Aleksander Wojtkiewicz
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Aleksander Wojtkiewicz (January 15, 1963, Riga - July 14, 2006, Baltimore) was an International Grandmaster of chess. He was Polish by nationality but was born in Latvia, USSR; his name was originally spelled Aleksandrs Voitkevičs.[1] In his early teens he was already a strong player, student of ex-world champion Mikhail Tal whom he assisted in the 1979 Interzonal tournament in Riga. His promising chess career was interrupted when he refused to join the Soviet Army. For several years he went undercover, in 1986 he was sentenced to two years in prison. After one year he received an amnesty after the meeting of Presidents Reagan and Gorbachev. Following his release he moved from Riga to Warsaw where he won two Polish Chess Championships.
He later resided in the United States. He was one of the most active players in the world, constantly flying around the world playing in chess tournaments. Several times he won the annual $10,000 first prize for Grand Prix chess tournaments in the United States.
His favorite opening as White was 1. Nf3.
Wojtkiewicz played in the FIDE World Chess Championship 2004. In his final months, he tied for first at the 2006 World Open in Philadelphia and won the 2006 National Open in Las Vegas. He died in the evening on 14 July 2006 of a perforated intestine and massive bleeding[2], a complication from his years of heavy drinking and hard living much like his mentor Mikhail Tal. He was 43.5. He had a son.
