In Buenos Aires 32 small statues stood upon a polished piece of wood. Sixteen of them were white; behind these sat a middle-aged Cuban, Jose Raul Capablanca, chess champion of the world. Behind the other 16, which were black, sat Alexander Alekhine, a Russian nobleman, who, for a prize of $10,000 offered by the Argentines, wished to beat the champion. A crowd surrounded the two men. The voices in the crowd became a whisper, then a silence.
As if to an inaudible and exciting music, the bright statues...
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