Russian Serial Killer's Plan For More Than 49 Murders Unveiled

Alexander Pichushkin, a chess genius born in Soviet Moscow in 1974, had a terrifying goal: to take the lives of 64 people, mimicking each square on a chessboard.

Raised near Bitsa Park, a thriving green space beloved by city dwellers, Pichushkin was initially seen as a bright, joyous, and healthy youngster.

A devastating swing accident, however, resulted in damage to his frontal cortex—the brain region crucial for controlling impulses and managing anger—which radically altered his life.

Family friends noticed a significant change after the incident; he transformed into someone unrecognisable, erratic and difficult, which led schoolmates to bully him, fueling his rage.

Alarmed by her son's behaviour, his mother decided to enrol him in a school designed for children facing learning challenges.

In spite of the hurdles, Pichushkin displayed exceptional talent, particularly shining during chess matches with his grandfather, who saw something extraordinary in him. 

His grandfather became his guardian, often taking him to Bitsa Park, where Pichushkin would outplay older men.

The bond grew so strong that Pichushkin moved in with his grandfather, leaving his mother's home, and they became inseparable.

However, as Pichushkin's teenage years drew to a close, his grandfather passed away, forcing him to return to his mother's home in Bitsa Park.

He started to drown his grief in vodka while continuing to play chess, becoming obsessed with the "Rostov Ripper" investigation — a probe into a Ukrainian serial killer who had murdered over fifty women and children in the USSR between 1978 and 1990.

Pichushkin's first known murder took place on July 27, 1992, at the age of just 18. He had set up a meeting with a schoolmate, Mikhail Odïtchuk, at Bitsa Park under the guise of planning to kill 64 individuals, reflecting a chessboard's squares.

But when Odïtchuk expressed disinterest upon arrival, Pichushkin was driven into a murderous rage.

The young man strangled his friend and disposed of the body in a nearby drain, where it was never found. Police initially detained Pichushkin, alerted by witnesses who had seen the pair together before Odïtchuk disappeared.

However, the lack of compelling evidence led to Pichushkin's release.

Over the next 14 years, he continued his killing spree, targeting a mix of homeless strangers and, sometimes audaciously, people he knew.

At least 10 of Pichushkin's victims resided on the same street as him. He selected victims indiscriminately, men and women, offering vodka and friendship before leading them to secluded areas of Bitsa Park, where he would brutally assault them using weapons or bottles.

After these ferocious attacks, he would leave his mark by piercing their fractured skulls with sticks or empty vodka bottles.

Pichushkin's deadly campaign was halted in June 2006 when 36-year-old Marina Moskalyova disappeared.

Moskalyova, sensing danger, had left her son a message detailing her whereabouts, instructing him to reach out to the police if she did not return.

Upon his capture, the shelf-packer confessed immediately, telling investigators that murder gave him a sense of purpose.

"In every case, I killed for one reason: to feel alive, because taking a life made me embrace living."

During a search of Pichushkin's home—a modest, one-bedroom apartment shared with his mother—investigators found a chessboard with coins covering 62 of its 64 squares.

Each coin, he confessed, represented a life he had taken.

He mentioned that only two more killings remained to reach his goal, although he admitted he would likely have continued his killing spree anyway.

He stated, "For me, a life without killing is like you living without food. I felt as though I was the caretaker of these people, welcoming them to another world."

He compared the act of murder to having godlike control. On October 24, 2007, Pichushkin was convicted of 49 murders and sentenced to life, with the first 15 years spent in solitary confinement.

He is currently incarcerated, serving his sentence at "Polar Owl," a remote Arctic "supermax" prison known to be one of Russia's harshest detention facilities.

This prison houses both political detainees and the nation's most notorious serial killers, with roughly 10 serial murderers held there.

The late Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny also once served time at this facility.

In April 2025, reports surfaced that Pichushkin had announced his readiness to confess to an additional 11 murders.

Today, Pichushkin is considered Russia's second-most lethal serial killer.

He is second only to Mikhail Popkov, a former police officer believed to have murdered at least 90 young women and girls in Siberia between 1992 and 2011.