Alexander Koblencs

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Alexander Koblents (Latvian Aleksandrs Koblencs, German Koblenz) (born 3 September 1916, Riga - died 9 December 1993, Riga) was a Latvian chess International Master, trainer, and writer.

As a player, Koblencs took 4th place in Rosas in 1934. The next year, he took 5th in Reus. In 1937, he won in Brno with 9/11. In 1938, he took 5th in Milan. In 1939, he tied for 13-14th in Kemeri-Riga. Koblencs won the Latvian Championship four times (1941, 1945, 1946, 1949, although he took 2nd, behind Vladimir Alatortsev, in 1945, and behind Mark Taimanov in 1949 -- both were off contest (hors concours). In June 1944, he took 2nd, behind Mezhgailis, in Udelnaya (Latvian SSR ch.). In 1944/45, he took 2nd, behind Paul Keres, in Riga (Baltic tournament). In 1945, he took 14th in Moscow (14th USSR-ch). In October/November 1945, he tied for 3rd-4th in Riga (Baltic Republics ch.). The event was won by Vladas Mikenas. In June/July 1946, he tied for 6-8th in Vilnius (Baltic Rep. ch). The event was won by Yuri Averbakh. In 1961, he took 3rd in Palanga (Baltic Rep. ch). The event was won by Iivo Nei. Koblencs was awarded the title International Master by FIDE.

As a trainer, he started to work with young Mikhail Tal in 1949, and coached him through his meteoric rise from the mid-1950s. Most prominently, he coached him in his World Chess Championship matches in 1960 and 1961 against Mikhail Botvinnik. He also coached the team of the Soviet Union (e.g., 1956 in Moscow and 1960 in Leipzig).

Koblencs is best-known as a writer of chess books, many of which have been translated into foreign languages, in particular to German. For several years, he was the editor of the Latvian chess magazine Sahs and of the German chess magazine Schach-Journal.