Pick Me Up! Special – September 2019

T

akinga seatonthegrass,

youngAlexander

Pichushkin,drewouthis

grandfather’sbeloved

chessboardandstartedplaying

withhisusualcrowd.

Pichushkin’sgrandfatherhad

taughthimhowto playchess,

afterhemovedin withhim

duringhisearlyteens.

Asa wayto testhisskill,

Pichushkinwouldoftenheadto

BitsaPark– a large,naturalpark

in southeastMoscow– wherehe

playedwithlocalhangouts.

Pichushkinwasattendinga

schooldedicatedto learning

disabilitiesbeforehisgrandfather

decidedto homeschoolhim.

Backwhenhewasa young

child, Pichushkin was playing on

a swing when he accidently fell

and hit his head.

To many, this seems like a

minor incident, but after suffering

with a head injury, Pichushkin

became aggressive and

uncontrollable.

But despite this, Pichushkin’s

grandfather was determined to

give him a better quality of life.

They had an unbreakable bond

and playing chess was thi

activity with each other

Sadly, during Pichus

late teens his grandfath

tragically passed away

Pichushkin was

stricken with grief, and

soon turned to alcohol.

Although on the

outside Pichushkin

was sad and

depressed, inside he

was filled with rage.

Then, in 1992 at

just the age of 18,

desperate to win the

attentio

girlfrien

love riv

out

‘Wantto goandvisitmydog’s

grave?’hewouldaskthemat the

endof thematch. ‘We can raise a

toastto him.’

Heluredhis opponent into the

nearbywoods, filled with tall birch

trees,before striking the back of

theirheadswith a hammer.

Pichushkin would then throw his

victims,many of whom were still

breathing,into the sewer to drown.

Atfirst,many of Pichushkin’s

victimswere homeless alcoholics,

so theirdeaths were rarely

investigated by police.

Afterhiskillings, Pichushkin

would head home and

get out his late

grandfather’s

chessboard, before

writing down the date

of the murder onto a

selected square.

Pichushkin’s life

goal was to kill 64

people – the same

amount as the number

of squares on a chessboard.

Soon, Pichushkin grew more

confident with his killings and

decided on his signature trait.

After striking his victims around

the head, he would use the empty

vodka bottle they had been drinking

from, and push it deep into their

wounded skull.

His confidence was so high, he

would even leave their dead bodies

lain sight, for an innocent

d to find.

ust a few short years,

n had cleared Bitsa Park

meless population, and

he needed new targets.

He started randomly

andchildren,in a

desperatebidto

reach checkmate.

Pichushkin

would pounce on

his victims when

they least expected

it, dragging them

into the woods.

His desire for

blood was so huge,

that he would often

kill more than once

a night.

Things had got so

bad that local

residents feared for

their lives.

Women and

children refused to

walk around the

park on their own, in

the fear that they

would become the

next victim of the

‘Bitsa Beast.’

However, in

2006, 14 years after

his first murder, all

that came to an end, when

Pichushkin was finally caught.

Desperate for a kill, Pichushkin

had asked his colleague Marina

Moskalyova, to go on a walk.

Before leaving, Marina left a note

for her son stating that she was

going out with Pichushkin and

wrote down his phone number.

So, when Marina failed to return

home, her son immediately

contacted the police and informed

them of this information.

Tragically, Marina’s body was

found not long after, but thanks to

her note, police had a prime suspect.

They managed to track

down CCTV of Marina

and Pichushkin at a

Metro station just

moments before her

untimely death.

Pichushkin was

arrested that night and

police raided his flat.

At the time, they had

no idea of the extent of

Pichushkin’s murders,

but after finding his

chessboard, with

highwindow.

Pichushkinwasquestionedbythe

policeforthekilling,butin theend,

it wasruleda suicide.

Pichushkinkepta lowprofile

afterthat.

Hegota dog,a jobin a local

grocerystoreandbecamefriendly

withhiscolleagues.

Toanoutsider,he

wasa shyandfriendly

boy,whowasdealing

withthedeathof a

lovedone.

Heregularlyvisited

BitsaParkwithhisdog,

andwouldplaychess

withanyonewho

wantedto.

Forhim,it wasa way

to remember and cherish his

beloved grandfather.

He’d built a good relationship

with members of the public, along

with the homeless people who

resided in the park.

However, in 1999, Pichushkin’s

desire for blood was back, and this

time, with vengeance.

He continued to play chess in

BitsaPark,onlythistimehewould

WORDS BY HANNAH POON IMAGES: GETTY AND ALAMY

He lured

them to

the grave

of his

dead dog

AlexanderPichushkinfrom

Moscow loved playing chess, but

he loved the aftermath more...

Footage of Marina

with her killer

His chessboard

gave away all

his secrets