Today I will tell you about Evgeny Alexandrovich Znosko-Borovsky, whose life resembles an intriguing detective story. In his 70 years, he managed to make a name for himself in literature, become a good chess player and editor of chess columns, as well as be a second for the duel between Nikolai Gumilev and Maximilian Voloshin, honorably endure three wars, and find himself in forced emigration.

Evgeny Alexandrovich was born on August 28, 1884, and received an excellent education in the capital. He voluntarily participated in the war with Japan, where he distinguished himself and was awarded the George Cross for lower ranks. Upon returning home, he continued his studies and became passionate about literature. Since the founding of the magazine 'Apollo,' Evgeny Alexandrovich became an integral part of it, engaging in literary criticism and editing chess columns in various publications. He was a good chess player and became famous as the first Russian, before the great Alekhine, to win a game against the legendary grandmaster Raul Capablanca.

With the onset of World War I, Evgeny Alexandrovich, being a warrant officer, went to the front, where he was wounded and awarded the Order of Saint Vladimir 3rd class with swords and a bow. He showed bravery and, after the Bolsheviks came to power, went to the Don, where he joined the ranks of the Volunteer Army, participating in battles and collaborating with the white press. In 1920, he left Russia and moved to France, where he continued to engage in literature and chess. He paid attention to the works of Marina Tsvetaeva, Anna Akhmatova, Maximilian Voloshin, and other outstanding poets, and was respected by Vladimir Nabokov.

Until the end of his life, Evgeny Alexandrovich wrote about Russia and its literature. He passed away in Paris in 1954 and was buried in the largest white emigration cemetery in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois.