In "The Duel", Alessandro Bossi and Claudio Brovelli go deep into the lives of
these two legendary World Champions, who have left their mark in an unforgettable manner on their epoch (the first forty years of the 20th century) and who
remain - in part, due to their very different personalities and relationship with
the game - inimitable examples for all the chess-playing generations to come.
The choice to present in parallel the two biographies (in my opinion quite rightly
so), shows clearly and effectively similarities and differences, not only in the style
of play, but also in the approaches to life of the two protagonists.
With very precise historical descriptions and presenting the events in chronological order, the authors accompany us on a journey alongside the lives of these
two legends of chess. In this fashion the personalities emerge, in many ways antithetical but equally fascinating: Capablanca, friendly and charming in society,
precocious, genial and nearly invincible on the chessboard, and Alekhine, who
combined a wonderful talent with a capacity for work, a competitive attitude and
an energy which was truly enviable.
