chessgames.com

Akiba Rubinstein vs Emanuel Lasker
"By Rook or by Crook" (game of the day Aug-08-06)
St Petersburg (1909)  ·  Queen's Gambit Declined: Traditional Variation (D30)  ·  1-0
To move:
Last move:

Click Here to play Guess-the-Move
Given 51 times; par: 75 [what's this?]

Annotations by Emanuel Lasker.      [80 more games annotated by Lasker]

explore this opening
find similar games 6 more Lasker/Rubinstein games
sac: 17.Rxc6+ PGN: download | view Help: general | java-troubleshooting

TIP: If we are missing an important game, you can submit it (in PGN format) at our PGN Upload Utility.

PGN Viewer:  What is this?
For help with this chess viewer, please see the Pgn4web Quickstart Guide.

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 5 OF 6 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Jul-18-07  InspiredByMorphy: Lasker's comments : < after ...Bxg2 15 Rg1 Qa5+ 16 Qd2 Qxd2+ 17 Kxd2 Be4 Black would have been quite comfortable.> The above line is indeed better for black than the text, but I dont know if I would go as far as to say blacks position would be "quite comfortable" considering white retains the extra pawn with 18.Rxg7 .
Jul-19-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  tamar: <InspiredByMorphy> Perhaps the position is not comfortable, but Lasker was quite comfortable playing uncomfortable positions!

Anyway, it is not losing a pawn, as after the sequence 14...Bxg2 15 Rg1 Qa5+ 16 Qd2 Qxd2+ 17 Kxd2 Be4 18 Rxg7 would lose to 18...Bg6 trapping the rook with ...Kf8 next.

Aug-24-07  adnol: hey everyone, why wouldn't rubinstein play 14. Nc7+ and fork the king and a rook? anyone? Thanks,
Aug-24-07  mrbiggs: <adnol> 14...Kd7 15. Nxa8 Re8+, then Kf1 means Qxg2++, so 16. Qd2 is forced. After 16...Qa5+ Ke1 17. Ba4+, black is going to lose basically all of his material.
Nov-10-07  GameGod123: Rubinstein played a skilled game in this. At this point of time, he plays with the same amount of skill as Jose Raul Capablanca would have, at his prime; considering that this was in the middle stage of Lasker's reign, that's pretty impressive. Here's my notation of the game, for those who want to know about how good the moves are.

1. d4 d5
2. Nf3 Nf6
3. c4 e6
4. Bg5 c5?
5. cxd5 exd5
6. Nc3 cxd4
7. Nxd4 Nc6?
8. e3 Be7
9. Bb5!? Bd7
10. Bxf6 Bxf6
11. Nxd5 Bxc4
12. exd4 Qg5!?
13. Bxc6 Bxc6
14. Ne3 O-O-O?
15. O-O Rhe8
16. Rc1! Rxe3
17. Rxc6+ bxc6
18. Qc1! Rxd4
19. fxe3 Rd7
20. Qxc6+ Kd8
21. Rf4! f5
22. Qc5!? Qe7
23. Qxe7+ Kxe7
24. Rxf5 Rd1+
25. Kd2!? Rd2+
26. Kf3 Rxb2
27. Ra5!? Rb7
28. Ra6!? Kf8
29. e4 Rc7
30. h4!? Kf7
31. g4 Kf8
32. Kf4 Ke7
33. h5!? h6
34. Kf5 Kf7
35. e5 Rb7
36. Rd6 Ke7
37. Ra6 Kf7
38. Rd6 Kf8
39. Rc6 Kf7
40. a3!
1-0

Mar-07-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  notyetagm: The position below is a variation to this game given in "The World's Greatest Chess Games", page 72.

Black to play: 48 ... ?


click for larger view

"All pawn races are easily won, while after 48 ... Ke7 49 Kc6 Ke6 50 Kb6 Kd6 51 Kxa6 Kc6 52 Ka7 Kc7 53 a6 Kc8 54 Kb6, the white king races to the kingside."

(VAR) Position after 52 ... Kc6-c7


click for larger view

Here White wins with 53 a5-a6!,

Position after 53 a5-a6!


click for larger view

using <ZUGZWANG (OPPOSITION)> to force the Black c7-king away from the defense of the crucial b8-, b7-, and b6-squares so that the White a7-king can leave the a-file, with an easy win.

<<<The important point to note is that the above position is -drawn- with -White- to move because then -Black- has the <OPPOSITION> and White is unable to extricate his king from the a-file. The draw looks like Ka7-a8 Kc7-c8 Ka8-a7 Kc8-c7 Ka7-a8 Kc7-c8 ....>>>

I wrote this kibitz as a learning tool for myself. Last night at one of my chess clubs I -missed- this simple idea. Both my class A opponent and myself were down to only our 5-second delay and both of us mistakenly thought that my king was trapped on the a-file. We both missed this simple 53 a5-a6! idea that I had available to me in this position, to pass the move back to my opponent so that -I- could gain the <OPPOSITION> and free my king from the a-file.

Another 1/2-point lost due to insufficient endgame knowledge. I might actually become a strong player some day if I ever stop hemorraging points in the endings like this.

Mar-07-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  notyetagm: White to move: 18 ?


click for larger view

Weteschnik, "Understanding Chess Tactics", page 48, tailored to fit this particular position:

<
*) Every undefended piece (Black g5-queen) is a potential candidate for a pin.

*) Every attacked piece of yours (Black e3-rook) standing in front of another of your pieces (Black g5-queen) should be considered as pinned.

*) Two pieces of the same colour (Black e3-rook, g5-queen) on a diagonal (c1-h6 diagonal) or file should already be regarded as a precondition for a pin. >

With these <PINNING> concepts in mind, Rubinstein (White) played the strong 18 Qd1-c1!!, the double exclam because Rubinstein saw this <PINNING> idea several moves earlier.

Position after 18 Qd1-c1!!


click for larger view

From "The World's Greatest Chess Games", page 70:

<18 Qc1!!

The whole point of Rubinstein's previous play, beginning with 16 Rc1. The rook is pinned to the queen and cannot be saved. Naturally Lasker had been hoping for 18 fxe3? Qxe3+ 19 Kh1 Qxd4, when Black is even slightly better.>

Mar-07-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  notyetagm: <patzer2: Rubenstein's 16. Rc1! sets up a subtle trap for one of the most amazing and surprising positional pins ever played in 18. Qc1! .

With the quality of his play, I suspect Rubenstein in his prime would have more than held his own against today's super GMs.>

This is a -stupendous- game by Rubinstein.

Mar-07-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  notyetagm: Position after 21 Rf1-f4!


click for larger view

From "The World's Greatest Chess Games", page 70:

<2) 21 ... Rd1+ 22 Kf2 Rd2+ 23 Ke1! and the natural 23 ... Qxg2 loses to 24 Rd4+!, when 24 ... Rxd4 allows 25 Qxg2, while 24 ... Ke7 25 Qd6+ Ke8 26 Qd8# is mate.>

(VAR) Position after 23 ... Qg5xg2??


click for larger view

(VAR) Position after 24 Rf4-d4+!


click for larger view

(VAR) Position after 24 ... Rd2xRd4 <deflection from g2> 25 Qc6xQg2


click for larger view

Once again Loose Pieces Drop Off (<LPDO>) as after 23 ... Qg5xg2??, the <LOOSE> Black g2-queen drops off to the <DEFLECTION (OVERWORKED)> shot 24 Rf4-d4+!, as the Black d2-rook cannot <DEFEND> both the d4-checking square -and- the Black g2-queen.

Aug-19-08  markgeoffrey: To see the full annotations of Em. Lasker on this game, search google.com with the subject "Epic Battles of the Chessboard - Google Books Result"

(you're welcome)

Jan-09-09  Bear With Me: One of the greatest wins ever scored against Lasker. (Chernev)
Jan-11-09  WhiteRook48: why did Lasker have to annotate a lost game?
Jan-29-09  laskereshevsky: <WR48>
Cause he wrote the tournament book.
Jan-29-09  laskereshevsky: One of the most famous Rubinstein's moves is 18. Qc1 played in this game.

Somebody ever noticed that Rubinstein had beated another, in this case future, world champion with almost the same move?!...

in the game:

Rubinstein vs Capablanca, 1911

He won with 17.Qc1... the same move just with the little difference to be the 17th here and the 18th there.

But somebody else was able to do even more!...

RETI in the games:

Reti vs Capablanca, 1924

and

Reti vs Alekhine, 1924

beated the actual and the future world champion with the EXACTLY same move 31.R1d5...and in the same tournament!!!

interesting, isn't it?!

Feb-10-09  Andrijadj: Rubinstein on his prime would not be able to hold his own against super GMs of today...Rubinstein in his prime equipped with rybka and informants would be able to hold his own against super GMs...He would probably be bashed for playing drawish though,as people tend to do with Kramnik novadays...
Feb-10-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  whiteshark: The given annotations here are quite different to Lasker's annotations in the tournament book. So where did Lasker published the here given annotations?
Mar-04-09  solskytz: The guy playing black, with all of his celebrated Laskery and trickery, could find nowhere a black-squared bishop to Bd2 his opponent with (answering his 18th move), as Fischer did against Shocron in a similar setup many years (and 22 moves) later.
Mar-04-09  solskytz: This move would work despite the lack of Rxg3+ing possibilities for black after white would take the hypothetical B on d2, as black would now exploit the undefended state of the Qd2 by playing Re5 - or even more boldfaced, Rg3, and the black R would be immune.
Apr-05-09  ROO.BOOKAROO: No doubt about it. Graham Burgess offers the most thorough, complete and in-depth (5-page long) analysis, with all the possible variations, of this game in his famous book, "The World's Greatest Chess Games", Game #12, p. 68-72, on which all the above quotes are based.
Apr-05-09  wrap99: Maybe explained somewhere already, but why 14. ne3 and not nc7ch?
Apr-06-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  Ulhumbrus: The move 19 fxe3 opens the f file and so discovers an attack on the f7 pawn as well as attacking the Rook on e3
Jun-06-09  wrap99: So my question is indeed answered earlier, sort of. It looks like nc7+ which certainly seems compelling to me is met with things like Kd7 and if the N takes the R, I think Re8ch is pretty bad for white
Aug-26-10
Premium Chessgames Member
  sevenseaman: 16. Rc1 imparts momentum, pushes Black on the defensive.
Mar-26-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  chancho: Picture of this game:

http://www.tabladeflandes.com/frank...

Mar-26-11  tjipa: If anybody cares... What a chivalric thing for Lasker, to annotate this sad loss.. I am a fan of Akiba, but I laud Lasker for these comments.
Jump to page #    (enter # from 1 to 6)
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 5 OF 6 ·  Later Kibitzing>
NOTE: You need to pick a username and password to post a reply. Getting your account takes less than a minute, totally anonymous, and 100% free--plus, it entitles you to features otherwise unavailable. Pick your username now and join the chessgames community!
If you already have an account, you should login now.
Please observe our posting guidelines:
  1. No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.
  2. No spamming, advertising, or duplicating posts.
  3. No personal attacks against other users.
  4. Nothing in violation of United States law.
Blow the Whistle See something which violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform an administrator.


NOTE: Keep all discussion on the topic of this page. This forum is for this specific game and nothing else. If you want to discuss chess in general, or this site, you might try the Kibitzer's Café.
Messages posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors.
Spot an error? Please submit a correction slip and help us eliminate database mistakes!
This game is type: CLASSICAL (Disagree? Please submit a correction slip.)

Featured in the Following Game Collections [what is this?]
BATTLES OF THE CHESSBOARD
by zaman216
Rook Endings
by Jilted Rook
s 136
from solmaz's favorite games by solmaz
#7-St Petersburg 1909 (12/68)
from World's Greatest Chess Games by DanBoyle
18 Qd1-c1!! pins the Black e3-rook to undefended Black g5-queen
from PINS AGAINST UNDEFENDED PIECES (UPMP) by notyetagm
Another marvellous endgame
from Learn from the great Rubinstein by timothee3331
Rubinstein II
from Chessmaster '86 by SamAtoms1980
16 ... Re8xNe3 lines up Black e3-rook,g5-queen for pin 18 Qc1!!
from If you LINE UP your pieces, no need for DECOYS by notyetagm
maxruen's favorite games
by maxruen
The endgame player who could have been world champion. R vs. R.
from One Hundred and One Great Endgames by Nasruddin Hodja
Rook endings by Levenfish and Smyslov
by StuporMoundi
Game 61
from Garry Kasparov on My Great Predecessors Part 1 by MetalPlastic
A very beautiful and difficult game
from Rubinstein's Chess Masterpieces by Karpova
pixing's favorite games
by pixing
Tied to your pawns
from Instructive rook endgames by Cushion
Rook vs Rook
from Instructive Endgames by Rio Mike
Rubinsteins greatest games
by Endgame
Top 10 Lists
by zenrocket
August 8: By Rook or by Crook
from Game of the Day 2006 by Phony Benoni
Terry McCracken's favorite games
by Terry McCracken
plus 90 more collections (not shown)


home | about | login | logout | F.A.Q. | your profile | preferences | Premium Membership | Kibitzer's Café | Biographer's Bistro | new kibitzing | chessforums | Tournament Index | Player Directory | World Chess Championships | Opening Explorer | Guess the Move | Game Collections | ChessBookie Game | Chessgames Challenge | Little ChessPartner | privacy notice | contact us
Copyright 2001-2013, Chessgames Services LLC
Web design & database development by 20/20 Technologies