Alexander Alekhine

In 1920, he got married to Alexandra Batayeva whom he divorced the next year. He married his second wife, a Swiss journalist, Anneliese Ruegg, on March 15, 1921 but left her in the month of June itself.

In 1927, he got married for the third time to Nadiezda Vasiliev, the widow of a top-ranking Russian officer. In 1934, Grace Freeman became his fourth and last wife.

He had a son namely Alexander Alekhine Junior. He was found dead in his hotel room in Estoril, Portugal. The cause of his death is still a matter of debate. “Chess Life” magazine mentioned about an autopsy report according to which a piece of unthawed meat blocked his windpipe and that resulted into his death.

Son of Alexander Ivanovich Alekhine, a wealthy landowner in Moscow, Russia, Alexander Alexanderovich Alekhine began to play chess from early childhood, under the guidance of his mother Anisya Alekhina.

He began his chess career by participating in a correspondence chess tournament on December 3, 1902. From 1902 to 1911, he took part in several correspondence tournaments which were sponsored by “Chess Review”, a chess magazine.

In 1907, he played for Moscow chess club’s Spring Tournament which was his first over-the-board tournament. In the following year, he became the winner of the club’s Spring Tournament.

After winning the All-Russian Amateur Tournament in Saint Petersburg in 1909, he started participating in several strong tournaments for which he went outside of Russia. Thus, he gained reputation of being one of Russia’s top chess players by the age of sixteen.

In 1911, he participanted in the friendly team match of St. Petersburg Chess Club vs. Moscow Chess Club. At the end of the year, he shifted to St. Petersburg and attended the Imperial Law School for Nobles.

In 1912, he won several matches like the St. Petersburg Chess Club Winter tournament and the 1st Category Tournament of the St. Petersburg Chess Club. Besides these, he played a friendly team match of Moscow vs. St. Petersburg.

This renowned chess player was imprisoned in the death cell of Odessa, Ukraine in 1919, for his alleged link with White counter intelligence. Owing to rumors, people assumed that the Bolsheviks had killed this talented man.