The AVRO tournament was a highly prestigious international chess competition held in the Netherlands from November 6 to 27, 1938, bringing together the world's eight strongest players. Paul Keres and Reuben Fine tied for first place, with Keres ultimately declared the winner on tiebreak, and the event was intended to find a challenger for then-World Champion Alexander Alekhine. However, the impending outbreak of World War II dashed any hopes of an immediate championship match.

Despite this, the tournament proved highly influential, as six of its surviving participants were invited to compete in the 1948 World Championship following Alekhine's death. Notably, chess legend José Raúl Capablanca experienced a significant decline in his performance during the second half of the tournament, later attributing it to severe high blood pressure and circulatory disorders, which contributed to his passing a few years later.