Alekhine photos
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
I came upon some great photos and video/audio of the legendary Alexander Alekhine. Enjoy! I have added some commentary and chess tidbits along the way. The recordings are towards the end of the article.

Alexander Ivanovich Alekhine (1856-1917) was a Marshal of the Nobility in the Voronezhsky region. He was a wealthy landowner and also a member of the Duma. He liked to gamble in Monaco, where he is reputed to have lost 15 million rubles in one evening! Alexander was killed by the Bolesheviks, and the entire family fortune confiscated. Anisia Ivanovna Alekhina (1861-1915), his mother, introduced Alexander Alekhine to chess when he was 7. She was from the rich family of manufacturers, the Prokhorovs.

1900 Alekhine-Prokhorov Family: Right-mother Anisya Ivanovna (Prokhorova); Center grandmother Anna Alexandrovna with grandchildren: Alexander (right), Alexey and Barbara. It was Alekhine’s mother who taught him the moves as a child.

The Family Alekhine in 1901. At table right-Alexander, left his elder brother Alexei. Rear is Alexander Ivanovich (father). Sitting in front of him is daughter Barbara, wife Anisya Ivanovna and German Governess Maria Fedorovna Kessler.

Source: Russian edition of the St Petersburg, 1909 tournament book. The position on the board is from Alekhine-Gregory at the 23rd move. The vase was a gift from the Czar himself and was the only possession that Alekhine could take with him when he finally decided to leave Russia for good in 1921.
Fate could be very brutal in those years immediately following the Russian Revolution. In 1918 Alekhine was a criminal investigator in Moscow, but in 1919 he was imprisoned in the death cell at Odessa, suspected of being a spy! In 1920 Alekhine was back in Moscow intending to be a movie actor, where he also served as interpreter to the Communist party and was appointed secretary to the Education Department. Fed up, Alekhine hastily married a foreign Communist delegate and left Russia for good.
1912 Stockholm The law students wore coats with rows of buttons down the front. Handsome and wealthy, Alekhine was a typical member of the ruling elite of Russia (an aristrocrat).
1912
Source : La Stratégie, october 1913

Mannheim 1914

1916 (?) Red Cross

1920 Romanovsky-Alekhine (this time they drew in 9 friendly moves!) They seem to impatiently wait for the photographer to finish his business so that they could slip out !

Carlsbad 1923 The game is given immediately below. Strange, the photo seems to have Alekhine playing white…but I suppose that is just the lighting
Bogoljubow E. – Alekhine A.
1923.
1. e4 Cf6 2. Cc3 d5 3. e5 Cfd7 4. d4 c5 5. Fb5 Cc6 6. Cf3 a6 7. Fxc6 bxc6 8. e6! fxe6 9. O-O e5! 10. dxe5 e6 11. Cg5! De7 12. f4 g6 13. Dg4?! Cb6 14. b3 c4 15. Fe3 c5 16. Ff2 h6 17. Cf3? Df7! 18. Ch4 Tg8 19. a4 cxb3 20. cxb3 Fb7 21. a5 Cd7 22. Fg3 d4 23. Ca4 Fd5! 24. Tab1 Tb8 25. Dd1 Tb5 26. Fe1 De7 27. Dd3 g5! 28. Cg6 Df7 29. Cxf8 gxf4 30. Fg3! Dxf8 31. Txf4 Dg7 32. b4! Dg6 33. Dd1?! Tf8 34. Tg4 Df5 35. Tb2 Txb4 36. Txb4 cxb4 37. Cb2 Fb3! 38. De2 Db1 39. Fe1 Tf5! 40. Te4 Fd5 41. g4 d3! 42. Dd2 Cxe5! 43. Txe5 Txe5 44. Cxd3 Te4 45. Rf2 Td4 46. Re3 Te4 47. Rf2 Td4 48. Re3 Txg4 49. Fg3 Dg1 50. Df2 Te4 51. Rd2 Da1 52. Ce5 Txe5 [0:1]
1923 Carlsbad
1927 Paris café . Paris became his home after leaving Russia for good

1927 Buenos Aires, pre-match photo. It was this match that really put chess on the map, and marked a turning point in the history of the game. A russian had won the world title for the first time!

Alekhine and wife in Paris 1928. The expatriated Russians celebrate his World Championship. It was here that Alekhine , only too happy to play to an admiring and grateful audience, spoke of a doomed future for the Bolsheviks. It would haunt him the rest of the days of his life and earn him the hatred of the Kremlin.
simul
1929 Karlsbad – Alekhine did not play, but was a journalist for the New York Times covering the tournament
18 August 1930 Simul in Liège, Belgium.In front of him is Louis Malpas, chairman of the Liège Club
1932 California . Reuben Fine wrote ”Alekhine was the sadist of the chess world. When I first met him in 1932, I began to understand the secret of his genius. He was showing a game with Euwe played at Berne a few months earlier, and his eyes and bearing had a strange intensity, which I had never seen before. The man loved chess; it was the breath of life in him…” Ofcourse, Fine never liked the person Alekhine was.
Alekhine´s annotations to his games with H. Carlson and A. Mellgren in the Örebro tournament in April 1935. They appeared in Tidskrift för Schack 1935 No.4. They are written on the stationery of the Carlton Hotel in Stockholm where Alekhine stayed after the tournament.

Playing fifty games of chess simultaneously. Bogoljubow and Alekhinehin win forty games, lose two and draw eight at Monaco. Date: 1934
Alekhine narrowly lost his world title in 1935 against the Dutchman Max Euwe, but won it back in 1937

Margate 1938
1938 AVRO. The first round. Alekhine v Reshevsky(absent); Botvinnik v Fine(absent), Sunday 6 November. Right before the first round, both Alekhine and Botvinnik agreed in principle to play a match for the World Title, regardless of the result of the tournament. This upset all of the other contestants.
Alekhine A. – Reshevsky S. 1938.
1. d4 Cf6 2. c4 e6 3. Cc3 Fb4 4. g3 c5 5. d5 Ce4 6. Fd2 Fxc3 7. Fxc3 Cxc3 8. bxc3 exd5 9. cxd5 d6 10. Cf3 O-O 11. Fg2² Cd7 12. O-O Cf6 13. Cd2 Te8 14. e4 b5 15. Te1 Tb8 16. a3 Tb7 17. c4 a6 18. Ff1 Fd7 19. f3 Dc7 20. Dc2 Te7 21. Cb3 a5 22. cxb5 Fxb5 23. Dc3 Fxf1 24. Txf1 Tb5 25. Tab1 Db8 26. Cd2 Teb7 27. Txb5 Txb5 28. Cc4 a4 29. e5 dxe5 30. d6 Tb1 31. Dxe5 Txf1 32. Rxf1 Db3 33. De2 h6 34. Rg2 Dc3 35. Ce3 g6 36. Cg4 Rg7 37. Cxf6 Dxf6 38. Dd1? (d7! wins immediately) …Dd8 39. d7 c4 40. Dxa4 c3 41. Dc6 c2 42. Dc3 Rh7 43. Dxc2 Dxd7 44. Da2 Rg8 45. a4 Dc6 46. a5 Da6 47. g4 g5 48. Rf2 Dd6 49. Rf1 Da6 50. Rg2 Rg7 51. Db2 Rg8 52. Db8 Rg7 53. De5 Rg8 54. Rf2 Da7 55. Re2 Da6 56. Rd2 Dc4 57. Df5 Dd4 58. Re2 Db2 59. Rd3 Db3 60. Re2 Db2 [½:½]
Fine R. – Botvinnik M.
1938.
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Cc3 Fb4 4. e5 c5 5. dxc5 Ce7 6. Cf3 Cbc6 7. Fd3 d4 8. a3 Fa5 9. b4 Cxb4 10. axb4 Fxb4 11. Fb5 Cc6? 12. Fxc6 bxc6 13. Ta4!± Fxc3 14. Fd2 f6? 15. O-O O-O 16. Fxc3 dxc3 17. De1 a5 18. Dxc3 Fa6 19. Tfa1 Fb5 20. Td4! De7 21. Td6 a4 22. De3 Ta7 23. Cd2 a3 24. c4 Fa4 25. exf6 Dxf6 26. Txa3 Te8 27. h3 Taa8 28. Cf3 Db2 29. Ce5 Db1 30. Rh2 Df5 31. Dg3 [1:0]

1944 Gijon with Arturo Pomar (Alekhine could only make a draw with the 13 year old prodigy) During the war, Alekhine played excellent chess until he arrived in Spain (1943). Of the 7 Nazi-organized tournaments he played in, Alekhine won 3 outright, tied for first in another 3 , and in the other finished in a tie for 2nd. He certainly was still a worthy champion! But that changed once in Spain; he drank even more, and his health deteriorated. A spanish doctor (who was also a chessplayer) told Alekhine that even if he stopped drinking he would not likely live more than a few more years! Alekhine replied that in that case it seemed pointless to stop drinking…
Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris . Alekhine was re-buried here 10 years after his death, on March 25th 1956, at the request of his wife. Present was the FIDE President Rogard, as well as a strong contingent from the USSR, including Smyslov, Keres, Bronstein, Geller, and Petrosian . Botvinnik was absent. Not one word of the ceremony was printed in the French media. This was taken as a sign that Alexander Alekhine had still not been forgiven for being a nazi collaborator during the Second World War.
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I came upon some great photos and video/audio of the legendary Alexander Alekhine. Enjoy! I have added some commentary and chess tidbits along the way. The recordings are towards the end of the article.

Alexander Ivanovich Alekhine (1856-1917) was a Marshal of the Nobility in the Voronezhsky region. He was a wealthy landowner and also a member of the Duma. He liked to gamble in Monaco, where he is reputed to have lost 15 million rubles in one evening! Alexander was killed by the Bolesheviks, and the entire family fortune confiscated. Anisia Ivanovna Alekhina (1861-1915), his mother, introduced Alexander Alekhine to chess when he was 7. She was from the rich family of manufacturers, the Prokhorovs.

1900 Alekhine-Prokhorov Family: Right-mother Anisya Ivanovna (Prokhorova); Center grandmother Anna Alexandrovna with grandchildren: Alexander (right), Alexey and Barbara. It was Alekhine’s mother who taught him the moves as a child.

The Family Alekhine in 1901. At table right-Alexander, left his elder brother Alexei. Rear is Alexander Ivanovich (father). Sitting in front of him is daughter Barbara, wife Anisya Ivanovna and German Governess Maria Fedorovna Kessler.
Alexei Alekhine (1888-1939), Alekhine’s brother, was a very strong chess amateur, he was a champion of Kharkov (big Ukraine town), and did a lot for the chess movement in Russia (as chess journalist, writer and organizer). Alexei later publically denounced his brother for his anti-soviet statements. Varvara Alekhina (1889-1944), Alekhine’s sister, was a Russian film actress.
Alekhine A. – Romanovsky P. A.
St. Petersburg 1909.
1. e4 e5 2. Cc3 Cf6 3. Fc4 Fc5 4. d3 h6 5. f4 d6 6. f5 Cc6 7. a3 Cd4 8. Ca4 b5 9. Cxc5 bxc4 10. Ca4 Dd7 11. Cc3 Fb7 12. Cf3 Cb5 13. O-O Cxc3 14. bxc3 Dc6 15. De1 Fa6 16. Dg3 Tg8 17. d4 Cxe4 18. Dh4 Fb7 19. Te1 g5 20. fxg6 Txg6 21. dxe5 dxe5 22. Te2 Rf8 23. Fxh6 Txh6 24. De1 Td8 25. Tb1 Fa8 26. Rh1 Dd5 27. a4 f6 28. a5 Rf7 29. a6 Tg8 30. Te3 Cg5 31. Df1 Cxf3 32. Txf3 Dd2 33. Dxc4 Fd5 34. Dxc7 Re6 35. Tb6 axb6 36. Dxb6 Rf7 37. Dc7 Rf8 38. Dd8 Rg7 39. Tg3 Tg6 40. Dd7 Rh8 41. Th3 Th6 [0:1]
St. Petersburg 1909.
1. e4 e5 2. Cc3 Cf6 3. Fc4 Fc5 4. d3 h6 5. f4 d6 6. f5 Cc6 7. a3 Cd4 8. Ca4 b5 9. Cxc5 bxc4 10. Ca4 Dd7 11. Cc3 Fb7 12. Cf3 Cb5 13. O-O Cxc3 14. bxc3 Dc6 15. De1 Fa6 16. Dg3 Tg8 17. d4 Cxe4 18. Dh4 Fb7 19. Te1 g5 20. fxg6 Txg6 21. dxe5 dxe5 22. Te2 Rf8 23. Fxh6 Txh6 24. De1 Td8 25. Tb1 Fa8 26. Rh1 Dd5 27. a4 f6 28. a5 Rf7 29. a6 Tg8 30. Te3 Cg5 31. Df1 Cxf3 32. Txf3 Dd2 33. Dxc4 Fd5 34. Dxc7 Re6 35. Tb6 axb6 36. Dxb6 Rf7 37. Dc7 Rf8 38. Dd8 Rg7 39. Tg3 Tg6 40. Dd7 Rh8 41. Th3 Th6 [0:1]

Source: Russian edition of the St Petersburg, 1909 tournament book. The position on the board is from Alekhine-Gregory at the 23rd move. The vase was a gift from the Czar himself and was the only possession that Alekhine could take with him when he finally decided to leave Russia for good in 1921.
Fate could be very brutal in those years immediately following the Russian Revolution. In 1918 Alekhine was a criminal investigator in Moscow, but in 1919 he was imprisoned in the death cell at Odessa, suspected of being a spy! In 1920 Alekhine was back in Moscow intending to be a movie actor, where he also served as interpreter to the Communist party and was appointed secretary to the Education Department. Fed up, Alekhine hastily married a foreign Communist delegate and left Russia for good.




Mannheim 1914

1916 (?) Red Cross

1920 Romanovsky-Alekhine (this time they drew in 9 friendly moves!) They seem to impatiently wait for the photographer to finish his business so that they could slip out !

Carlsbad 1923 The game is given immediately below. Strange, the photo seems to have Alekhine playing white…but I suppose that is just the lighting
Bogoljubow E. – Alekhine A.
1923.
1. e4 Cf6 2. Cc3 d5 3. e5 Cfd7 4. d4 c5 5. Fb5 Cc6 6. Cf3 a6 7. Fxc6 bxc6 8. e6! fxe6 9. O-O e5! 10. dxe5 e6 11. Cg5! De7 12. f4 g6 13. Dg4?! Cb6 14. b3 c4 15. Fe3 c5 16. Ff2 h6 17. Cf3? Df7! 18. Ch4 Tg8 19. a4 cxb3 20. cxb3 Fb7 21. a5 Cd7 22. Fg3 d4 23. Ca4 Fd5! 24. Tab1 Tb8 25. Dd1 Tb5 26. Fe1 De7 27. Dd3 g5! 28. Cg6 Df7 29. Cxf8 gxf4 30. Fg3! Dxf8 31. Txf4 Dg7 32. b4! Dg6 33. Dd1?! Tf8 34. Tg4 Df5 35. Tb2 Txb4 36. Txb4 cxb4 37. Cb2 Fb3! 38. De2 Db1 39. Fe1 Tf5! 40. Te4 Fd5 41. g4 d3! 42. Dd2 Cxe5! 43. Txe5 Txe5 44. Cxd3 Te4 45. Rf2 Td4 46. Re3 Te4 47. Rf2 Td4 48. Re3 Txg4 49. Fg3 Dg1 50. Df2 Te4 51. Rd2 Da1 52. Ce5 Txe5 [0:1]



1927 Buenos Aires, pre-match photo. It was this match that really put chess on the map, and marked a turning point in the history of the game. A russian had won the world title for the first time!

Alekhine and wife in Paris 1928. The expatriated Russians celebrate his World Championship. It was here that Alekhine , only too happy to play to an admiring and grateful audience, spoke of a doomed future for the Bolsheviks. It would haunt him the rest of the days of his life and earn him the hatred of the Kremlin.





Playing fifty games of chess simultaneously. Bogoljubow and Alekhinehin win forty games, lose two and draw eight at Monaco. Date: 1934




Alekhine A. – Reshevsky S. 1938.
1. d4 Cf6 2. c4 e6 3. Cc3 Fb4 4. g3 c5 5. d5 Ce4 6. Fd2 Fxc3 7. Fxc3 Cxc3 8. bxc3 exd5 9. cxd5 d6 10. Cf3 O-O 11. Fg2² Cd7 12. O-O Cf6 13. Cd2 Te8 14. e4 b5 15. Te1 Tb8 16. a3 Tb7 17. c4 a6 18. Ff1 Fd7 19. f3 Dc7 20. Dc2 Te7 21. Cb3 a5 22. cxb5 Fxb5 23. Dc3 Fxf1 24. Txf1 Tb5 25. Tab1 Db8 26. Cd2 Teb7 27. Txb5 Txb5 28. Cc4 a4 29. e5 dxe5 30. d6 Tb1 31. Dxe5 Txf1 32. Rxf1 Db3 33. De2 h6 34. Rg2 Dc3 35. Ce3 g6 36. Cg4 Rg7 37. Cxf6 Dxf6 38. Dd1? (d7! wins immediately) …Dd8 39. d7 c4 40. Dxa4 c3 41. Dc6 c2 42. Dc3 Rh7 43. Dxc2 Dxd7 44. Da2 Rg8 45. a4 Dc6 46. a5 Da6 47. g4 g5 48. Rf2 Dd6 49. Rf1 Da6 50. Rg2 Rg7 51. Db2 Rg8 52. Db8 Rg7 53. De5 Rg8 54. Rf2 Da7 55. Re2 Da6 56. Rd2 Dc4 57. Df5 Dd4 58. Re2 Db2 59. Rd3 Db3 60. Re2 Db2 [½:½]
Fine R. – Botvinnik M.
1938.
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Cc3 Fb4 4. e5 c5 5. dxc5 Ce7 6. Cf3 Cbc6 7. Fd3 d4 8. a3 Fa5 9. b4 Cxb4 10. axb4 Fxb4 11. Fb5 Cc6? 12. Fxc6 bxc6 13. Ta4!± Fxc3 14. Fd2 f6? 15. O-O O-O 16. Fxc3 dxc3 17. De1 a5 18. Dxc3 Fa6 19. Tfa1 Fb5 20. Td4! De7 21. Td6 a4 22. De3 Ta7 23. Cd2 a3 24. c4 Fa4 25. exf6 Dxf6 26. Txa3 Te8 27. h3 Taa8 28. Cf3 Db2 29. Ce5 Db1 30. Rh2 Df5 31. Dg3 [1:0]

1944 Gijon with Arturo Pomar (Alekhine could only make a draw with the 13 year old prodigy) During the war, Alekhine played excellent chess until he arrived in Spain (1943). Of the 7 Nazi-organized tournaments he played in, Alekhine won 3 outright, tied for first in another 3 , and in the other finished in a tie for 2nd. He certainly was still a worthy champion! But that changed once in Spain; he drank even more, and his health deteriorated. A spanish doctor (who was also a chessplayer) told Alekhine that even if he stopped drinking he would not likely live more than a few more years! Alekhine replied that in that case it seemed pointless to stop drinking…
Alekhine A. – Pomar S.
½:½, 1944.
1. e4 e5 2. Cf3 Cc6 3. Fb5 a6 4. Fa4 Cf6 5. O-O d6 6. c3 Fg4 7. d4 b5 8. Fb3 Fe7 9. Fe3 O-O 10. Cbd2 Te8 11. h3 Fh5 12. d5 Ca5 13. Fc2 Tc8 14. a4 c5 15. axb5 axb5 16. g4 Fg6 17. Ch4 Cd7 18. Cf5 Fxf5 19. gxf5 Fg5 20. De2 c4 21. Rh1 Ta8 22. Tg1 Fxe3 23. Dxe3 Df6 24. Tg4 Rh8 25. Tag1 Tg8 26. Cf3 Cb7 27. Th4 Ta6 28. Dg5 Cd8 29. Dh5 Cf8 30. Ch2 g6 31. Dh6 Dg7 32. Cg4 f6 33. fxg6 Dxg6 34. De3 Dg5 35. Th6 Dxe3 36. fxe3 Cd7 37. Tf1 Ta2 38. Cxf6 Cxf6 39. Thxf6 Txb2 40. Fd1 Tgg2 41. Ff3 Tg3 42. Fg4 Tgg2 43. Ta1 Th2 44. Rg1 Thg2 45. Rf1 Th2 46. Re1 b4 47. cxb4 c3 48. Tc1 h5 49. Fd1 Rg7 50. Tf1 c2 51. Fe2 Cf7 52. Rd2 Txb4 53. Txc2 Cg5 54. Tc7 Rg6 55. Rc3 Ta4 56. Fb5 Cxe4 57. Rb3 Taa2 58. Tg1 Rh6 59. Tb1 Tad2 60. Fd7 Txd5 61. Rc4 Tc2 62. Rxd5 Txc7 63. Rxe4 Txd7 64. h4 d5 65. Rxe5 Te7 66. Rf5 Txe3 67. Tb6 Rh7 68. Td6 Te4 69. Td7 Rh6 70. Td6 Rh7 71. Td7 Rh6 [½:½]
½:½, 1944.
1. e4 e5 2. Cf3 Cc6 3. Fb5 a6 4. Fa4 Cf6 5. O-O d6 6. c3 Fg4 7. d4 b5 8. Fb3 Fe7 9. Fe3 O-O 10. Cbd2 Te8 11. h3 Fh5 12. d5 Ca5 13. Fc2 Tc8 14. a4 c5 15. axb5 axb5 16. g4 Fg6 17. Ch4 Cd7 18. Cf5 Fxf5 19. gxf5 Fg5 20. De2 c4 21. Rh1 Ta8 22. Tg1 Fxe3 23. Dxe3 Df6 24. Tg4 Rh8 25. Tag1 Tg8 26. Cf3 Cb7 27. Th4 Ta6 28. Dg5 Cd8 29. Dh5 Cf8 30. Ch2 g6 31. Dh6 Dg7 32. Cg4 f6 33. fxg6 Dxg6 34. De3 Dg5 35. Th6 Dxe3 36. fxe3 Cd7 37. Tf1 Ta2 38. Cxf6 Cxf6 39. Thxf6 Txb2 40. Fd1 Tgg2 41. Ff3 Tg3 42. Fg4 Tgg2 43. Ta1 Th2 44. Rg1 Thg2 45. Rf1 Th2 46. Re1 b4 47. cxb4 c3 48. Tc1 h5 49. Fd1 Rg7 50. Tf1 c2 51. Fe2 Cf7 52. Rd2 Txb4 53. Txc2 Cg5 54. Tc7 Rg6 55. Rc3 Ta4 56. Fb5 Cxe4 57. Rb3 Taa2 58. Tg1 Rh6 59. Tb1 Tad2 60. Fd7 Txd5 61. Rc4 Tc2 62. Rxd5 Txc7 63. Rxe4 Txd7 64. h4 d5 65. Rxe5 Te7 66. Rf5 Txe3 67. Tb6 Rh7 68. Td6 Te4 69. Td7 Rh6 70. Td6 Rh7 71. Td7 Rh6 [½:½]

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Here is some great material (video/audio) of World Champion Alexander Alekhine:
(1938 BBC recording with photos, above)

(1931 Bled Super-Tournament, above, was at the peak of Alekhine’s career)
(1932 Paris simultaneous, above)