From the trip to the Montparnasse cemetery, which was undoubtedly the main event, I did not expect anything special. I had seen Alekhine's grave in photographs so many times that it felt like I had already been here. Perhaps just to take a picture in front of the grave for the book? I also wanted to photograph the famous monument to later compare how accurately the marble bas-relief was restored after the hurricane in 1999, which damaged the tombstone.

What can be said about Montparnasse? Parisian cemeteries have long been known as open-air museums where one can stroll endlessly. Locals come here like to a park: grandmothers push strollers with grandchildren, couples sit cuddled on benches, and no one pays them any mind. We arrived quite early, it was deserted, and there was no one to ask. But help was not needed: we found Alekhine's grave easily, it is located to the right of the central circle, almost at the very end of the Transversal alley.

The encounter with the monument was somewhat disappointing: the gilding turned out to be too bright, lacking the noble patina, and Alekhine does not quite resemble himself, with a turned-up nose and a curled tuft, while his right hand rests on a book, like a writer. Did Abram Baratz, the author of the bas-relief, really try so hard? Strange, since he knew Alekhine well. Only in Moscow, comparing my photos with pictures of the monument before the hurricane, did I realize that the issue was not with Baratz, but with the restorers. How clumsily, if not crudely, the new bas-relief was executed!