A "witness" to the death scene was Luis Lupi, who took the black and white photos. He wrote on 24 March 1946 to Robert Bunnell, of the Associated Press in London, the following description:
‘Dear Bunnelle,
Herewith please find four (4) negatives and three prints of EXCLUSIVE ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOS taken by me. They are ALEXANDER ALEKHINE last photographs. I took these pixs with a small camera that I borrowed in the Hotel Park in Estoril where I rushed to cover the Alekhine death story – without my own camera! This is why they are not so good.
Pixs show ALEKHINE lying dead in his hotel room just as he was found in the morning of 24/3, by one hotel waiter. He must have died the night before (23/3) at about eleven p.m. as, according to the porter of the hotel, the Chess Champion went in about 23.40 – and had ordered his dinner to his room as usual.
He seemed to be sleeping so calm and natural he looked. Doctors said he must have died suddenly just when he was beginning to eat. On his right hand he still held a beefsteak – He ate with his hands and used knife and fork only when he ate in public…
The giant of Chess – dead, resembled a fallen oak tree. In his face he kept an expression of deep thought.
The giant of Chess – dead, resembled a fallen oak tree. In his face he kept an expression of deep thought.
For captions suggest you use (if you will use these gruesome pixs…) and rewrite my messages of 23/3 slugged 01230 and 02345. Will you have a couple of prints on these negatives (a couple of each, please)? and oblige
Yours sincerely, Luís C Lupi.’
24 March was the same day that Alekhine's corpse was discovered in the hotel room at about 11 AM. Lupi had to have had the film developed immediately that day (a Sunday?).
As Lupi wrote, he took multiple photographs. Here is another one, taken from a slightly different angle.
Note the subtle difference in the scene from the previous photo, on Page 1. In the upper right corner of each photo, there are two vases. Next to the vases are a black binder, in one picture with some light-colored papers on top of it.
Other sources say that Lupi had placed the chessboard adjacent to the dining table for sensationalistic effect. In either case, the "official photos" of the death scene suggest manipulation.
Yes, def murdered. Also, a few of the recent GM deaths in Russia have been murders as well. When the Russian Federation reports a death from natural causes, don't believe it. Too coincidental so many of these guys "jumped" to their death.