The chess games of Reuben Fine

Fine

Reuben Fine
Number of games in database: 383
Years covered: 1930 to 1986
Overall record: +175 -57 =120 (66.8%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games
      Based on games in the database; may be incomplete.
      31 exhibition games, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS

With the White pieces:

Nimzo Indian (21)
    E33 E37 E43 E34 E32
Queen's Gambit Declined (21)
    D37 D30 D35 D31 D39
Orthodox Defense (18)
    D55 D63 D51 D60 D50
Grunfeld (17)
    D81 D83 D82 D73 D95
Ruy Lopez (12)
    C86 C70 C79 C90 C97
Queen's Pawn Game (11)
    D02 E00 A40 A50 D04

With the Black pieces:

Nimzo Indian (25)
    E33 E43 E34 E45 E23
Queen's Gambit Declined (16)
    D38 D30 D37 D39
Ruy Lopez (15)
    C83 C71 C74 C73 C79
Orthodox Defense (15)
    D51 D50 D68 D65 D64
Queen's Pawn Game (12)
    D02 A46 D04 E10
French Defense (10)
    C01 C00 C18 C05 C17

Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   Fine vs Botvinnik, 1938 1-0
   Capablanca vs Fine, 1931 0-1
   Fine vs W Winter, 1936 1-0
   Fine vs Lasker, 1936 1-0
   I A Horowitz vs Fine, 1934 0-1
   Fine vs Alekhine, 1938 1-0
   Fine vs Flohr, 1938 1-0
   Capablanca vs Fine, 1938 1/2-1/2
   Reshevsky vs Fine, 1941 1/2-1/2
   Fine vs G A Thomas, 1935 1-0

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   Finesse by Garre
   Match Fine! by amadeus
   Fine by Morten
   Reuben Fine's Best Games by woodenbishop
   Nottingham 1936 by Hesam7
   AVRO 1938 by Benzol
   Semmering/Baden 1937 by suenteus po 147
   Syracuse 1934 by Phony Benoni
   Zandvoort 1936 by suenteus po 147
   Margate 1937 by suenteus po 147

GAMES ANNOTATED BY FINE: [what is this?]
Fine vs Botvinnik, 1938

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REUBEN FINE
(born Oct-11-1914, died Mar-26-1993) United States of America

[what is this?]

Reuben Fine was born in 1914. He grew up in New York City and first learned to play chess at the age of eight. After winning several strong American tournaments as a youth, Fine turned to international competition. In 1937 he tied with Paul Keres for first at Margate, and at the AVRO tournament the next year he again finished tied for first with Keres.

After World War II, he was offered an invitation to the World Championship tournament in 1948, but declined to participate. He retired from chess a few years later in order to pursue a career in psychology. In his foreshortened career, Fine played against five world champions. He had overall plus scores against three of them (Emanuel Lasker, Alexander Alekhine, and Mikhail Botvinnik) and even records against the other two, Jose Raul Capablanca and Max Euwe.

He was an author of note, his most recognized works were: Ideas Behind the Chess Openings and Basic Chess Endings.

page 1 of 16; games 1-25 of 383

Game	Result	Moves	Year	Event/Locale	Opening
1. Dake vs Fine	1-0	35	1930	young masters	B24 Sicilian, Closed
2. Fine vs Dake	0-1	17	1931	New York, USA	E43 Nimzo-Indian, Fischer Variation
3. Fine vs J Rappaport	1-0	28	1931	USA Intercollegiate ch -32, USA	A00 Uncommon Opening
4. Capablanca vs Fine	0-1	48	1931	New York Simultaneous	D51 Queen's Gambit Declined
5. Fine vs H Steiner	1-0	37	1932	New York m, USA	E41 Nimzo-Indian
6. Fine vs H Steiner	0-1	29	1932	Pasadena (USA)	D67 Queen's Gambit Declined, Orthodox Defense, Bd3 line
7. H Steiner vs Fine	1-0	40	1932	New York m, USA	C49 Four Knights
8. H Steiner vs Fine	½-½	75	1932	New York m, USA	E11 Bogo-Indian Defense
9. Fine vs H Steiner	½-½	58	1932	New York m, USA	A15 English
10. Fine vs A J Fink	1-0	30	1932	Pasadena (USA)	A00 Uncommon Opening
11. Fine vs H Steiner	1-0	38	1932	New York m, USA	E34 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Noa Variation
12. H Steiner vs Fine	1-0	61	1932	New York, USA	D90 Grunfeld
13. Alekhine vs Fine	½-½	57	1932	Pasadena	B02 Alekhine's Defense
14. H Steiner vs Fine	0-1	65	1932	New York m, USA	B03 Alekhine's Defense
15. Fine vs Levenstein	1-0	63	1932	Ch Marshall Chess Club, New York (USA)	A53 Old Indian
16. H Steiner vs Fine	0-1	28	1932	New York m, USA	D90 Grunfeld
17. Fine vs A Simonson	1-0	22	1932	New York Marshall CC ch -33, USA	A00 Uncommon Opening
18. H Borochow vs Fine	1-0	11	1932	Pasadena USA ch, USA	B02 Alekhine's Defense
19. Fine vs Factor	1-0	54	1932	Minnepolis	E00 Queen's Pawn Game
20. Fine vs H Steiner	0-1	31	1932	New York m, USA	D35 Queen's Gambit Declined
21. Fine vs Kevitz	1-0	32	1932	New York, USA	E10 Queen's Pawn Game
22. Fine vs H Steiner	0-1	37	1932	New York m, USA	A09 Reti Opening
23. E Glass vs Fine	0-1	27	1933	Folkestone Olympiad	D02 Queen's Pawn Game
24. Fine vs F Reinfeld	½-½	51	1933	?	A12 English with b3
25. J Enevoldsen vs Fine	½-½	37	1933	Folkestone olm, ENG	D90 Grunfeld


page 1 of 16; games 1-25 of 383

REFINE SEARCH: White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Fine wins | Fine loses

< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 8 OF 8 · Later Kibitzing >
Dec-24-08		ketchuplover: Sorry but I lost the game score. I played Alekhine's defense. Lost in around 40 moves. Happy holidays y'all :)

Feb-01-09		nimh: Finee & Reshevsky http://web.zone.ee/chessanalysis/su... By the accuracy of their moves, they seem to be diametrically opposite, in spite of the fact that their playing strength must be roughly qeual.

Feb-19-09		whiteshark: Guess tomorrow's <Quote of the Day>

Feb-19-09		Dredge Rivers: <"I never read a (chess) book until I was already a master."> So, if he hadn't read any chess books ever, he would have been World Champion? Huh? Although, not reading certainly worked for George W. Bush!

Feb-19-09		NakoSonorense: I want my money back. I've never read a chess book either and I'm no master!

Feb-19-09		Open Defence: <Nako> but maybe the <Playboys> you <read> had something to do with it

Feb-19-09		stoy: According to Gary Kasparov, Ruben Fine is one of the most underestimated players in the history of chess. He did not play in the 1948 Match Tournament because he did not want to see Russians throwing games to other Russians.

Feb-19-09		WannaBe: Oh, geeze, here we go with the pre-arranged games again... =)

Feb-19-09		Jim Bartle: Yes, we pre-arranged the kibitzes, too.

Feb-19-09		ughaibu: I'm surprised that he didn't know how to spell "pawed".

Feb-20-09		Dredge Rivers: <stoy> <he did not want to see Russians throwing games to other Russians.> All the more reason for him to go. Then he and Reshevsky (and perhaps Euwe) could throw games to each other and even up the playing field! BTW, only Smyslov was an ethnic Russian. Botvinnik was a Jew and Keres was an Estonian. I think you meant to say Soviet.

Feb-20-09		Dredge Rivers: A postscript to my last post. I didn't intend to denigrate Jews or any other group for that matter. I simply meant that in the days of the Soviet Union, Botvinnik and his co-religionists were not regarded (offically, as for example on their internal passports, as well as unoffically) as Russians, but as Jews. Culturally, they were indeed Russian, and should have been considered as such. Nevertheless, "Soviet" would have been a more precise word for <stoy> to have used.

Feb-20-09		AnalyzeThis: The one that I sympathize with is Keres. They held a gun to his head and helped him understand he wasn't going to win the tournament. The poor guy had the audacity to win the previous qualifying tournament, but didn't get his match against the champion.

Feb-20-09		Dredge Rivers: <AnalyseThis> Yes, but that qualifying tounament, ARVO 1938, was unofficial. Indeed, Alekine back out on his commitment to play the winner before it was even over. Then he had a few Vodkas.

Feb-20-09		AnalyzeThis: That it was unofficial was news to everybody but Alekhine who arrived to play at the tournament. It's true that Alekhine did make such an announcement at the opening ceremony. What a guy! Keres should have changed his name to Bogo. Then Alekhine would have played him right away.

Feb-21-09		Dredge Rivers: <AnalyseThis> By unofficial, I meant that FIDE did not sponsor it. Thus, there were no means to force Alekine to play the winner.

Mar-15-09		suenteus po 147: Another Fine tournament win: Game Collection: New York 1948/49

Apr-03-09		Dredge Rivers: <suenteus po 147> <Another Fine tournament win> That's a pun, right? :)

Apr-24-09		WhiteRook48: on page 7, there was something about chess books, weren't they My Strange Blunders by WhiteRook48 How to Hang Pieces Easily by WhiteRook48 How to Win Coincidentally by WhiteRook48 How to draw like Kramnik by WhiteRook48 My best 60 games by WhiteRook48 My worst 3000 games by WhiteRook48 buy them at the chess store

May-16-09		parisattack: <AnalyzeThis: The one that I sympathize with is Keres. They held a gun to his head and helped him understand he wasn't going to win the tournament. The poor guy had the audacity to win the previous qualifying tournament, but didn't get his match against the champion.> Keres - The player who wasn't a WC but most should have been! Other 'could have beens' - Pillsbury, Rubinstein, Fine, Reshevsky, Bronstein, Korchnoi...But Keres at the top of at least my list. List of those who played WC caliber chess for a period of time quite long - Nimzovitch, Flohr, Kashdan, Stein, Geller...

May-17-09		HeMateMe: < AnalyzeThis > Talk about being pulled in two directions. Someone posted a photo here, I think on the Keres page, of P.K. playing a simul against 15 or so Wermacht officers during WWII. I don't know if this was in occupied Russia, or if Keres was trapped in eastern Europe. I would guess Keres was playing for his supper/life in these games against nazis. After Stalin and his henchmen saw photos like that, I would guess Keres could be convinced to play 'less skillfully' in an important game or two. Siberia is a long ways from Moscow.

Jun-05-09		Nimzonick: Fine also said his book on the Spassky-Fischer match that by 1948, psychology had consumed him and he was "no longer interested" in pursing a world chess championship. Unrelated note: http://images.google.com/images?q=R... There is also a huge series of photos on Fischer on this archive

Jun-05-09		Petrosianic: <By unofficial, I meant that FIDE did not sponsor it. Thus, there were no means to force Alekine to play the winner.> Even if they had sponsored it, it wouldn't matter. FIDE didn't control the title in those days. In 1938, FIDE's "official" challenger was Salo Flohr. That shows you how much pull they had then.

Jun-09-09		OhioChessFan: Ahem: <"My Most Memorable Under Twenty Move Losses to Little Chess Partner and How I Was Ashamed to Admit to It Except in the Vain Hope of Making the Memorable Quotes Page"> by OhioChessFan

Jun-13-09		mistreaver: Robert James Fischer beat Reuben Fine 4 to 1. Isn't he also one of the world champions (altought the games were played before that moment.)

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