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Georg Rotlewi vs Akiba Rubinstein
"Rubinstein's Immortal" (game of the day Jan-06-2009)
5th All-Russian Masters, Lodz (1907), Lodz RUE, rd 6, Dec-26
Tarrasch Defense: Symmetrical Variation (D32)  ·  0-1

ANALYSIS [x]

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Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 12 OF 15 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Mar-07-11  DWINS: Wow, there are a lot of mistakes in this analysis!

1) In the sub-variation 24. Rad1 Rxd1 25. Rxd1, 25...Nxh2 mates quicker than Rh3. I realize that this is nitpicking, but LMAJ prides himself on the accuracy of his analysis.

2) His mainline of 24.Rf3 leads to a mate in 13. LMAJ got the correct first few moves, but then goes awry with 26...Ne4+ instead of 26...Qh3. 26.Ne4+ is also a forced mate, but it takes longer. The rest of his analysis in the main line, although winning, is also less than optimum.

3) After all that, he doesn't even give the best line for White. Of course, the position is still totally lost (-14.83), but 24. Bc3, intending both Be1 and Ra2, holds out the longest.

Mar-07-11  Marmot PFL: This game also reminds me of R Byrne vs Fischer, 1963, even though the positions aren't so similar. In each one black has just a symmetrical game with a little better piece position, white makes a small mistake and soon its over.
Jul-05-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  LIFE Master AJ: As a very young player - few games impressed me like this one did ... it looked more like black magic than chess.
Jul-05-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  LIFE Master AJ: http://www.ajschess.com/lifemastera...

http://www.lifemasteraj.com/old_af-...

Aug-05-11  Haymker: Sean Godley, who is also a member here, made a great video review of this game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfIl...

Dec-22-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  SteinitzLives: Clearly whites' opening play helps set up Rubinsteins' great piece placement resulting in the superb attack.

From a modern and early 20th century perspective, whites' 6th, 10th and 11th moves are positionally, and with that strategically, weak.

Now-a-days I would be hard pressed to see someone rated 2000 or above make all three of those much less than best moves.

This is to take nothing away from Rubinsteins' devastatingly dynamic attacking play later in the game, but should a game with this many opening mistakes be consider immortal? . . . . . . . Yes! If Morphy vs. the duke and count gets in, so does this one.

Perhaps in addition to the wonderfully sacrificial and completely sound attack, it's blacks' punishment of these opening mistakes with classical piece placement that so frequently sends this game into so many game collections.

21. Be4 which is as good or bad as any alternatives considering the circumstances, is the real gift to Rubinstein and to us, that allows black's crushing, and again, completely sound attack.

It's a great illustration of superior piece placement, and it's sparkling results.

Now if only Rubinstein could have been more of a writer.

Dec-25-11  SuperPatzer77: Black has magnificient attacks on White's king-side positions. See diagram below:

White to move


click for larger view

24. Bxb7 Rxe2, 25. Bg2 (only move to prevent Rxh2#) Rh3!, 26. Rf2!? Rxf2!, 27. Kg1 Rxh2, 28. Bc6 Rfg2+! (double check), 29. Kf1 Rg1#

What a lovely combination by Akiba Rubinstein!!!

SuperPatzer77

Dec-26-11  SuperPatzer77: *** White to move - (instead of 24. Qxd2 or 24. Bxb7)


click for larger view

24. Qxg4 Bxe4+, 25. Rf3 Rxf3!, 26. Qg2 (26. h3 Rxh3#!! - double check & mate) Rf1+!, 27. Rxf1 Bxg2#!

24. Bxc3 Rxe2, 25. Rf2 (forced) Bxe4+, 26. Kg1 Bxf2+, 27. Kf1 Bf3! (setting up the mating net by protecting the Black Rook on e2), 28. Rd1 Nxh2#

24. Rae1 Bxe4+, 25. Rf3 Bxf3+, 26. Qxf3 Rxh2#

*** The chess book titled "Chess Evolution - The Fundamentals" was authored by Artur Yusupov - see page 28 - 29 on this book.

SuperPatzer77

Jan-29-12  Eduardo Bermudez: Rubinstein played with all his pieces !!
Jul-27-12  haydn20: A comment from another page sent me here, and I'm glad I came!
Nov-26-12  waustad: When white is a full 2 tempi behind in a symmetrical position after 14 moves it is clear that he hasn't done a very good job with the opening.
Jan-15-13  somitra: This is the game Anand refers to while commenting on his win with Black against Aronian @ Tata steel 2013.
Jan-15-13  andrewjsacks: <somitra> Have not heard Anand's comments, but saw the similarity immediately. Somewhere today Akiba is smiling because he did it first and only maybe better, but Vishy's claim is genuine: his is an instant classic attacking gem, with very similar themes.
Jan-16-13  Abdel Irada: As I played over this game, for some reason Wagner's "The Ride of the Valkyries" began to play in my mind's ear.
Jan-16-13  Llawdogg: Yes, just like Anand's Immortal.
Jan-16-13  FadeThePublic: this is a real immortal, not a prepped immortal...there is a difference and the way Anand tried to fake that it wasn't prep at the board was cheesy. Great game Akiba, he would beat Anand imho anytime.
Jan-17-13  Abdel Irada: <FadeThePublic: this is a real immortal, not a prepped immortal...there is a difference and the way Anand tried to fake that it wasn't prep at the board was cheesy.>

(1) Anand never, to my knowledge, made such a pretense. Can you show otherwise?

(2) There is absolutely nothing wrong with a prepared variation, as long as the preparation is one's own work and not that of a computer or another player, and there is nothing in Anand's game to suggest that either of those provisions applied.

Jan-17-13
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: <Abdel Irada: ... (2) There is absolutely nothing wrong with a prepared variation, as long as the preparation is one's own work and not that of a computer or another player, and there is nothing in Anand's game to suggest that either of those provisions applied.>

I would be extremely surprised if one or more engines and one or more of Anand's seconds weren't involved in preparing this line with him. It would be crazy for a player these days to prepare opening novelties without using engines.

Jan-17-13  somitra: <andrewjsacks>: Here are the two videos where Anand discusses this game and mentions that the present game (Rotlewi vs Rubenstein) has the same ideas with Bishops on b6, b7. He praises Rubenstein's version highly saying that in his version, there is also Rxc3, Rh3 etc.

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7iP...
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5vS...

Jan-17-13  Abdel Irada: <FSR>: True. I suppose I should have inserted an "exclusively" somewhere in there. :-)

My point is that the preparation was undertaken by and for him, rather than simply being copied in its entirety from some other (dishonestly unacknowledged) player's work.

Jan-17-13  Calli: A game with a similar sacrificial theme is Marshall vs Schlechter, 1907 Marshall's pretty 23.h4! sets it up but Schlechter does not fall for it, so the mate is only in the notes. Actually played before Rotlewi-Rubinstein.
Feb-10-13  Diglot: 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 c5 4.c4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.dxc5 <The main continuation here is 6.a3 a6 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.b4 Ba7 9.Bb2 0-0 10.Qc2 Qe7> 6…Bxc5 7.a3 a6 8.b4 Bd6 9.Bb2 0-0 10.Qd2?! <10.cxd5, 10.Qc2, or even 10.Rc1 would be better here. This move costs White a tempo soon, though it wouldn’t have necessarily done so if it was followed up with 11.cxd5> 10…Qe7! <A subtle move that will soon show the imprecision of 10.Qd2>

11. Bd3? <White loses a tempo with this due to Black’s next two moves. Better was 11.cxd5> 11…dxc4 12.Bxc4 b5 13.Bd3 Rd8 <This shows the point of 10…Qe7. Now White has to move the Queen again in order to get the her off the open file now occupied by Black’s Rook> 14.Qe2 Bb7 15.0-0 Ne5! 16.Nxe5 Bxe5 17.f4!? <An attempt at blunting Black’s initiative and simultaneously launching his own counter-offensive, but is possibly not the best move here. A safer alternative for White is 17.Rfd1 which, after 17…Qc7, could be followed up by 18.f4 (18…Bxc3 19.Rac1 Nd5 20.Bb1) or 18.Rac1 (18…Bxh2+ 19.Kh1 Qb8 20.a4). Another safe alternative is 17.Rac1 which would be followed by 17…Bxh2+ 18.Kxh2 Qd6 19.Kg1 Qxd3 20.Qxd3 Rxd3 21.Ne2. A more unintuitive move for White is 17.Na4, which could possibly be followed by either 17…Rxd3 or 17…Bxb2>

17…Bc7 18.e4?! <Imperative for White was to get a Rook centralized with 18.Rfd1 (18.Rad1 or 18.Rac1 are viable alternatives)> 18…Rac8 19.e5?? <The decisive mistake which gives Black a winning attack. As with move 18, White needed to develop a Rook to a central file> 18…Bb6+ 20.Kh1 Ng4! <The beginning of Black's decisive attack> 21.Be4 <There is no better move for White. For example: 21.Qxg4 Rxd3 22.Ne2 Rc2; and 21.Bxh7+ Kxh7 22.Qxg4 Rd2; and 21.Ne4 can be met by either 21…Qh4 or 21…Rxd3; and lastly, 21.h3 can be met with either 21…Ne3 or 21…Qh4> 21…Qh4 <Also winning is 21…Nxh2 (followed by …Nf1 and …Ne3)>

22.g3 <Again, there is no better defense for White. If 22.h3 then 22…Rxc3! and White has two options: 23.Bxc3 Bxe4 24.Qxg4 Qxg4 25.hxg4 Rd3 and White has a completely won game; or 23.Qxg4 Rxh3+ 24.Qxh3 Qxh3+ 25.gxh3 Bxe4+ and White has to either accept a quick mate with 26.Kh2 or stave it off for a while with 26.Rf3> 22…Rxc3!! <The point is to get rid of a protector of the e4 square> 23. gxh4 <Black may as well accept the Queen sacrifice, though 23.Bxb7 is White’s best response but 23…Rxg3 still gives Black a winning attack> 23… Rd2!! <The point is to deflect the Queen away from its protection of the e4 square> 24.Qxd2 <No matter what White does here, there is a swift mate to follow> 24…Bxe4 25.Qg2 Rh3! 0-1

<White resigns in face of the imminent and inescapable checkmate (e.g. 26. Rf3 Bxf3 27. Qxf3 Rxh2#). Note that Rubinstein played the correct 25… Rh3 instead of the blunder 25… Bxg2 which only leaves the door wide open for White after 26. Kxg2 Rc2+ 27. Kg3 Ne3>

Feb-10-13  andrewjsacks: <somitra> Right. Thank you. Yes, the parallels were obvious. Now a second great game with those themes, and no doubt there are a couple of others.
Feb-12-13  SirChrislov: "Every great player has a game which became his visiting card to chess history."

--Y. Razuvaev

This was Rubinstein's.

Bravo Anand for the win against Aronian. Here's another one with "waves" of Rotlevi-Rubinstein, Polugaevsky vs Ftacnik, 1982

Apr-09-13
Premium Chessgames Member
  PawnSac: <FadeThePublic: this is a real immortal, not a prepped immortal...there is a difference and the way Anand tried to fake that it wasn't prep at the board was cheesy. Great game Akiba, he would beat Anand imho anytime.>

familiarity with previously played positions is not a crime. Every one of us has learned elements of the game from previously played games. But how are you to know that Akiba didn't bring previous home analysis to the board? such an assertion is nonsense.

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