Olga Clark (September 23, 1898 – 24 April 1994) was a socialite and self-proclaimed princess from Russia who spent most of her life in the United States. She was married four times, including to

world chess champion The World Chess Championship is played to determine the world champion in chess. The current world champion is Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who has held the title since 2013. The first event recognized as a world championship was the 1886 match ...

José Raúl Capablanca José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera (19 November 1888 – 8 March 1942) was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. A chess prodigy, he is widely renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play. Capablanc ...

and

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Joseph J. Clark Admiral Joseph James "Jocko" Clark, USN (November 12, 1893 – July 13, 1971) was an admiral in the United States Navy, who commanded aircraft carriers during World War II. Born and raised in Indian Territory (which later became part of Oklaho ...

until their respective deaths.

Biography

Olga Evgenyevna Choubaroff (or Chubarova) was born on September 23, 1898, in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

, the Caucasus region of

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. She was able to speak Russian, French and English fluently as an adult. She married four times during her life but never had any children. She has been described as a "hothead" who was outspoken about her political opinions.

Officer Chagodaev

Her first husband was a White Army officer with the surname Chagodaev. They escaped together from the Red Army in 1920. He was, according to Olga, a descendant of

Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...

, and prince, who left her his title. She called herself a princess after his death.

Jose Raul Capablanca

Her second husband was

Jose Raul Capablanca Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galil ...

, whom she married on October 20, 1938, and stayed married until his death in 1942. Olga did not play chess. At their wedding her name was listed as "Princess Cagodalf" from the "Russian house of Chagodalf". She was a muse to Capablanca during his later years. Before their marriage, he told her "I shall regain my crown for you." During their life together, she became his biographer, writing articles on him for "Chessworld", "Town and Country", "José Raoul Capablanca Ein Schachmythos", and the introduction to Capablanca's "Chess Lectures". After his death she donated his archives to the

Manhattan Chess Club The Manhattan Chess Club in Manhattan was the second-oldest chess club in the United States (next to the Mechanics' Institute Chess Club in San Francisco) before it closed. The club was founded in 1877 and started with three dozen men, eventually ...

. In 1987, she sold for $10,000 her own unpublished manuscript of a game between Capablanca and

Savielly Tartakower Savielly Tartakower (also known as ''Xavier'' or ''Ksawery'' ''Tartakower'', less often ''Tartacover'' or ''Tartakover''; 21 February 1887 – 4 February 1956) was a Polish and French chess player. He was awarded the title of International Grand ...

Olympic rower

Her third husband was a rowing champion who had won an Olympic gold medal and was much younger than her. When she was 85, she said that "Practically everything I have now came from him, but I'd rather not talk about that."

Admiral Joseph James Clark

Around 1963, she met her fourth husband, a retired Admiral named

Joseph James Clark Admiral Joseph James "Jocko" Clark, USN (November 12, 1893 – July 13, 1971) was an admiral in the United States Navy, who commanded aircraft carriers during World War II. Born and raised in Indian Territory (which later became part of Oklaho ...

. They told friends and family that they got married in 1965. However, they didn't actually get married until 1967, around the same time that her sister Marie Blackton became the third wife of

Hamilton Fish III Hamilton Fish III (born Hamilton Stuyvesant Fish and also known as Hamilton Fish Jr.; December 7, 1888 – January 18, 1991) was an American soldier and politician from New York State. Born into a family long active in the state, he served in t ...

. Their marriage eventually ran into troubles, and they contemplated divorce but stayed together until Clark's death on July 13, 1971. She later christened the guided-missile

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

, named after her fourth husband, Admiral Joseph Clark. Olga Clark did not marry again and died on April 24, 1994, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

at the age of 95.

Biography

Officer Chagodaev

Jose Raul Capablanca

Olympic rower

Admiral Joseph James Clark

References

Further reading