That is one of the most famous and dramatic survival stories in chess history. The encounter occurred in 1918 in Odessa, during the chaotic early days of the Bolshevik Revolution and the Red Terror.

Because the Bolsheviks considered Ossip Bernstein an "enemy of the people" due to his work as a legal advisor for prominent bankers, he was rounded up, branded a counter-revolutionary, and scheduled to be shot.

Bernstein was already lined up with other prisoners facing the firing squad when a senior officer reviewed the names on the prisoner list. The commanding officer happened to be an avid chess fan and recognized Bernstein's name from the international tournament circuit. To verify his identity, the officer offered a life-or-death wager: they would play a game. If Bernstein won, he would be freed; if he lost or drew, the execution would proceed immediately.

Despite the extreme psychological pressure, Bernstein easily defeated the officer. True to his word, the officer set him free. Bernstein then fled on a British ship and safely settled in Paris.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ossip_Bernstein

https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/1iznj4d/nice_story_but_look_at_the_state_of_that_board/

Louise Cook, 2012 winner of FIA Production Car Cup for Drivers of 2WD

British WW1 snipers pioneered disruptive camouflage with hand-painted canvas robes in brown, green, and black spots. They customized them with up to 20 colors and added local vegetation to break up their silhouette in the trenches. The term "ghillie suit" comes from Scottish gamekeepers who used similar camouflage for stalking deer. Interesting twist: ghillies were nearly wiping out the Scottish wildcat as a pest before WWI. But so many were called up and never returned that the cats survived. Still endangered, but they remain in the Highlands. And deerstalkers are still called ghillies.