Alexander Koblenz (1916-1993) was chess champion of Latvia four times in the 1940s, competed in the final of the Soviet championships in 1945, won a number of Latvian and international tournaments, and qualified for the USSR Master of Sports title, also in 1945. According to Chessmetrics he was the world number 43 in July 1945. He coached Mikhail Tal permanently over 16 years and seconded him in his two world title matches against Mikhail Botvinnik (1960 and 1961). Koblenz wrote 20 books on chess in his lifetime. He was also a leading chess organizer and journalist in Latvia.