Alexander Alekhine - The Russian Sphinx

Volume I (1892-1921)

Sergey Voronkov, Alexei Zakharov

$149.95 $119.66

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Elk and Ruby
12 February 2025

European history; 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000; Chess

Summary
Details

Award-winning historian Sergey Voronkov has written a four-volume psychological biography of Alexander Alekhine, presenting the former world chess champion in a much more complicated, conflicted and tragic light than you have ever seen him before! This first volume traces his early development through to his departure from Soviet Russia in 1921, while also attempting to untangle the knot of his complex relationships with all his five wives.

Unpublished or long forgotten memoirs, as well as original newspaper and magazine articles from around the world, are drawn together in forensic research to paint the most extensive picture of Alekhine ever created. Key events in his life are reconsidered, including his release from internment in Germany during World War 1, his escape from execution in Odessa, his service under the Bolsheviks as a detective, his trip to the Urals as a Comintern translator, as well as just how he emigrated.

His character development is considered beginning with a detailed examination of his childhood, based on memoirs of his classmates. Voronkov then considers Alekhine's transition from shy boy to dandy (and even the role played in that by his erstwhile friend José Capablanca), as well as how our protagonist gained the mental toughness of a world champion, and his chess philosophy. Some details make you admire him, others make you pity him, still others cast him in an unfavorable light...

Chess-wise, Voronkov presents over 50 games and fragments with original commentary by Alekhine and his opponents, most of which has not been published in books before. These include eleven completely unknown Alekhine games as well as ten game scores of other players with light commentary by Alekhine from the first Soviet Championship in 1920, found in Alexander Kotov's archive.

In many cases, Alekhine's earliest annotations are compared with his later ones to the same games, often leading to surprising conclusions. In particular, Voronkov highlights brilliant variations shown in Alekhine's analysis that were supposedly found during play but which were actually discovered by the champion only years later when he republished his games. This led to Alekhine radically changing his assessments of positions in his writings as the years passed. We also see how Kotov had a habit of taking Alekhine's commentary and presenting it as his own.

This book is illustrated by over 170 photos and other visuals, many published for the first time.

By: Sergey Voronkov
Contributions by: Alexei Zakharov
Imprint: Elk and Ruby
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 835g
ISBN: 9785604560792
ISBN 10: 5604560790
Pages: 472
Publication Date: 12 February 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active