Euwe, Max

Max Euwe, byname of Machgielis Euwe, (born May 20, 1901, Watergrafsmeer, near Amsterdam, Neth.—died November 26, 1981, Amsterdam), Dutch chess master who won the world championship (1935) from Alexander Alekhine and lost it to Alekhine in a return match (1937).

Euwe won his first (minor) tournament at the age of 10 but played little thereafter until he had completed his formal education in 1926 at the University of Amsterdam, where he became a professor of mathematics. Known for his vast knowledge of chess opening theory, numerous books and articles on chess, and steady rather than spectacular play, he continued in individual competition at the highest level until 1956 and as first board player on the Netherlands’ national team at Chess Olympiads thereafter. (Playing first board meant that each round he would play the best player on opposing teams.) In 1959 he became director of the Netherlands Automatic Data Processing Research Centre. From 1961 to 1963 he chaired the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) committee studying the feasibility of programming chess for computers. He was president of the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE; the international chess federation) from 1970 through 1978.