A.V.R.O. 1938

Preface

In 1938, a major controversy existed in the international chess world, Alexander Alekhine had recently regained the positions of World Champion by convincingly defeating Max Euwe in a rematch for the title. The question remained as to which grandmaster should have the privilege of challenging Alekhine for the next title match. Various players citing excellent results in recent tournaments made claim to be the next challenger. But who was the second best player in the world?

In order to help settle this dispute a Dutch radio company, Allgemeene Vereenigung Radio-Omroep (A.V.R.O.), organized a tournament exclusively of the eight strongest players in the world at the time, with the belief that the winner of the tournament, if not Alekhine himself, would earn the right to the next World Championship match.

This book descibes in detail that tournament, the circumstances leading up to it, the players and their games, as well as the results.