Max (Machgielis) Euwe (1901 - 1981)
Max Euwe was born March the 20th 1901 nearby Amsterdam. He finished his studies in mathematics and physics with a doctorate. From 1926 on he worked as mathematics professor in Rotterdam and Winterswyk. During World War II, he worked for a short time as leader of a grocery store. After the war Euwe was interested in electronic data processing. He became director of a research institute for electro- and computer technology. In 1964, he took a chair in an automatic information process in Rotterdam and Tilburg. He died in Amsterdam on November 26, 1981.
Euwe
learned chess when he was 5 years old. Even as a student, he met with success:
he became Dutch master in 1921 and he won several small tournaments. In 1928,
he won the amateur world master title. And then the big sensation: he won
over the Russian Aljechin with 9:8 points with
13 draws and so he became the new world master. But he could not defend the
title for a long time: in 1937 Aljechin won the title back. The match ended
with 4:10 points for Aljechin with 11 draws. After the death of Aljechin,
a tournament was hold to establish the successor of Aljechin. Botwinnik,
Keres, Reshevsky, Smyslov and Euwe participated.
The tournament was won by Botvinnik; Euwe received last place. In 1960, Euwe
retired from active chess. From1970 through 1978, Euwe was the president of
the FIDE. He was also a great author; he wrote the books: Instructions to
learn chess, Theory of chess openings and The endgame.