J R Capablanca Letter to Mario Figueredo by Capablanca y Graupera, José Raúl (1888-1942) signed - 1939

Letter hand written signed by the World Chess Champion Jose Capablanca

One page hand written letter (11" x 8 3/4") on ruled paper to Mario Figuerdo dated February 14, 1939. Signed by Capablanca in his bold hand at the bottom of the letter.

In the letter Capablanca discussed Alekhine and responds to many discussions which were written to him by Figueredo in an early letter. A postscript asking Esteban Valderrama that he is expecting hs photograph.

Esteban Valderrama y Pena (1892 – 1964) had a major role in Cuba's art history and is considered the greatest portrait artist that Cuba ever had. He received a Doctorate degree in fine arts and in education. He became a professor in Academias Nacional de Bellas Artes de San Alejandro, La Habana, Cuba and eventually became its director for many years. He designed the Cuban 1 Peso coin for the country in 1953 during the Centenario de Jose Marti. Almost every major Cuban artist was educated or inspired by Valderrama at some point in their life, including the Vanguard era painters. On November 1, 1951 seven stamps were issued in Cuba as part of the 30th anniversary of Jose Capablanca winning the world chess championship from Emanuel Lasker in 1921. This was the first portrayal of a chess player (Capablanca) on a stamp. Two stamps of Capablanca are based on a portrait by the Cuban artist E. Valderrama.

José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera (19 November 1888 – 8 March 1942) was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. Considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play. He was exceptionally difficult to beat, losing only 35 first class games in his entire career. Born in Havana, he beat Cuban champion Juan Corzo in a match at the age of 13 years. His defeat of Frank Marshall in a match in 1909 earned him an invitation to the 1911 San Sebastian tournament, which he won ahead of players such as Akiba Rubinstein, Aron Nimzowitsch and Siegbert Tarrasch. After several unsuccessful attempts to arrange a match with the then world champion Emanuel Lasker, during which he had a strong series of tournament results, he finally won the title from Lasker in 1921. Capablanca was undefeated from February 10, 1916 to March 21, 1924, which included the world championship match with Lasker. Capablanca lost the title in 1927 to Alexander Alekhine, who had never beaten Capablanca before the match. After unsuccessful attempts to arrange a return match over many years, relations between them became bitter. Capablanca continued his excellent tournament results in this period but withdrew from serious chess in 1931. He made a comeback in 1934, with some good results, but also showed symptoms of high blood pressure. He died in 1942 of "a cerebral hemorrhage provoked by hypertension".

Condition:

.Age darkened to right edge, some tears and chips from the left edge, appears to be torn from a complication of manuscripts which is possibly from the Rosendo Romero/Mario Figueredo collection used my Miguel Sanchez in his book José Raúl Capablanca: A Chess Biography. Signed in Capablanca's bold hand else a very good copy.