Alexander Alekhine was born on October 19, 1892, in Moscow. He was a calm and thoughtful person, and in his family, he was called Tisha. He studied well in gymnasium, knew foreign languages, and read a lot. However, his main passion was chess, which his mother, Anisya Ivanovna, née Prokhorova, taught him at the age of six.

Alekhine achieved his first victory at the age of 16 at the International Chess Congress in St. Petersburg, where he was awarded a prize, a porcelain vase from Emperor Nicholas II. At that time, he was competing as an amateur.

In 1914, after graduating from the St. Petersburg School of Law, he participated in an international tournament, took third place, and became a grandmaster, beginning his career as a professional player.

World War I found him in Mannheim, where he was interned along with other championship participants. After his release, Alekhine continued to play actively, donating part of his earnings to the fund for helping Russian chess players in Germany. In 1916, he voluntarily went to the front, and after suffering a second concussion, he returned to chess.

With the arrival of the revolution, he lost his noble title and fortune. In 1919, the Cheka suspected him of espionage and sentenced him to execution, from which Alekhine escaped thanks to the intervention of an unknown benefactor.

In 1921, he legally left Soviet Russia to participate in tournaments and settled in Paris, where he spent most of his life in exile.

In 1929, he organized a match with Cuban José Raúl Capablanca, which lasted from September 16 to November 29 and ended in a complete victory for Alekhine. This match earned him the title of world champion, and he was happy: "Finally, the dream of my life has come true, and I managed to reap the fruits of my long labor and efforts."

Both in Russia and abroad, Alekhine's successes were perceived with pride, helping to maintain a sense of national dignity. He had an excellent memory and a unique playing style. Contemporaries noted his attention to detail, and his "talisman" was a Siamese cat named Chess.

The great chess player died in 1946 in Paris, remaining an undefeated world champion.