chessgames.com
Members · Prefs · Laboratory · Collections · Openings · Endgames · Sacrifices · History · Search Kibitzing · Kibitzer's Café · Chessforums · Tournament Index · Players · Kibitzing

Akiba Rubinstein
Rubinstein 
 

Number of games in database: 1,038
Years covered: 1897 to 1948
Overall record: +468 -163 =293 (66.5%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games in the database. 114 exhibition games, blitz/rapid, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS
With the White pieces:
 Queen's Pawn Game (121) 
    D02 A46 D05 D00 A40
 Orthodox Defense (51) 
    D63 D61 D55 D65 D50
 Nimzo Indian (39) 
    E34 E38 E46 E20 E40
 Tarrasch Defense (33) 
    D33 D32 D34
 Queen's Gambit Declined (33) 
    D37 D30 D31 D35
 King's Gambit Declined (26) 
    C30 C31 C32
With the Black pieces:
 Ruy Lopez (101) 
    C79 C77 C98 C84 C68
 Orthodox Defense (51) 
    D63 D60 D52 D61 D51
 Queen's Pawn Game (45) 
    D02 D00 D04 D05 A46
 Four Knights (43) 
    C48 C49 C47
 French Defense (42) 
    C01 C11 C10 C00 C09
 Queen's Gambit Declined (33) 
    D31 D30 D37 D06
Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   Rotlewi vs Rubinstein, 1907 0-1
   Rubinstein vs Lasker, 1909 1-0
   Rubinstein vs Salwe, 1908 1-0
   Rubinstein vs Hromadka, 1923 1-0
   Rubinstein vs Capablanca, 1911 1-0
   Rubinstein vs Duras, 1908 1-0
   Rubinstein vs Schlechter, 1912 1-0
   Alekhine vs Rubinstein, 1912 0-1
   Rubinstein vs Maroczy, 1920 1-0
   E Cohn vs Rubinstein, 1909 0-1

NOTABLE TOURNAMENTS: [what is this?]
   Karlsbad (1907)
   Ostend Masters (1907)
   St. Petersburg (1909)
   Bad Pistyan (1912)
   BCF Major Open (1924)
   Hamburg Olympiad (1930)
   Polish Championship (1927)
   Rogaska Slatina (1929)
   Barmen Hauptturnier-A (1905)
   18th DSB Congress, Breslau (1912)
   Karlsbad (1911)
   Baden-Baden (1925)
   Vienna (1908)
   3rd All-Russian Masters, Kiev (1903)
   Ostend (1906)

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   3 Carl Schlechter and Akiba Rubinstein Games Rob by fredthebear
   Carl Schlechter and Akiba Rubinstein Games by lobsters
   Akiba the Great by BAJones
   Akiba the Great by nbabcox
   Dry Rubinstein by Gottschalk
   19z Dry Rub by Littlejohn
   Rubinstein's Chess Masterpieces by Karpova
   Rubinstein's Chess Masterpieces by Okavango
   Rubinstein's Chess Masterpieces by yesthatwasasac
   Veliki majstori saha 11 RUBINSTEIN (Petrovic) by Chessdreamer
   Akiba Rubinstein's Best Games by dwesturner9580
   Rubinstein vs World Champions Decisive Games by Okavango
   Akiba Rubinstein's Best Games by Okavango
   Akiba Rubinstein's Best Games by Retarf

GAMES ANNOTATED BY RUBINSTEIN: [what is this?]
   O Bernstein vs Rubinstein, 1912
   Spielmann vs Rubinstein, 1920
   Salwe vs Rubinstein, 1907
   Rubinstein vs Loman / Van Gelder, 1920


Search Sacrifice Explorer for Akiba Rubinstein
Search Google for Akiba Rubinstein

AKIBA RUBINSTEIN
(born Dec-01-1880, died Mar-15-1961, 80 years old) Poland (federation/nationality Belgium)

[what is this?]

Akiba (Akiva, Akiwa) Kiwelowicz Rubinstein (1) was born on 1 December 1880 (2) in Stawiski, Poland.(3) He was the youngest of 12 children of a family of rabbis and scholars living in extreme poverty.(4) Ten of his siblings died of tuberculosis in infancy, and his father also died a few weeks before Akiba was born.(4) Akiba was raised by his grandparents to become a rabbi and went to the Cheder,(UK, p. 15) where he got acquainted with chess at the age of 14.(5) At age 16, he became interested in chess theory (5) and decided to become a chess professional instead of a rabbi.(6) Around the turn of the century, Rubinstein moved to Bialystok, Poland and left his family.(7) He soon became too strong for G G Bartoszkiewicz, the best player of Bialystok and Rubinstein's first nemesis.(8)

Early Chess Career

Rubinstein moved to Lódz, Poland in 1902 (AS, page CV) where he faced Georg Salwe. They played a match in 1903 to qualify for the 3rd All-Russian Championship in Kiev, 1903 (UK, pp. 19-20) (TLY, p. 390). The match ended drawn at 7.0-7.0 (UK, p. 20) and both chessplayers competed in the Championship later that year.(9) In 1904, Rubinstein and Salwe played a second match and Rubinstein emerged as the winner (TLY, pp. 390-391). He crowned his international debut at the Barmen 1905 Hauptturnier by sharing first place with Oldrich Duras, and became recognized as a master.(10) In the fall of 1905, Rubinstein beat Jacques Mieses in a match by the score of 3.0-0.0 (included in Rubinstein - Mieses (1909)).

Rubinstein continued to improve in 1906, sharing second place at the 4th All-Russian Championship in St. Petersburg behind Salwe,(11) and winning Lódz 1906 ahead of Mikhail Chigorin. (12) At Ostende 1906, a 5-stage 36-player tournament won by Carl Schlechter, Rubinstein achieved an excellent third place (UK, pp. 58-73). He was also successful in local events in Lódz.

Ascending to the Top

Rubinstein shared first place together with Ossip Bernstein at Ostende B 1907,(13) before he had his final breakthrough by winning Karlsbad (1907). (14) Rubinstein was also successful in his last match against Salwe, winning 16.0-6.0 (TLY, pp. 395-402). The year 1907 concluded with Rubinstein's win at the 5th All-Russian Championship 1907-1908 in Lódz,(15) where he played probably his most famous game Rotlewi vs Rubinstein, 1907.

The year 1908 was a bit disappointing, as he managed only 4th place at both Vienna (1908) and Prague (1908). He won two matches, one against Richard Teichmann (16) and Rubinstein - Marshall (1908). He also won Lodz (1908).

A contender for the title

At St. Petersburg (1909), Rubinstein shared first place with world champion Emanuel Lasker and beat him in their individual encounter. He went on to win Rubinstein - Mieses (1909) and was successful in smaller events. A match against Jose Raul Capablanca was planned in 1909, but never took place for reasons unknown (UK, pp. 207-208).

In 1910, a quiet year for the chess world, Rubinstein moved to Warsaw, Poland (AS, page CV). The Warsaw championship 1910 ended with a surprise, since Alexander Flamberg won ahead of Rubinstein (UK, p. 210). Soon afterwards, the two masters played a match which Rubinstein won 4.5-0.5 (UK, pp. 213-214). Rubinstein did not participate in Hamburg (1910) with respect to his health.(17) A planned match against Bernstein, which was to start in December 1910 and consist of 16 games, was postponed several times and, in the end, never took place (UK, pp. 215-216).

Rubinstein beat Capablanca in their individual encounter and remained unbeaten at San Sebastian (1911), but he still had to share second place behind the young Cuban. He also had to be content with a shared second place at Karlsbad (1911), Teichmann's great triumph. The year concluded with Rubinstein winning the strong Warsaw championship.(18)

The year 1912 was Rubinstein's magical year. He won four consecutive major tournaments: San Sebastian (1912), Bad Pistyan (1912), the 18th DSB Kongress (1912) and Vilnius All-Russian Masters (1912).

World Championship Challenger

During San Sebastian 1912, Rubinstein wrote to Lasker that he wanted to play a title match against him. Lasker was still bound by the ill-fated negotiations with Capablanca.(19) Rubinstein officially challenged Lasker in August 1912, and the world champion accepted. The negotiations and the arrangement of the world championship took place mainly in 1912 and 1913.(20) The match was to take place in autumn 1914 in Europe, mainly in Germany and Russia. Rubinstein doesn't seem to have played serious chess in 1913, but probably prepared for the match. He spend a few months in Bad Reichenhall, a popular health resort in Germany.(21)

1914 - The end of a dream, but not of all hopes

Rubinstein only scored 50% at St. Petersburg (1914) and was eliminated in the preliminary tournament.(22) This had no influence on the planned world championship match, and Lasker went on with the arrangements for the match.(23) The outbreak of the First World War was the force majeure that forced the cancellation of the title match (UK, p. 304).

The First World War

From 1914 to 1917, Rubinstein was confined to Poland, a major battleground. He could only compete in events in Warsaw and Lódz and did so with success (UK, pp. 304-311). There were also good moments, as Akiba married Eugenie Lew in 1917 and their son Jonas Jacob was born on 24 January 1918 in Szczuczyn, Poland (AS, page Family Tree) (TLY, p. 26). He was able to travel to Berlin in early 1918 (UK, p. 311) and competed in several events. His play became uneven and very good performances took turns with very bad results. First, he won the Rubinstein - Schlechter (1918) match in January, and then came in last at Berlin Four Masters (1918). He followed up with a second place, unbeaten behind world champion Lasker, at Berlin Grandmasters (1918).

The post-war era

In late 1919, the Rubinstein family moved to Sweden where they lived until 1921 (UK, p. 323) (AS, page CV). He came in second in the Stockholm quadrangular tournament in December 1919 (behind Rudolf Spielmann, ahead of Efim Bogoljubov and Richard Reti) (UK, pp. 327-333). At the beginning of 1920, Rubinstein beat Bogoljubov in a match.(24) During a Simul tour through the Netherlands (20 March 1920), Rubinstein spoke about the world championship (UK, p. 370), since Capablanca had emerged as Lasker's main rival. He reminded the public of still having a contract with Lasker, yet did not deny Lasker's and Capablanca's right to play for the title. He thought that an official body should administer the world championship and also suggested a triangular match between Lasker, Capablanca and himself. However, Rubinstein had lost his financial basis in post-war Europe and couldn't raise the necessary funds. Capablanca met Lasker in The Hague in January 1920 and they drew up a draft agreement for a title match, not to begin before 1 January 1921.(25) Capablanca had already declared in August 1919 that Lasker, Rubinstein and he himself were considered the strongest chessplayers in the world and that he would accept a challenge from Rubinstein, if he won the title from Lasker.(26) Rubinstein ended the year with a good second place at Gothenburg (1920) and then won the small Göteborg Winter tournament, which extended from 1920 to 1921, in convincing fashion (TLY, pp. 29-34).

At The Hague (1921), Rubinstein came in third behind Alexander Alekhine and Savielly Tartakower. Rubinstein co-authored the Lärobok i Schack, one of the most important contemporaneous works on opening theory.(27) He went on to win the strong Triberg tournament, December 1921, ahead of Bogoljubov and Spielmann (TLY, pp. 44-52). Alekhine wanted to challenge the new world champion Capablanca already after The Hague (1921), but the Cuban granted Rubinstein the right of a first challenge. He had already accepted Rubinstein's challenge on 7 September 1921. Dutch chess officials suggested a candidates match between Rubinstein and Alekhine. Both masters agreed to the match. The winner would receive 1,000 Guilders, the loser 500 Guilders. The match was to take place not earlier than March 1922. In the end, Alekhine avoided the match.(28)

At London (1922), Rubinstein came in fourth and Capablanca drew up the London Rules.(29) Capablanca granted Rubinstein some time to meet the high financial demands, setting the deadline for 31 December 1923, but Rubinstein couldn't raise the funds.(30) After a second place at Hastings (1922), he came in fifth at Teplitz-Schönau, October 1922, but won 4 Brilliancy prizes (TLY, pp. 72-83). At the end of the year, he had one of his greatest successes at Vienna (1922). Rubinstein, who had to support his family and raise money for the title match, suffered a severe financial set-back when Austrian frontier officials impounded his prize money (TLY, p. 84). In 1922, the Rubinstein family moved to Germany, where they stayed until 1926 (AS, page CV). After winning Hastings 1922/1923 (TLY, pp. 96-100), Rubinstein had very disappointing performances at Karlsbad (1923) and Maehrisch-Ostrau (1923).

Although Rubinstein had to content himself with a third place in Meran, February 1924 he popularized the Meran variation of the Semi-Slav by beating the tournament winner in Gruenfeld vs Rubinstein, 1924. Rubinstein was willing to compete in New York (1924), but this was out of question for the organizers. Bernhard Kagan, responsible for contacting the European masters and trying to help Rubinstein, explained that the number of participants was limited and the Grandmasters who were already in New York had an influential word.(31) He competed in smaller events, before managing a good second place at Baden-Baden (1925). The year 1925 continued to be a successful one with a shared first place at Marienbad (1925). At Breslau (1925), he only shared third place and ended the year with a very disappointing performance in Moscow (1925), his first and only trip to the Soviet Union (TLY, p. 165). While his results improved in 1926, at Semmering (1926), Dresden (1926), Budapest, June-July 1926 (shared third to fifth place) (TLY, pp. 196-203), Hannover (1926) and Berlin (1926), they were not outstanding. The Rubinstein family moved to Belgium in 1926, where Akiba lived until the end of his life (AS, page CV). In the spring of 1927, Rubinstein visited Poland and won the Second Polish Championship in Lódz (TLY, pp. 212-221). On 19 March 1927, his son Samy Rubinstein was born in Antwerp, Belgium (AS, page Family Tree).

In early 1928, Rubinstein visited the USA, gave Simuls and played several exhibition games (TLY, pp. 348-362). An international tournament had originally been planned and then a match against Marshall was suggested in its stead, but neither took place. He shared third place with Max Euwe at Bad Kissingen (1928), but Berlin (1928) was a disappointment. Then came the year 1929, which was one of his best years and stands out among the post-World War I years. First, he scored +3 -0 =4 against the British players in the Scheveningen-style Ramsgate tournament, March-April 1929 (TLY, pp. 238-241). Then followed three large tournaments, where Rubinstein came in fourth at Karlsbad (1929), second at Budapest (1929) and won Rogaška Slatina (today Slovenia), September-October 1929, ahead of Salomon Flohr (TLY, pp. 265-273). Donaldson and Minev on these three tournaments: "Rubinstein's overall result, which included only three losses in forty-nine games, was 34 1/2 - 14 1/2 during the sixty-nine days span."(TLY, p. 238)

The end of his chess career

He reached third place at San Remo (1930). Rubinstein also competed in the Belgian Team Championship in March and beat Johannes Hendrik Otto van den Bosch (3.0-0.0) and Salo Landau (2.5-0.5) in short matches in June (TLY, pp. 282-286). After a third place at Scarborough (1930), Rubinstein played on first board for the Polish team at the Hamburg Chess Olympiad, scoring +13 -0 =4. Rubinstein, together with Savielly Tartakower, David Przepiorka, Kazimierz Makarczyk and Paulino Frydman won the Gold medal.(32) Possibly tired from the Olympiad, which took place in July, Rubinstein disappointed at Liege (1930) in August.

In the spring of 1931, Rubinstein conducted a Simul tour through Palestine. He was the first well-known chess master to do so and the visit had a great, positive and long-lasting influence on chess in Palestine.(33) Then came the Prague Olympiad, July 1931, and Rubinstein played on first board again for the Silver-medal winning Polish team.(34) He was invited to Bled (1931), (35) but did not participate. After a successful Scheveningen-style tournament in Antwerp, July-August 1931 (TLY, pp. 316-318), Rubinstein came in last at Rotterdam, December 1931 (TLY, pp. 318-321) which was followed in January 1932 by a consultation event, which also took place in Rotterdam. Rubinstein scored the most points (TLY, p. 322). This was the last serious chess event he participated in, ending his professional chess career in early 1932.

The later years

The Rubinstein family had moved to Brussels, Belgium in 1931, where his wife Eugenie operated a restaurant (TLY, p. 26). With Akiba retiring from chess in 1932, Eugenie had to feed the family (two children) and the situation became critical. An appeal for help was made in 1932 and the publishing house of the Wiener Schach-Zeitung tried to help by publishing the book Rubinstein gewinnt!, with an introduction by Jacques Hannak and annotations by Hans Kmoch. (36) Akiba stayed for some time in a sanatorium before being reunited with his family (TLY, p. 16). In 1936, Eugenie reported that Akiba's health at least hadn't declined compared to the years before and he still occupied himself with chess, having followed the Alekhine - Euwe World Championship Match (1935) also.(37)

The fact that the Rubinstein family survived the Holocaust seems like a miracle. Sammy spent 1943-1944 in prison but was released. Factors which helped them to survive: They were probably all Belgian citizens by 1940 living in Brussels, and the Germans had no clear plans for Belgium which affected its administration (about 44% of the Jewish population in Belgium perished in the Holocaust), in addition, Akiba hid in a sanatorium (TLY, pp. 18-19).

Rubinstein's last public appearance as a chess player was a Simul he gave in Liège, Belgium in March 1946, scoring +24 -2 =4 (TLY, p. 377). It was reported that he would participate in a tournament in Maastricht soon afterwards, but he withdrew (TLY, p. 19). The financial situation of the Rubinstein family became critical again, and an appeal to help him was made in 1948 (TLY, pp. 17-18). In 1950, FIDE awarded the Grandmaster title to Rubinstein.(38)

Akiba had two students, Paul Devos and the third correspondence chess world champion Alberic O'Kelly de Galway (TLY, p. 19). He was also visited by Daniel Abraham Yanofsky and Miguel Najdorf, who said that Rubinstein won two fantastic games against him, and possibly Euwe.(39)

After his wife Eugenie died in 1954, Akiba moved to a home for old people. Sammy and Jonas remember visiting him and analysing the games of the world championship matches between Mikhail Botvinnik and Vasily Smyslov together.(TLY, p. 21) On 15 March 1961, Akiba Rubinstein passed away in Antwerp, Belgium (TLY, p. 21).

Contributions to Opening Theory

Akiba Rubinstein invented and popularized many important opening variations, or turned innovations by others into fully-fledged opening systems. Many opening variations therefore bear his name. Among them are the Rubinstein variation of the Nimzo-Indian Defense (1.d4 ♘f6 2.c4 e6 3.♘c3 ♗b4 4.e3), the Rubinstein variation of the French Defense (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.♘c3 dxe4), the Rubinstein variation of the Symmetrical English (1.c4 c5 2.♘c3 ♘f6 3.g3 d5 4.cxd5 ♘xd5 5.♗g2 ♘c7), an important variation in the Four Knights Game (1.e4 e5 2.♘f3 ♘c6 3.♘c3 ♘f6 4.♗b5 ♘d4), the important system against the Tarrasch Defence of the Queen's Gambit Declined with 6.g3 (introduced by Schlechter), and the already mentioned Meran variation in the Semi-Slav.

Testimonials

Garry Kasparov "Careful analysis shows that modern chess, proceeding from the Botvinnik era, is very strongly influenced by the games of Rubinstein, who was, essentially, one of the fathers of modern chess history." (40)

Vladimir Kramnik Rubinstein was “...an incredibly talented and fantastic chess player...Why didn't he become a World Champion? That's a mystery to me…” (41)

Boris Gelfand on the question if Rubinstein was his favorite player: "Yes, sure, definitely." (42)

Additional Information

An overview of Rubinstein's individual scores against the strongest players of his time: User: RubinsteinScores

An overview of Rubinstein's matches: User: RubinsteinMatches

An overview of Rubinstein's tournament career: http://www.phileo.demon.co.uk/uk_ar...

User: jessicafischerqueen 's documentary of Rubinstein can be found in three parts at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi3h... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQQO... and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sqG...

Sources and Footnotes

The most important sources, apart from contemporaneous newspapers, were Donaldson's and Minev's two volumes on Rubinstein and Anita Sikora's website on Rubinstein with a lot of original research. In order to save space, these sources will simply be abbreviated in the text and don't get their own footnotes. The abbreviation "UK" stands for John William Donaldson and Nikolay N Minev, The Life & Games of Akiva Rubinstein - Volume 1: Uncrowned King, 2nd edition, 2006, Russell Enterprises, Inc., Milford CT USA. The abbreviation "TLY" stands for John William Donaldson and Nikolay N Minev, The Life & Games of Akiva Rubinstein - Volume 2: The Later Years, 2nd edition, 2011, Russell Enterprises, Inc., Milford CT USA. The abbreviation "AS" stands for Anita Sikora's (User: anyi) website http://rubina.yfw24.de/.

(1) His forename is usually written Akiba with b. In the Hebrew alphabet b, v and w are the same letter and v is the correct transliteration. See the discussion in AS (page CV). Rubinstein himself once used the German transliteration Akiwa (cover of KARL 3/2013). His name is spelled Akiba in the biography because it is the official spelling on chessgames.com. Kiwelowicz is his patronym (other transliterations are Kivelovitch and Kiwelowitsch, see AS, page CV) according to Jeremy Gaige's Chess Personalia (p. 364 of the paperback edition, 2005, McFarland) since Poland was occupied by Russia at that time.

(2) Rubinstein's birthday was unclear for a long time, see the discussion on p. 384 of UK. The earliest sources gave 12 October 1882 (Gregorian calender, converted from 30 September 1882 of the Julian calender), while later sources gave 12 December 1882. It has lately been established that the birthdate on his gravestone, 1 December 1880, is correct, by Elzbieta Kusina and Jan Kusina of the Malopolska Chess Association, Krakow, Poland (19 April 2014, news of the Kenneth Whyld Foundation & Association, http://www.kwabc.org/index.php/17-l...).

(3) Tomasz Lissowski wrote a photo article on Stawiski, Irgendwo im Nirgendwo, KARL 3/2013, pp. 12-17.

(4) Ernst Strouhal, Alles Schöne war geistig..., KARL 3/2013, pp. 12-17. AS, page Family Tree. UK, p. 15. Strouhal notes that rabbis and Jewish scholars usually lived in great poverty in Eastern Europe at that time.

(5) Akiba Rubinstein, Wiener Schach-Zeitung, June 1926, pp. 164-165. Provided in "ANNO / Österreichische Nationalbibliothek". Rubinstein was answering Eugen Gömöri's question on how he became a chessmaster.

(6) Ernst Strouhal, Alles Schöne war geistig..., KARL 3/2013, pp. 12-17. Rubinstein's first chess book was Zosints' Instructor, written in Hebrew.

(7) Ernst Strouhal, Alles Schöne war geistig..., KARL 3/2013, pp. 12-17. This decision haunted him throughout his life, see for example TLY, p. 16 where the misunderstood story of the fly is explained. What pestered him was not an actual fly (it's a midrash) but the decision to leave behind his family and Jewish tradition to become a chess professional.

(8) Rubinstein vs G G Bartoszkiewicz, 1897 is Rubinstein's first recorded game. The date of the game is not clear: UK tentatively gives 1897 and played by correspondence (according to S. Postma, Jeugdpartijen van Beroemde Meesters), while Strouhal (see source (7)) has 1901 and played in Steins Café in Bialystok. Lissowski offers 1901 and 1902 as possible dates in Szachowa Vistula Chess Monthly, http://szachowavistula.pl/vistula/b...

(9) Rod Edwards, http://www.edochess.ca/tournaments/...

(10) Rod Edwards, http://www.edochess.ca/tournaments/.... UK, pp. 33-40. A play-off between Rubinstein and Duras ended 1.0-1.0 (two draws).

(11) Rod Edwards, http://www.edochess.ca/tournaments/.... UK, pp. 43-50.

(12) Rod Edwards, http://www.edochess.ca/tournaments/.... UK, pp. 51-57.

(13) Rod Edwards, http://www.edochess.ca/tournaments/.... UK, pp. 79-88. Walter John criticized the Ostend (Championship) (1907) for not inviting Rubinstein instead of the two tail-enders (Generalanzeiger für Elberfeld-Barmen, 6 July 1907; reprinted in Wiener Schach-Zeitung, August-September 1907, p. 254. Provided in "ANNO / Österreichische Nationalbibliothek")

(14) Jacques Hannak called the Karlsbad 1907 tournament the "historical turning point of our chess history" (Der historische Wendepunkt unserer Schachgeschichte), because the youth triumphed over the established masters (Jacques Hannak, Wiener Schach-Zeitung, November-December 1907, p. 252. Provided in "ANNO / Österreichische Nationalbibliothek").

(15) Rod Edwards, http://www.edochess.ca/tournaments/.... UK, pp. 117-125.

(16) Game Collection: Rubinstein vs. Teichmann, Match (1908)

(17) Wiener Schach-Zeitung, October-November 1910, p. 354. Provided in "ANNO / Österreichische Nationalbibliothek".

(18) UK, pp. 244-245. Salwe of Lódz was a special guest. This championship, played in December 1911, counted as the 1912 city championship.

(19) Emanuel Lasker, Pester Lloyd, 31 March 1912, p. 10. Provided in "ANNO / Österreichische Nationalbibliothek". See Lasker - Capablanca World Championship Match (1921) for more information on the negotiations between Capablanca and Lasker.

(20) UK, pp. 290-295 provides extensive coverage, e. g. the conditions can be found there. Lasker announced the successful conclusion of the negotiations on 28 August 1913 (Emanuel Lasker, Pester Lloyd, 31 August 1913, p. 11. Provided in "ANNO / Österreichische Nationalbibliothek").

(21) Wiener Schach-Zeitung, July 1913, p. 200. Provided in "ANNO / Österreichische Nationalbibliothek".

(22) The artificial division into a preliminary and a final tournament, instead of a double round robin event, was criticised by many people according to the St. Petersburger Zeitung (Wiener Schach-Zeitung, May-June 1914, p. 96. Provided in "ANNO / Österreichische Nationalbibliothek"). Rudolf Spielmann also criticised the format in the Münchner Neuesten Nachrichten, 31 May 1914 (Wiener Schach-Zeitung, May-June 1914, p. 97. Provided in "ANNO / Österreichische Nationalbibliothek").

(23) UK, p. 294 quotes the American Chess Bulletin (1914, p. 139): "Word comes from St. Petersburg that Dr. Lasker will go ahead with his arrangements to play the match for the championship with A. K. Rubinstein of Lodz." It's worth remembering that Carl Schlechter only scored 50% at St. Petersburg (1909), before drawing the Lasker - Schlechter World Championship Match (1910).

(24) Game Collection: Bogoljubov-Rubinstein Match, Sweden 1920

(25) Edward G Winter, Capablanca: a compendium of games, notes, articles, correspondence, illustrations and other rare materials on the Cuban chess genius José Raúl Capablanca, 1888-1942, 1989, McFarland 1989, pp. 108-109 (originally from the American Chess Bulletin, March 1920, pp. 45-46). Edward Winter notes that it is unclear why Capablanca didn't want to play prior to 1921. The consequence was that clause 15 stated that Lasker had the right to play a title match against someone else before 1921. Despite the signed contract, Rubinstein could have played a title match against Lasker, if he had raised the necessary funds. Also telling is Winter's comment on Capablanca's My Chess Career, published in early 1920 on p. 105: "...he also had to convince the chess world of his right to a world title match with Lasker." defending Capablanca from critics accusing him of self-laudation in this book.

(26) Winter, Capablanca, pp. 97-98 (originally from The Observer, 24 August 1919, p. 9).

(27) This was the fourth edition, Stockholm 1921, by Gustaf Collijn and Ludvig Collijn, written by Rubinstein, Richard Reti and Rudolf Spielmann (Aron Nimzowitsch also contributed). Sources are TLY, p. 26; AS, page Mysteries; there are also online resources from libraries, but the fourth edition is not publicly available.

(28) Toni Preziuso, Amerika! Amerika!, KARL 3/2013, pp. 36-37.

(29) Edward G Winter, The London Rules, 2008, http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/...

(30) Toni Preziuso, Amerika! Amerika!, KARL 3/2013, pp. 37-38. In 1923, Rubinstein tried to finance a trip to the USA as a part of his title campaign, but couldn't raise the money.

(31) Toni Preziuso, Amerika! Amerika!, KARL 3/2013, pp. 38-39 (Kagan gave the explanation in his Neueste Schachnachrichten, 1924, p. 176). According to Preziuso, it is not clear why Rubinstein wasn't invited. He was never considered and financial reasons appear unlikely.

(32) TLY, pp. 289-299. Wojciech Bartelski & Co., http://www.olimpbase.org/1930/1930i...

(33) TLY, pp. 368-371. Avital Pilpel, Rubinsteins Abenteuer im Heiligen Land, KARL 3/2013, pp. 46-49. For Rubinstein, the trip was not a success as he suffered a financial set-back.

(34) TLY, pp. 307-315. Wojciech Bartelski & Co., http://www.olimpbase.org/1931/1931i...

(35) Wiener Schach-Zeitung, July 1931, p. 220. Provided in "ANNO / Österreichische Nationalbibliothek"

(36) TLY, pp. 16-17. An advertisement for the book in the Wiener Schachzeitung can be seen here: http://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/a... (Provided in "ANNO / Österreichische Nationalbibliothek").

(37) Wiener Schach-Zeitung, February 1936, p. 60 (originally from the British Chess Magazine). Provided in "ANNO / Österreichische Nationalbibliothek"

(38) Jeremy Gaige, Chess Personalia, 2005 (paperback edition), McFarland, p. 364.

(39) TLY, p. 19. Edward G Winter, Akiba Rubinstein’s Later Years, http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/...

(40) Garry Kasparov, On My Great Predecessors Part I, 2003, Everyman, p. 204)

(41) Interview with Vladimir Barsky, Kramnik Interview: From Steinitz to Kasparov, 15 May 2005, http://www.kramnik.com/interviews/61

(42) Interview on 5 June 2012, part 2, http://www.chessvibes.com/?q=report...

Last updated: 2019-07-25 18:40:22

Try our new games table.

 page 1 of 42; games 1-25 of 1,038  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. Rubinstein vs G Bartoszkiewicz 1-0171897corrC55 Two Knights Defense
2. Rubinstein vs NN 1-0181902?000 Chess variants
3. Salwe vs Rubinstein 1-0301903MatchB56 Sicilian
4. Rubinstein vs Salwe 1-0321903MatchD05 Queen's Pawn Game
5. Rubinstein vs NN 1-0221903Handicap tournament ?000 Chess variants
6. Chojnacki vs Rubinstein 0-1241903Handicap tournament000 Chess variants
7. Salwe vs Rubinstein 1-0491903ConsultationC55 Two Knights Defense
8. Salwe vs Rubinstein 0-1141903LodzC50 Giuoco Piano
9. Rubinstein vs A Rabinovich 0-14919033rd All-Russian Masters, KievA84 Dutch
10. N Kalinsky vs Rubinstein 0-13919033rd All-Russian Masters, KievC22 Center Game
11. Rubinstein vs P P Benko 1-01819033rd All-Russian Masters, KievA84 Dutch
12. M Lowcki vs Rubinstein 1-02919033rd All-Russian Masters, KievD31 Queen's Gambit Declined
13. Rubinstein vs F Duz-Khotimirsky 0-17519033rd All-Russian Masters, KievD05 Queen's Pawn Game
14. W K von Stamm vs Rubinstein 0-12719033rd All-Russian Masters, KievD32 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tarrasch
15. Rubinstein vs B A Nikolaev 1-04019033rd All-Russian Masters, KievD37 Queen's Gambit Declined
16. V Yurevich vs Rubinstein 0-16419033rd All-Russian Masters, KievA02 Bird's Opening
17. Rubinstein vs S F Lebedev 1-05919033rd All-Russian Masters, KievC10 French
18. S Izbinsky vs Rubinstein 0-13619033rd All-Russian Masters, KievC81 Ruy Lopez, Open, Howell Attack
19. Rubinstein vs V Kulomzin 1-02019033rd All-Russian Masters, KievD32 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tarrasch
20. Chigorin vs Rubinstein 1-03319033rd All-Russian Masters, KievC00 French Defense
21. Rubinstein vs S Levitsky ½-½3819033rd All-Russian Masters, KievC01 French, Exchange
22. Schiffers vs Rubinstein 0-12119033rd All-Russian Masters, KievC11 French
23. Rubinstein vs O Bernstein 0-12519033rd All-Russian Masters, KievC45 Scotch Game
24. Salwe vs Rubinstein ½-½3919033rd All-Russian Masters, KievD02 Queen's Pawn Game
25. Rubinstein vs Znosko-Borovsky ½-½2419033rd All-Russian Masters, KievD50 Queen's Gambit Declined
 page 1 of 42; games 1-25 of 1,038  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Rubinstein wins | Rubinstein loses  

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 25 OF 52 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Oct-18-07  Karpova: Rubinstein - Mieses 1909
Rubinstein won +5 =2 -3 and there seem to be some games in the database: Mieses vs Rubinstein, 1909
Mieses vs Rubinstein, 1909
Mieses vs Rubinstein, 1909
Mieses vs Rubinstein, 1909
Mieses vs Rubinstein, 1909
So it seems that the match was played in Berlin. It's a nice example of misleading databases - four wins and one loss for Rubinstein are missing and suddenly it looks as if Teichmann was dominating. Btw, the other game between those two (Rubinstein vs Mieses, 1909) is not from their match and was not played in Lodz but in St. Petersburg!

Rubinstein - Schlechter Berlin, 1918
Rubinstein won +2 =3 -1 and there's another game collection by <Archives> covering the match: Game Collection: Rubinstein - Schlechter Match 1918 (and he did a good job. It's not that easy since Rubinstein and Schlechter also took part in the "Quadrangular Tourney" in Berlin 1918)

Rubinstein - Bogolyubov Göteborg/Stockholm, 1920
Rubinstein won +5 =3 -4 in an epic struggle. <Archives> game collection: Game Collection: Rubinstein - Bogoljubow Match 1920

Oct-18-07  brankat: <Karpova> Check this out! :-)

http://www.schachtherapeut.de/schac...

Oct-18-07  Whack8888: I bought Rubenstein's Chess Masterpieces by Dover a couple of days ago--it was only 9 dollars! Anyway, I only went over the first game, but it is so cool. The way he is completely unafraid of simplification because of his faith in the endgame is very instructional.
Oct-18-07  parisattack: <Whack8888:> If you enjoy Rubinstein's games (He is one of my 10 ATFs) take a look at Salo Flohr's from the 30s. He does not quite have the 'power' of Rubinstein but there is the same delicious and smooth positional touch.
Oct-18-07  Whack8888: <parisattack> Thanks for the tip. I do remember someone posting somewhere that they were reading over Salo Flohr's games (I think someone was on vacation in Austria or something) and that they were more or less blown away at how great they were. Unfortunately, right now I have a stack full of 'to read' books gathering dust, hehe, but I will try and check them out as soon as possible, if nothing else, just on the superficial level.
Oct-19-07  parisattack: <Whack8888: > I know the feeling - so many books and great games; so little time! GeauCool posted a short Flohr selection on this website. Flohr-Vidmar, Nottingham 36 is a good place to start for 'echoes of Rubinstein' - an almost magical rook endgame!
Oct-20-07  brankat: <Whack8888> <parisattack> Since the name of Dr.M.Vidmar is mentioned above, it'd be "educational" to also check this game, too :-) One of Vidmar's famous wins:

Rubinstein vs Vidmar, 1918

Oct-20-07  Karpova: <Whack8888>
That's the Flohr game <parisattack> refers to: Flohr vs Vidmar, 1936

Regarding the Rubinstein matches I found an interesting post on page 22 from <Archives>: Akiba Rubinstein

It's well known that he played two matches against Salwe in 1903 but he also played a match against him in 1907/08 and won with either +12 =8 -2 or +12 =5 -2. Kmoch doesn't mention this match in his book.

Oct-28-07  Karpova: An epic chess note on Rubinstein (I don't know why he didn't make a feature article out of it): http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/...

The summary:

<The most detailed examination of Rubinstein’s long final period is in Akiba Rubinstein: The Later Years by J. Donaldson and N. Minev (Seattle, 1995). See, in particular, pages 1-8 and 290-291, which included the following information:

* ‘Rubinstein’s condition worsened and in early 1932 he was forced to retire from tournament play. Akiba was sent to a sanatorium and after a stay was reunited with family.’ (Page 4)

* ‘Exactly how the Rubinsteins managed to survive the Second World War while the Nazis were trying to kill all the Jews is not so easy to explain ... According to data published in 1980, the Jewish population of Belgium at the time of the German invasion [in 1940] was 65,696; 34,801 Jews were imprisoned or deported, and of these 28,902 perished, representing 44% of the total Jewish population.’ (Page 6)

* ‘We are not certain, but believe that by 1940 all the Rubinsteins were Belgian citizens. Still, it’s a miracle that the whole family survived. The younger son, Sammy, was arrested by the Germans and spent 1943-44 in prison, but was released and lives in Brussels to this day. [He died in 2002.] The relatively favorable situation in Belgium, and Rubinstein’s hiding in a sanatorium, seem a much more plausible explanation for his survival than some of the wild stories that have been told.’ (Page 7)

* ‘The Belgian master Paul Devos (1911-1981) was another of Rubinstein’s students. Visits by GMs Yanofsky and Najdorf are known, and it appears likely that Max Euwe also had contact.’ (Page 7)

* ‘Rubinstein moved to a home for old people in Antwerp when his wife died in 1954. (This is the date given by Sammy Rubinstein, while several articles in the BCM – the obituary in 1961 on page 136 and by R.N. Coles in 1980 – have the year as 1956). Akiba continued to follow the game, and Sammy remembers he and Jonas visiting their father and the three of them analysing games from the Botvinnik-Smyslov matches.’ (Page 8)

* ‘The Rubinstein family moved to Antwerp in 1926. ... The final Rubinstein home was Brussels. The family went there in 1931 after Akiba retired from tournament play. The Rubinsteins moved into an apartment directly above a restaurant that Eugénie operated.>

Oct-28-07  Karpova: <What did Akiba do away from the chessboard? Jonas recalls that his father was very fond of reading newspapers in a variety of languages, and that science was his favorite subject. A man ahead of his time, Akiba swam and did gymnastics to keep him fit for chess ...

Deportations began in June of 1942. Jonas got his order to report in July, but went into hiding. Akiba was taken to the Titeca Psychiatry Clinic, where he was out of the public eye. Eugénie and Sammy weren’t so lucky. Forced to flee Brussels, they found refuge at château [sic] where Eugénie worked in a kitchen. One day the Gestapo made a raid. Eugénie was able to escape, but young Sammy was captured and sent to Malines (Mechelen) where he spent the next year and a half in hell. The Belgian city was home to a camp where people were held before being deported to the East. Periodically a new group was sent. Sixteen-year-old Sammy was liberated when the British entered the camp on 3 September 1944.’ (Page 291)

The above biographical information was obtained by John Donaldson during a visit to Jonas Rubinstein and his wife in Charleroi, Belgium in 1995 (as noted on page 290).

On page 3 of their book Donaldson and Minev wrote (prior to demolishing a Koltanowski yarn):

‘Most stories concerning Rubinstein are at best half truths, which have become so embellished over time that they bear little resemblance to what actually transpired.’

That is indisputable. Much about the last 30 years of Rubinstein’s life is unclear or unknown, but it is evident that for most of that period he lived at home, and not in a sanatorium or mental institution.>

And

<The master’s younger son, Sammy Rubinstein, supplied some details for C.N. in 1985 (see pages 121-122 of Chess Explorations). He was questioned by a correspondent of ours, Karl De Smet (Brussels), who submitted a recording of their exchanges (in French), from which we made a summary. Among the facts provided were the following:

Akiba Rubinstein married in 1917, and his wife (née Lew) bore him two sons, in 1918 (Jonas) and 1927 (Sammy). She died in 1954. The master played in private at home with Yanofsky, Najdorf and O’Kelly. (Pages 119-122 of D.A. Yanofsky’s book Chess the Hard Way! (London, 1953) gave a game he played against Rubinstein at the latter’s home in Brussels in February 1947.)

Our summary of Sammy Rubinstein’s reminiscences concluded:

‘The family lived together (A.K.R.’s wife having opened a restaurant in the early 1930s) until 1942. S.R. spent 1943-44 in the hands of the Germans. After the death of his mother, S.R. suffered a depression and spent three-four years in a psychiatric institute.

At home A.K.R. tended to remain alone in his room, being very uncommunicative. Sammy concludes: “Chess was everything for him, and I don’t believe it is enough to fill a life. You have to do other things as well.”’> http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/...

Oct-28-07  Karpova: In fact, not much is known about his later years and there are strange stories which even contain obvious misinformation (e.g. the Najdorf example).

But the Chess Note is really worth reading and it's nice to see that Edward Winter provides so much information on this outstanding chessplayer!

Oct-29-07  Archives: Thanks for the link <karpova>!

It was a very interesting read, especially this bit...

<Najdorf added that Rubinstein agreed to play two games with him and that Rubinstein won in fantastic style. Najdorf then asked him what he did in his attic, and received the following reply: ‘I am working on my latest idea; I am preparing a book to demonstrate that the best defence for Black in the Queen’s Pawn Opening is symmetry.’

Najdorf’s narrative ended by stating that two years after this meeting Rubinstein died. Since the visit purportedly took place in 1950 and Rubinstein’s death, in Antwerp, occurred on 15 March 1961, that is just one more example of the kind of discrepancy without which no reportage by Najdorf is complete. On the other hand, the comment on symmetry for Black is a reminder of a reference to Rubinstein on page 122 of the April 1940 BCM:

‘He is living in retirement in Brussels but is still actively concerned with chess analysis, notably with an exploration of the variation 1 P-Q4 P-Q4 2 P-QB4 P-QB4.’ >

Oct-29-07  Archives: <‘He finished his life in a mental asylum in Antwerp. During the war these asylums were sometimes exploited as refuges by resistance workers. Nazi investigators once descended on the place and asked Rubinstein, “Are you happy here?” “Not at all”, Rubinstein replied. “Would you prefer to go to Germany and work for the Wehrmacht?” “I’d be delighted to”, Rubinstein replied. “Then he really must be barmy”, the Nazis decided.’>

I LOL'D

Oct-29-07  Benzol: The games against O'Kelly and Yanofsky are in the database here but is there any sign of the two games against Najdorf in the 2nd edition of "The Later Years" by Donaldson and Minev?

This one Rubinstein vs Najdorf / Tovbin, 1931 was played earlier.

Nov-02-07  Karpova: More on Rubinstein's later years:

<Roland Kensdale (Aberdeen, Scotland) quotes the following passage about Rubinstein from page 168 of Russian Silhouettes by Genna Sosonko (Alkmaar, 2001):

‘His nurse, madame Rubin-Zimmer, remembered: “He was an unusually calm and self-controlled person. He was easy to look after. Physically he was exceptionally strong and very healthy for his age. But from time to time he would behave strangely. For days on end he would not come out of the room for even a short walk. Or sometimes in the evening he would not want to go to bed. Then he would sit in the armchair next to the bed and meditate deeply about something or move the pieces on a pocket chess set.”

We do not know how the lessons went, when the young O’Kelly went to the clinic to visit the famous Maestro. What was Rubinstein thinking of when, in the very last period of his confinement, he would sit for a long time in front of a chess board, with the pieces set up in the initial position, sometimes making the move 1 c2-c4 and, taking the pawn back after half an hour’s thought, again looking at the chess board? What solution to the secret of the initial position did he imagine that he saw?’

Our correspondent notes that Sosonko’s book has no bibliography and does not specify the source of the above information.> http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/... (scroll down to 5256)

Nov-03-07  savagerules: <What was Rubinstein thinking of when, in the very last period of his confinement, he would sit for a long time in front of a chess board, with the pieces set up in the initial position, sometimes making the move 1 c2-c4 and, taking the pawn back after half an hour’s thought, again looking at the chess board? > Don't know about you but it sounds like it means he was crazy as hell.
Nov-05-07  parisattack: <Don't know about you but it sounds like it means he was crazy as hell.>

No doubt. But there is often genius in craziness - and the line between the two is razor thin. Perhaps he was working backwards from his analysis of the Symmetrical Defence?

Nov-05-07  Shams: <it sounds like it means he was crazy as hell.> let's not forget the invisible fly that tormented him for hours on end, during his final tournament days.
Nov-05-07  parisattack: Chess can do that to a person! :) I remember analyzing the Sozin/Najdorf once for about 24-30 hours with almost no sleep and feeling I was on the edge of things.

But I have always felt Rubinstein the strongest player not to be WC.

Nov-05-07  Pawn Ambush: <What was Rubinstein thinking of when, in the very last period of his confinement, he would sit for a long time in front of a chess board, with the pieces set up in the initial position, sometimes making the move 1 c2-c4 and, taking the pawn back after half an hour’s thought, again looking at the chess board? What solution to the secret of the initial position did he imagine that he saw?’>

I'll give the intial positon a thousand yard stare for 20 or 30 minutes then suddenly and with out warning take the knight off g1 put it in my pocket and knocked the hell out of the remaining peices sending them flying in every direction. I then spend a few minutes collecting them only to set up the intial position. The process repeats its self for hours.

Now let me explain what's going on in my head:

Sometimes I talk to the pieces in the intial position especially the knight on g1 he's my good friend sometimes he stands proudly on f3 all hand carved turned slightly to the left looking across the e4 square, You've all seen him there he's my good friend. The other pieces don't like it when I talk to knight on g1,they get jealous and start calling me bad names, that makes me mad so I take knight off g1 put him my pocket. I trust knight in my pocket he's my friend he never calls me bad names.

I stare at the other pieces trying to stay calm but the name calling only gets worse. I lose control and smack the hell out the pieces. I tell myself it's o.k. it's them not you they started it. I then place knight back on g1. I feel bad for hitting the other pieces say I'm sorry find them and put them back on the board with knight. knight and I talk again everythings fine for about 20 or 30 minutes. Then the name calling starts again I get mad and the process repeats itself.

Now understand that I never really knock the pieces off the board only in my mind does this happen. But to an observer I'm just staring at the board for hours apparently in deep meditation.

Nov-11-07  Karpova: Rubinstein's first major tournament

In 1903 Rubinstein played a match against Salwe to determine who would play at the Third All-Russian Championship in Kiev later that year. Winner would be the first one to reach 7 points and since the match ended 7-7 both could go there.

In Kiev the time controls were 30 moves in 2 h and then 15 moves in 1 h.

Round 1
Rubinstein vs A Rabinovich, 1903 0-1 Rubinstein didn't play well in the opening and black got a winning attack.

Round 2
N Kalinsky vs Rubinstein, 1903 0-1 A rather easy win for Rubinstein.

Round 3
Rubinstein vs P P Benko, 1903 1-0 Black didn't really test Rubinstein

Round 4
M Lowtzky vs Rubinstein, 1903 1-0 Rubinstein had problems in the beginning but then his opponent played weaker and in the end Rubinstein missed a win and blundered instead.

Round 5
Rubinstein vs Dus Chotimirsky, 1903 0-1 A good game by his strong opponent

Rubinstein made a good impression but only got 2 points out of 5 games so far. He had to learn it the hard way.

Nov-11-07  Karpova: But now Rubinstein started a remarkable winning streak.

Round 6
W Von Stamm vs Rubinstein, 1903 0-1 Rubinstein saw further ahead than his opponent.

Round 7
Rubinstein vs V Nikolaev, 1903 1-0 Rubinstein played a very good game!

Round 8
Yurevich vs Rubinstein, 1903 0-1 A tough battle for Rubinstein with neither player playing faultlessly.

Round 9
Rubinstein vs S F Lebedev, 1903 1-0 Lebedev played the Rubinstein French and his opening treatment was very modern. Still insufficient against Akiba.

Round 10
S Izbinsky vs Rubinstein, 1903 0-1

Round 11
Rubinstein vs V N Kulomzin, 1903 1-0 A miniature

Rubinstein's winning streak improved his score to 8/11 but now he had to face tough opposition.

Nov-11-07  Karpova: Round 12
Chigorin vs Rubinstein, 1903 1-0 Great attacking play from Chigorin who had a fantastic tournament. Akiba lost his first encounter with the former Worldchampionship contender.

Round 13
Rubinstein vs S Levitsky, 1903 1/2

Round 14
Schiffers vs Rubinstein, 1903 0-1 Akiba had to face another legend but this time he won.

Round 15
Rubinstein vs O Bernstein, 1903 0-1 The winner of a game is the one who has made the next to last blunder" (Tartakover) is a fitting description. Both players were still very young.

Round 16
Salwe vs Rubinstein, 1903 1/2

Round 17
Rubinstein vs Znosko-Borovsky, 1903 1/2 Rubinstein played well but missed the best continuation and had to settle for a draw.

There was also a player called Breev who lost the first 11 games and then withdrew. Therefore Rubinstein won by forfeit.

Rubinstein scored 11.5/18 and came in fifth:

1. Chigorin 15
2. Bernstein 14
3. Yurevich 13.5
4. Salwe 13
5. Rubinstein 11.5

A great result considering that it was his first major tournament and he surely learned a lot!

Nov-21-07  Anyi: Recently I eventually got my copy of Donaldson's and Minev's "The Life & Games of Akiva Rubinstein", Volume 1, where I was surprised to read about his time in Sweden (1920-1922). Since I don't have Volume II (am waiting for the revised edition), I wonder where Rubinstein lived between 1922 and 1926 when he and his familiy moved to Belgium.
Nov-24-07  Karpova: First major tournament organized by the Lodz Chess society. Lodz, spring of 1906.

This tournament consisted of four cycles and the participants were Chigorin, Salwe, Flamberg and Rubinstein. It took place directly after the Chigorin-Salwe match (March to April 1906).

Round 1:
Rubinstein vs Flamberg, 1906 1/2 In the beginning black played weak but Rubinstein wasn't able to convert his advantage in the end.

Round 2:
Rubinstein vs Chigorin, 1906 1-0 Beautiful attacking chess from Rubinstein.

Round 3:
Salwe vs Rubinstein, 1906 1/2

After cycle 1:
1. Rubinstein 2
2. Salwe 1.5
Flamberg 1.5
4. Chigorin 1

Round 4:
Flamberg vs Rubinstein, 1906 0-1 Aggressive play from Rubinstein.

Round 5:
Chigorin vs Rubinstein, 1906 1-0 Nice game from Chigorin.

Round 6:
Rubinstein vs Salwe, 1906 1-0 A game worth examining.

Round 7:
Rubinstein vs Flamberg, 1906

Round 8:
Rubinstein vs Chigorin, 1906 1-0 Excellent endgame play from Rubinstein.

Round 9:
Salwe vs Rubinstein, 1906 1/2 Both fought though Rubinstein already lead by one point.

Result:

1. Rubinstein 6.5/9
2. Chigorin 5.5/9
3. Flamberg 3.5/9
4. Salwe 2.5/9

Rubinstein won his minimatches:
2-1 against Chigorin
2.5-0.5 against Flamberg
2-1 against Salwe

Jump to page #   (enter # from 1 to 52)
search thread:   
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 25 OF 52 ·  Later Kibitzing>

NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion.

Please observe our posting guidelines:

  1. No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.
  2. No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts.
  3. No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members.
  4. Nothing in violation of United States law.
  5. No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members.
  6. No trolling.
  7. The use of "sock puppet" accounts to circumvent disciplinary action taken by moderators, create a false impression of consensus or support, or stage conversations, is prohibited.
  8. Do not degrade Chessgames or any of it's staff/volunteers.

Please try to maintain a semblance of civility at all times.

Blow the Whistle

See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform a moderator.


NOTE: Please keep all discussion on-topic. This forum is for this specific player only. To discuss chess or this site in general, visit the Kibitzer's Café.

Messages posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors.
All moderator actions taken are ultimately at the sole discretion of the administration.

Spot an error? Please suggest your correction and help us eliminate database mistakes!
Home | About | Login | Logout | F.A.Q. | Profile | Preferences | Premium Membership | Kibitzer's Café | Biographer's Bistro | New Kibitzing | Chessforums | Tournament Index | Player Directory | Notable Games | World Chess Championships | Opening Explorer | Guess the Move | Game Collections | ChessBookie Game | Chessgames Challenge | Store | Privacy Notice | Contact Us

Copyright 2001-2025, Chessgames Services LLC