenge but imposed a lot of conditions for a future match. Capablanca didn’t accept these conditions and this chess match did not (7) …………..………….

THE MOST FAMOUS CUBAN

In September 1913 Capablanca was given a high – ranking job on the diplomatic staff of the Cuban Foreign Office. He had no specific work or responsibilities in this position, except to play chess and be a public ‘face’ for Cuba. He was the most famous Cuban in the world for many years.

In 1914 at a tournament in St. Petersburg Capablanca met Lasker over the (8) …………………. for the first time. Capablanca took the lead by one and a half points in the preliminaries but lost to Lasker in the

(9) …..………………. Capablanca finished overall second to Lasker with a score of 13 points to Lasker's 13.5.

In the ten years after this tournament (from 1914 to 1924) Capablanca lost only one game and the chess world was beginning to think he was invincible.

However, he had to wait another seven years until he could

(10) ………….............…… he was the world chess champion.

The First World War interrupted European chess for four years. After the war Lasker's heart was not really in chess. He had tried to get

(11) …………………. financial rewards for chess masters and had failed.

Great players were still living – and dying – in (12) …………………...

Lasker agreed to defend his title against Capablanca in 1920 but resigned his title in favor of the challenger as he no longer felt like struggling. He told Capablanca, ‘You have (13) ……………..…….. the title not by the formality of a challenge, but by your brilliant mastery.’

However, there was pressure from the chess world for Lasker to play the Cuban. Capablanca found sponsors in Cuba who were prepared

(14) ………….………. the match for twenty-five thousand dollars, of which half would go to Lasker whether he won or lost. On this basis Lasker decided to go ahead with the match.

In Havana in 1921 the match went (15) ……..……………. but it was a big disappointment to chess fans. Although thirty games had been planned, the match lasted for only fourteen after which Lasker was losing by four games to none with ten draws.

He resigned the match on grounds of ill health. Capablanca was now the new World Chess Champion.

OPTIONS:

1. a) talented b) tasted

c) troubled d) talent

2. a) women b) floors

c) engine d) engineering

3. a) fight b) match

c) football d) referee

4. a) apology b) insistence

c) insistent d) instance

5. a) approved b) admired

c) admitted d) astonished

6. a) phrased b) concocted

c) mixed d) agreed

7. a) bear fruit b) by now

c) take place d) take cover

8. a) cheeseboard b) surfboard

c) overboard d) chessboard

9. a) terminals b) finals

c) conclusions d) findings

10. a) sense b) prove

c) post d) mail

11. a) better b) property

c) prior d) prudish

12. a) bed b) Boston

c) poverty d) plays

13. a) earned b) joked

c) upset d) fluked

14. a) to fix b) to prevent

c) to finance d) to forget

15. a) aside b) ahead

c) around d) astray

ANSWERS

1a, 2d, 3b, 4b, 5d, 6d, 7c, 8d, 9b, 10b, 11a, 12c, 13a, 14c, 15b.