Alexander Borisovich Roshal dies at 71

Alexander Roshal, 1936 – 2007

Alexander Borisovich Roshal was born on August 26, 1936. He was a merited chess trainer of the Soviet Union when in 1968 he switched to journalism and, together with world champion Tigran Petroian he founded a chess magazine called "64 – Chess Review". It became the biggest and most influential chess magazine in the Soviet Union. In 1992 the publication was stopped due to financial difficulties, but then privatised and resurrected by Alexander Roshal, who ran it as Editor in Chief until his death.

Alik (as his Russian friends called him) has limited contact to his parents. His father was arrested when he was one year old, charged with writing the first constitution for the state of Israel. Soon after that he was shot. Alik's mother spent 18 years in a prison camp and exile. He got to know her when he was nine, and lived with her in Kazakhstan until he was 16. He was proud of his heritage and always said: "I am a Russian Jew".

Alexander Roshal during a postmortem between Kramnik and Kasparov in Linares 2003 (Kramnik's seconds GMs Malakhov and Illescas stand behind their man, Kasparov's second Dokhoian is on the far right)

Roshal arranged himself with the Soviet government and, under Brezhnev, was allowed to travel all over the world. In 1986 his magazine published excerpts from Nabokov's autobiography Other Shores, and he was severely punished for this. But as always he bounced back to gain his previous respect and prestige as the foremost chess journalist in Russia.

In "Monologues of a Chess Guru" Vera Tsvetkova wrote: "For many, Roshal embodies chess journalism, acting as the public voice of chess for the greater masses. This energetic and sociable person completely belies his age – he is active, sharp-witted, and talkative – one could listen to him for hours, like a nightingale. It doesn’t matter what the conversation is about – journalism, chess, or his adored watchdog breed, Cane Corso. He represents the generation born in the Thirties – yes, that’s how they are."

Alexander Borisovich died on May 21 2007 after a long struggle with pancreatic cancer, which he called the disease of chess players.

Lunch with Alexander Roshal and his wife Irina in Linares, 2003

Alexander Roshal with Alexander Bakh (left) and ex world champion Vassily Smyslov
during the Aeroflot Chess Festival in 2004

Staging a press conference in Moscow before the start of the 2004 Super Final

Press conference participant Kasparov and Karpov, organisers Roshal and Bach

Chatting with GM Artur Jussupow during the match Kramnik vs Deep Fritz in Bonn last December, where he explained to us how the world champion could have overlooked a mate in one.

Message from the FIDE president