jessicafischerqueen: <Hanh> thanks for posting so many links to help my research- you will get a giant credit as producer if I ever manage to finish this movie.I will tell you a bit about what I have and what I still need- I was lucky enough to figure out how to convert photographed PDF chess books into word files- after doing that, I can translate the entire book by cutting and pasting large blocks of text into the Google translator. Before, I was typing in one Russian letter at a time on an online keyboard.
So I have been able to access much Russian primary research on <Alekhine> that has not been published in English.
I'll tell you what is most useful to me: Russian sources after 1992 (Alekhine Centenary year).
Sources like the German article you linked aren't useful- except as evidence about how fables get passed on from website to website and even from published book to book.
Here's a small block of text from the linked article: http://clear-lawbooks.com/book_201_...
<From his father, who was before the First World War the regular winter Rivieia, it is reported that he had gambled in the casino of Monte Carlo a few million rubles. He will later have been placed under guardianship and shot in the turmoil of the early revolutionary days.
From his mother, Agnes, we know that she was traveling a lot. She died in 1913 in Basel in mental derangement, which was caused by her drug addiction.
He was enthusiastic about the reports of his brother Alexei 2), which was taken up not only against Pillsbury, but had also brought a very honorable draw at home. "Pillsbury's performance did to me like a miracle," he later wrote.>
1. There is no actual evidence that <Alekhine's> father gambled at all, let alone lost a "few million" rubles at a Casino.
2. <Alekhine's> father was not shot during the Russian Revolution, or at any other time.
3. <Alekhine's> mother's name was <Anisa>, not <Agnes>. The person who wrote this web article is likely using Muller and Pavelczak's German language biography of Alekhine, which lists his mother's name as "Agnes." <Kotov> also uses this spelling in his biography, which relies heavily on the German one. The German biography is not properly sourced and it's riddled with errors. It says <Alekhine> worked as a forced laborer in Siberia (he didn't) and gets the name of the Hotel he died in wrong.
Back to the web article- Alekhine's mother died in 1915, not 1913, she was not mentally deranged, and there is no evidence of any kind that she was addicted to drugs.
4. The list of Pillsbury's opponents at his Moscow simul is published, and <Alekhine's> brother's name is not listed. He may have been there, but he didn't play Pillsbury unless he was just helping someone else at their board as a consultant.
However, the source you gave me that led to finding those articles by <Igor Lazebnik>, that was tremendous! He has done some outstanding and ground breaking primary research, and he lists his sources. That is wonderful information, and most of it has not been translated into English yet.
Also, I could use any website that has photos of <Alekhine> that are rare or that you have never seen before.
But links to web biographies of <Alekhine> that don't have any notes or references or even sources listed- they are generally useless.
However, all that said, please don't stop posting anything you find- you never know.
Offer many thanks for your help!
Kibitzing
