Poirot suspects the servant of the flat and Savaronoff's niece are working for the Big Four, believing the niece to be an imposter, as she hadn't been seen by her uncle prior to living with him in England since she was a small child. When Poirot and Hastings arrive at the flat to investigate further, however, Savaronoff's niece is gagged and unconscious, and Ivan and the Doctor are nowhere to be seen. Poirot deduces that Savaronoff did die in Russia and that Number Four impersonated him as a cover. He had avoided the match repeatedly, knowing that his inability to play chess would expose him as an imposter, as the real Doctor Savaronoff was the second best chess player in the world. When his refusals finally failed and he was forced to play Wilson, he arranged to have Wilson die before any chess strategy would be necessary on his part. With Number Four gone, the two are back to square one again.