Was Alekhine assassinated?

Alekhine's death is another example of "where evidence is scant, speculations are rife".

The timing of his death - literally hours after arrangements of the match with Botvinnik having been  completed - was unsettling. He made many enemies by agreeing to collaborate with the Nazis (even though he wasn't the only one to do so) and Stalin certainly wasn't above murder.

But it's also true that he suffered at least one more heart attack (most recent one in late 1945) and like many who lived through the war & post-war period probably didn't enjoyed the most healthy and balanced lifestyle. We tend to forget antibiotics weren't widely available until well after WW2, food shortages affected everyone except the most well do to people, that indoors were kept only slightly warmer than outdoors in the cold seasons, etc

Those who might have been involved in the alleged foul play and cover up are long dead, so the exact details will probably never be known. 

It's ridiculous to suggest that Alekhine would have stood a chance against Botvinnik and that would have been the reason for assassinating him. What could be better communist propaganda than the good Soviet man (and a Jew to boot) crushing the Nazi collaborator Alekhine? Certainly not the latter's untimely death, leaving the title vacant, that's for sure.

Yes, true

Indeed.

absolutely

It is my blog, so I will do what I want, including quoting good posts for posterity.  Sometimes posters are banned and content is lost.

Is important to remember, the Nazi's could have legally seized all Alekhine's family wealth. And they exercised this right, with many, many others. So, when he wrote these articles, he essentially had a gun to his head.

I agree.

If someone chokes, they most likely will be thrashing around. On the contrary, Alekhine looks quite peaceful. 

He "choked on a piece of meat", but the plates are empty and one usually doesn't finish a meal with meat.

The chessboard is in the starting position. (suspicious)

A heavy smoker, an alcoholic, and virtually penniless, reduced to a hand to mouth existence, having been shunned by the world for gambling that the Nazis would come out on top. Not a good combination when you're getting on in years. The old ticker just gave out.

Indubitably. 

The evidence of foul play is overwhelming.

Well maybe make a list of the evidence for both to make it easier to ponder? His death from bad health is very likely, and on the other hand is the idea he was murdered, either because the old man was still a chess threat, or he was a Nazi sympathizer, or a little of both? If the scene of death is relatively serene, he had prior health issues, no evidence of strangulation or struggle, no puncture wounds, then I would say the evidence of foul play is underwhelming.

I think there is strong evidence that his death photographs were staged, rather than "serene."  Who would do that and why?

I agree, the photo reeks of being staged, as JOGOREAL pointed out from a source, it was staged. If the photo was to be released to media, that would be one answer to why they might touch up a bit for a photo or photos. Also, people had been rummaging around by then. Today, they lock off suspicious scenes, however, even today they tend to NOT lock off or bother deeply looking into deaths of older people who are simply discovered dead, especially if there is no signs of struggle.

Possibly the murderers, to cover their tracks.

As to who the murderers may have been, theories vary from French Nazi hunters, to the KGB.

IMO, the French were to busy cleaning up their own to send a team to Portugal for someone like Alekhine. The Soviets on the other hand were planning to take over the chess world and never forgot the Tzarists.

Right. But the French were also anxious to track down the Nazi's, before the trail grew cold, and they vanished forever.

They snagged quite a few Nazi's in this period.

They did, no doubt. But Alekhine wasn't french. He just lived there. There were many foreign people in France with or without Nazi sympathy. If a foreign nazi lover flees France, so what? If they went all over Europe chasing foreign nationals with nazi affiliations they'd be chasing them to this day. No, the Soviets had a much stronger motivation for finding Alekhine. He was publicly denouncing their socialist experiment everywhere he went. And a victory over Botvinnik (whether it was possible or not) couldn't be risked. A Tzarist, nazi sympothizing threat that had to be dealt with. France was probably just glad to be rid of him.

They are chasing them to this day in fact.

But their capture ratio kinda fizzled out in the 50's.