José Raúl Capablanca was a Cuban Grandmaster and the third undisputed World Champion. Born in 1888. When he was 13 he beat the reigning Cuban Champion Juan Corzo narrowly in match play (4–3, 6 draws). He was accepted into Columbia University and moved to New York City. He joined the Manhattan Chess Club and was soon recognized as their strongest player.
He rose in the ranks, defeating Marshall in match play and convincingly winning the San Sebastian Tournament of 1911, one of the strongest tournaments up to that point.
He was in negations with Lasker for a World Championship match, but World War one broke out and put a halt on international chess for more than 5 years.
Finally Lasker resgined his title to Capablanca, to play their 1921 World Championship as the challenger. Capablanca won 9-5 and became the thrid World Champion.
He later lost his title to Alexander Alekhine and died in 1942.
Capablanca was known for his simple play and had tremendous strength, especially in the endgame.
Charles Jaffe was a Belarusian-American quasi Grandmaster (there where no official Grandmaster titles at the time of his peak around 1910) born in 1879. He became a professional chess player in 1910. He played several matches against the top players of his day, including Marshall, Capablanca and Alekhine.
In this game Capablanca launches a strong kingside attack in the middle game, punishing questionable ideas of White. The game instructively shows sound positional play.
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