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Alexander VoytkevichInternational chess grandmaster.
Date of Birth: 15.01.1963
Country:  Latvia |
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Biography of Alexander Wojtkiewicz
Alexander Wojtkiewicz (January 15, 1963, Riga, Latvia - July 14, 2006, Baltimore, USA) was an international chess grandmaster, winner of many American and international tournaments. He was of Polish nationality but was born and raised in Riga, the capital of Latvia, a republic of the former USSR. In his youth, he was a student of Mikhail Tal and assisted him during the 1979 interzonal tournament in Riga. Wojtkiewicz's chess career was interrupted by his refusal to serve in the Soviet Army. He evaded the police for several years but was arrested in 1986 and sentenced to two years in prison. After a year, he was granted amnesty and moved to Warsaw, the capital of Poland. Shortly after, he won two Polish Chess Championships.
Move to the USA
A few years later, Alexander Wojtkiewicz moved to the United States, where he spent most of his time as a student at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. He played for the university's chess team and actively participated in chess tournaments throughout the US and other countries. He won the annual $10,000 prize awarded by the US Chess Federation for the most tournament victories in a calendar year multiple times. In 2004, Wojtkiewicz participated in the FIDE World Chess Championship in Tripoli.
Final Years and Legacy
In the last month of his life, Wojtkiewicz shared first place in the "World Open" tournament in Philadelphia and won the "National Open" tournament in Las Vegas. On the evening of July 14, 2006, he passed away from gastrointestinal perforation and internal bleeding. Alexander Wojtkiewicz left a lasting legacy as an accomplished international chess grandmaster, known for his sharp and aggressive playing style.
