Chess History • page 3/3 • General Chess Discussion • lichess.org

fwh2026

That would be just under 2 liters!

I prefer "just under half a gallon" . Even more astounding when you consider that, according to AI, most commercial brandies are 40% alcohol BY VOLUME, which is 80 proof, double what you get in Canada. Who knows how strong the Russian stuff was back in the day.

I can't imagine how he did it. I don't know about you, but my chess skills decline significantly when I am intoxicated.

LOL - Winter also mentions that in the two years prior to the rematch with Euwe, Alekhine lived on sour milk and travelled around with his own cow.

@LastIterator said [^](/forum/redirect/post/AlbQ8eLW) > That would be just under 2 liters! I prefer "just under half a gallon" . Even more astounding when you consider that, according to AI, most commercial brandies are 40% alcohol BY VOLUME, which is 80 proof, double what you get in Canada. Who knows how strong the Russian stuff was back in the day. I can't imagine how he did it. I don't know about you, but my chess skills decline significantly when I am intoxicated. LOL - Winter also mentions that in the two years prior to the rematch with Euwe, Alekhine lived on sour milk and travelled around with his own cow.

imanoob424

mikhail tal was only champion for 1 year, because although he did beat botnovikk (i hope i spelled that right) he was suffering from organ failure during the match, and would be beat 13-8. it is still one of the most controversial matches in the games history.

LastIterator

Oleg Vladimirovich Matuschanskayasky (Russian: Олег Владимирович Матушанскаяский; c. 1912–?) was an enigmatic Soviet chess player and theoretician, believed to have been born in Odessa or Tiflis. He claimed to have learned chess from a blind Armenian watchmaker who played exclusively with the black pieces and disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 1924. He is best remembered for the controversial Matuschanskayasky Gambit and the legendary Lost Matuschanskayasky Manoeuvre, an allegedly forced checkmate in exactly 63 moves, the original position of which has never been recovered. The Soviet chess theoretician Alexander Kotov reportedly observed: “We do not know the first move, we do not know the last move, and we do not know who had White. Nevertheless, there can be no doubt that Matuschanskayasky understood the position perfectly.” A notoriously eccentric figure, Matuschanskayasky reportedly subsisted entirely on vodka and beetroot soup, maintaining that the human body required nothing beyond liquid, warmth, and a certain quantity of red. He disappeared from the chess world in 1956, leaving behind no complete game scores and an enduring maxim: “Every move is a waiting move. Some players simply lack the patience to understand this.”

**Oleg Vladimirovich Matuschanskayasky** (Russian: Олег Владимирович Матушанскаяский; c. 1912–?) was an enigmatic Soviet chess player and theoretician, believed to have been born in Odessa or Tiflis. He claimed to have learned chess from a blind Armenian watchmaker who played exclusively with the black pieces and disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 1924. He is best remembered for the controversial Matuschanskayasky Gambit and the legendary Lost Matuschanskayasky Manoeuvre, an allegedly forced checkmate in exactly 63 moves, the original position of which has never been recovered. The Soviet chess theoretician Alexander Kotov reportedly observed: *“We do not know the first move, we do not know the last move, and we do not know who had White. Nevertheless, there can be no doubt that Matuschanskayasky understood the position perfectly.”* A notoriously eccentric figure, Matuschanskayasky reportedly subsisted entirely on vodka and beetroot soup, maintaining that the human body required nothing beyond liquid, warmth, and a certain quantity of red. He disappeared from the chess world in 1956, leaving behind no complete game scores and an enduring maxim: *“Every move is a waiting move. Some players simply lack the patience to understand this.”*