| Personal data | |
|---|---|
| Surname | Koblenz |
| Name | Alexander |
| Patronym | Naftalievich |
| Birth year | 1916 |
| Birth month | 9 |
| Birth day | 3 |
| Birth place | Riga |
| Death year | 1993 |
| Death month | 12 |
| Death day | 8 |
| Death place | Berlin |
| Sex | M |
Koblenz Alexander Naftalievich (3 September 1916, Riga – 8 December 1993, Berlin) – chess player, coach. Master of Sports of the USSR (1945), Honoured Coach of the USSR (1960), champion of Riga (1937, 1951, 1979) and Latvia (1941, 1945, 1946, 1949),second to World Chess Champion M. N. Tal (1955–79).
Alexander Koblenz contributed to the development of chess popularity in Latvia; in 1966–72, he was the director of the Republican Chess and Checkers Club. Thanks to Koblenz, the magazines Šahs and Chess began to be published in Latvia. At the beginning of perestroika in the USSR, he left for Germany. In1991, he became the editor-in-chief of the magazine Chess Journal (Berlin). Author of many books and articles.
Works: The Magical World of Combinations (Волшебный мир комбинаций.). Moscow, 1980; Lessons in Chess Strategy (Уроки шахматной стратегии). Moscow, 1983; Memoirs of a Chess Player (Воспоминания шахматиста). Moscow, 1986.