{"product_id":"alekhines-odessa-secrets-chess-war-and-revolution-paperback","title":"Alekhine's Odessa Secrets: Chess, War and Revolution - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eSergei Tkachenko\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eBoris Gelfand\u003c\/b\u003e (Foreword by), \u003cb\u003eSergei Voronkov\u003c\/b\u003e (Contribution by)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e*** SHORT-LISTED FOR THE ENGLISH CHESS FEDERATION BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2018 *** \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSergei Tkachenko has written a fascinating account of Alexander Alekhine's time spent in Odessa during World War I, the Russian Revolution and Civil War, as well as of the impact of Odessa on his later life. Sergei, an Odessa native and ex-world chess composition champion, has carried out original research drawing from Odessa, Voronezh, Cheka and KGB archives among others, as well as local newspapers from the time. His research, together with a review of Russian-language secondary materials, has dug up lots of new information and analysis on Alekhine, including on his trips to Odessa and their reasons, his service during World War I, his interrogations by the Cheka and his ties to the White Movement. Sergei portrays Alekhine's Odessa relatives and the Odessite chess masters against whom he played a number of friendly and simultaneous games during his three trips to the Ukrainian city. \u003cbr\u003e Sergei provides a detailed description of chess in Odessa from the beginning of the nineteenth century and through the upheavals of the early twentieth century, including the city's leading chess organizers, the main and university chess clubs, and even high society's chess-themed ballroom parties. He goes on to describe the chaos under Bolshevik rule during the Civil War, during which Alekhine was arrested by the Reds and very nearly executed. The author reviews the backdrop to Alekhine's arrest and investigates the circumstances of his last-minute release. His heart-rending account of terror by the Cheka brings home to the reader how near the chess world was to losing its greatest player of the first half of the twentieth century. \u003cbr\u003e This book then goes on to review the strong Odessa links with key events surrounding Alekhine later - his exile, failing marriages, plans for a match with Botvinnik, murky death and eventual burial ten years later. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eAlekhine's Odessa Secrets: Chess, War and Revolution\u003c\/em\u003e includes 24 complete games (some handicapped) with annotations from Alekhine, Sergei Tkachenko and Sergei Voronkov (co-author with David Bronstein of \u003cem\u003eSecret Notes\u003c\/em\u003e), as well as five puzzles and one fragment. Alekhine played in 22 of these games and the fragment and set three of the puzzles. \u003cbr\u003e Furthermore, the book contains around 100 photos, mostly of Alekhine's Odessa contemporaries among chess masters and politicians, as well as of the places he frequented in Odessa and key publication clippings and memorabilia. \u003cbr\u003e With an introduction to the English edition by Boris Gelfand.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 214\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.45 x 9.61 x 6.69 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e January 13, 2018\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52591519367475,"sku":"9785950043338","price":55.96,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0300\/5595\/6612\/files\/TG5WZVF6cEJNSXhCR2daaGhRUC9hQT09.webp?v=1761659879","url":"https:\/\/www.vysn.com\/en-ca\/products\/alekhines-odessa-secrets-chess-war-and-revolution-paperback","provider":"VYSN","version":"1.0","type":"link"}