Capablanca, José Raúl

Jose Raul Capablanca, the third World Champion (1921-1927), was a Cuban prodigy who reportedly learned chess at age four simply by watching his father play. Nicknamed the "Human Chess Machine" for his seemingly effortless and flawless technique, he went undefeated in tournament play from 1916 to 1924 and won the title without losing a single game in his match against Lasker. His elegant positional style and peerless endgame mastery influenced future champions Bobby Fischer and Anatoly Karpov.