Alexander Koblencs


Alexander Koblencs was a Latvian chess master, trainer, and writer. He is best known as the trainer of the 1960-61 World Champion Mikhail Tal.
In 1935, he took 4th place in Rosas. In 1936, he took 5th in Reus. In 1937, he won, ahead of Lajos Steiner, 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. Although he took 2nd, behind Vladimir Alatortsev in 1945, and behind Mark Taimanov in 1949, both were off contest. In June 1944, he took 2nd, behind Voldemārs Mežgailis, in Udelnaya. In 1944/45, he took 2nd, behind Paul Keres, in Riga. In 1945, he took 14th in Moscow. In October/November 1945, he tied for 3rd-4th in Riga. In June/July 1946, he tied for 6-8th in Vilnius. In 1961, he took 3rd in Palanga.
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.
Koblencs is also well known as a writer of chess books, many of which have been translated, in particular into German. For several years, he was the editor of the Latvian chess magazine Šahs and of the German chess magazine Schach-Journal.