Viktor Korovin
51, veteran Soviet Grandmaster and head of the USSR delegation. Renowned for his uncompromising positional play and fierce political loyalty. He had the power to end the international career of any player under his command.
Challenging Grandmaster
26. Brilliant, tense, and Korovin's fiercest rival in the tournament. Rumored to be deeply unhappy with state-ordered game adjudications.
“After dinner I had a quick discussion with Korovin about our adjourned game, but I left his room before a quarter to eleven. I spent the rest of the night down in the lounge reviewing chess lines with my pocket set. I never went back upstairs.”
Soviet Delegation Physician
55. Quiet and reserved, responsible for the team's medical fitness and travel clearance. Has accompanied Soviet sports delegations across Europe for over two decades.
“My chest has been congested in this damp Icelandic air, so I spent the entire late evening down in the hotel's thermal sauna. I entered at 22:30 and stayed inside sweating until after 23:15. Viktor was completely hale when I gave him his vitamin drops before dinner.”
Chief Tournament Arbiter
48. Meticulous, rules-obsessed Icelandic chess official. Determined to keep the tournament strictly neutral amidst international political pressure.
“I was locked in my second-floor office from twenty past ten onwards, drafting the official ruling on the disputed repetition of moves. I had no contact with Korovin after the evening session closed.”
French Photojournalist
38. Shrewd and intrepid, covering the international championship for a Paris newspaper. Setting up darkroom equipment on the hotel's fourth floor.
“I was in the temporary darkroom on the fourth floor developing 35mm film negatives from the afternoon session. Developing photographic paper requires total darkness; I stayed inside until I heard a strange thud and went to inspect the hallway.”
Case #8 · Easy
Hotel Saga, Reykjavik · October 14, 1975
During the 1975 Reykjavik International Chess Tournament, the imperious Soviet Grandmaster Viktor Korovin is found bludgeoned to death in his fourth-floor private analysis room shortly after 23:00. With the championship adjourned and Cold War tempers flaring, local police seal the hotel.