Chess Generations: From Alekhine’s Era to the AlphaZero Rise

On the morning of March 25, 1946, Alexander Alekhine, then the world chess champion, was found dead under unusual circumstances in a modest hotel in Estoril. Alekhine was ill, financially strained, and estranged from the chess community for his connections to Nazi ideas and for acting as a Francoist intermediary during his residence in France. Spain. The Russian grandmaster kept his title for years, leveraging the privilege of shaping match terms. Yet his sudden death left the door open for new leadership in world championship organization, and by 1950 the Candidates Tournament emerged, marking its first edition with notable success in Budapest.