Alberto López Arce


Alberto López Arce was a Cuban chess player.

Biography

Alberto López Arce was one of Cuba's leading chess players in the late 1930s. He played for Cuba in the 8th Chess Olympiad in Buenos Aires. On the 2nd board, Alberto López Arce played 15 games, of which he won one and tied another three. Alberto López Arce was best known for participating in a resonant incident that occurred in the match France - Cuba, which was played in the 11th round. The leader of the Cuban national team José Raúl Capablanca, who claimed first place in the team leaders' tournament, declined to meet his historical opponent Alexander Alekhine. Against the current world champion on the 1st board played López Arce. Alekhine was furious and forced the enemy to surrender already on the 25th move. As a result, Capablanca managed to get ahead of Alekhine due to the best result shown in the final tournament. A similar “maneuver” was carried out by the Cubans even earlier: in the 6th round of the finals in the match with Estonia, when Capablanca avoided meeting with Paul Keres, although in a group tournament he drew with him.