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Reuben Fine
Fine 
 

Number of games in database: 609
Years covered: 1930 to 1986
Overall record: +306 -69 =163 (72.0%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games in the database. 71 exhibition games, blitz/rapid, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS
With the White pieces:
 Nimzo Indian (38) 
    E33 E40 E37 E23 E24
 Orthodox Defense (32) 
    D51 D55 D63 D50 D60
 Queen's Gambit Declined (27) 
    D37 D30 D06 D35 D39
 Grunfeld (22) 
    D83 D81 D97 D82 D70
 English, 1 c4 e5 (18) 
    A20 A28 A27 A22 A21
 Ruy Lopez (17) 
    C86 C83 C70 C68 C79
With the Black pieces:
 Nimzo Indian (34) 
    E33 E34 E43 E37 E23
 Sicilian (26) 
    B45 B84 B80 B72 B29
 French Defense (22) 
    C01 C14 C13 C11 C02
 Queen's Gambit Declined (20) 
    D38 D30 D39 D37 D35
 Ruy Lopez (20) 
    C71 C73 C74 C83 C75
 Orthodox Defense (17) 
    D51 D68 D50 D65 D64
Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   Fine vs Botvinnik, 1938 1-0
   Fine vs W Winter, 1936 1-0
   I A Horowitz vs Fine, 1934 0-1
   Fine vs Dake, 1933 1-0
   Capablanca vs Fine, 1938 1/2-1/2
   Fine vs Alekhine, 1938 1-0
   Fine vs Flohr, 1938 1-0
   Fine vs Lasker, 1936 1-0
   Fine vs Gruenfeld, 1936 1-0
   Fine vs J Rappaport, 1931 1-0

NOTABLE TOURNAMENTS: [what is this?]
   Hastings 1935/36 (1935)
   Margate (1937)
   Zandvoort (1936)
   Oslo (1936)
   New York 1948/49 (1948)
   AVRO (1938)
   Syracuse (1934)
   Hastings 1936/37 (1936)
   United States Championship (1938)
   United States Championship (1940)
   1st Pan-American Championship (1945)
   United States Championship (1936)
   Ostend (1937)
   Wertheim Memorial (1951)
   Kemeri (1937)

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   0ZeR0's Favorite Games Volume 39 by 0ZeR0
   FINESSE by Gottschalk
   Passion for Chess (Fine) by rookchat9
   Passion for Chess (Fine) by neontheorist
   Passion for Chess (Fine) by Qindarka
   Passion for Chess (Fine) by plerranov
   Match Fine! by docjan
   Match Fine! by amadeus
   Fines - Lessons From My Games by scheidt
   Fines - Lessons From My Games by rookchat9
   Fines - Lessons From My Games by plerranov
   Fine by Morten
   Chess Review 1945 by Phony Benoni
   American Chess Bulletin 1933 by Phony Benoni

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, 78 years old) 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. He played on three US Olympiad teams from 1933 to 1937, winning one gold and one silver individual medal, while all three teams finished first (http://www.olimpbase.org/players/rn...). 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.

During World War II he was employed by the Navy to calculate where enemy submarines might surface.

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 tournament games against five world champions. He had overall plus scores against Emanuel Lasker, Alexander Alekhine, and Mikhail Botvinnik, and even records against Jose Raul Capablanca and Max Euwe.

He was an author of note, his most recognized works being Basic Chess Endings, Ideas Behind the Chess Openings and the sixth edition of Modern Chess Openings.

Wikipedia article: Reuben Fine

Last updated: 2022-10-11 20:59:48

Try our new games table.

 page 1 of 25; games 1-25 of 609  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. A Dake vs Fine 1-0351930Young MastersA07 King's Indian Attack
2. F Reinfeld vs Fine 1-0551930Rice Club Junior MastersC14 French, Classical
3. F Reinfeld vs Fine  0-1341930Marshall Chess Club-ch, PrelimC73 Ruy Lopez, Modern Steinitz Defense
4. F Reinfeld vs Fine  1-0361931Impromptu matchE23 Nimzo-Indian, Spielmann
5. Fine vs J Rappaport 1-0281931USA Intercollegiate ch 1931/32A00 Uncommon Opening
6. Fine vs A Dake 0-1171931Dake-Fine MatchE43 Nimzo-Indian, Fischer Variation
7. Fine vs F Reinfeld ½-½181931New York State ChampionshipD32 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tarrasch
8. F Reinfeld vs Fine 1-0241932Marshall CC ChampionshipD65 Queen's Gambit Declined, Orthodox, Rubinstein Attack, Main line
9. A Kevitz vs Fine 1-0381932Metropolitan Chess LeagueA90 Dutch
10. H Steiner vs Fine  ½-½751932Fine - SteinerE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
11. Fine vs H Steiner 1-0381932Fine - SteinerE34 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Noa Variation
12. Fine vs H Steiner 0-1311932Fine - SteinerD35 Queen's Gambit Declined
13. H Steiner vs Fine 1-0401932Fine - SteinerC49 Four Knights
14. Fine vs H Steiner 0-1371932Fine - SteinerA13 English
15. H Steiner vs Fine 1-0611932Fine - SteinerD15 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav
16. H Steiner vs Fine 0-1651932Fine - SteinerB03 Alekhine's Defense
17. Fine vs H Steiner 1-0371932Fine - SteinerE41 Nimzo-Indian
18. H Steiner vs Fine 0-1281932Fine - SteinerD15 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav
19. Fine vs H Steiner  ½-½581932Fine - SteinerA15 English
20. F Reinfeld vs Fine  ½-½201932Western ChampionshipC49 Four Knights
21. Fine vs S Factor  1-0541932Western ChampionshipA60 Benoni Defense
22. J Harris vs Fine  0-1381932Western ChampionshipB32 Sicilian
23. Fine vs F Hazard  1-0411932Western ChampionshipD52 Queen's Gambit Declined
24. Fine vs H Steiner  1-0431932Western ChampionshipE41 Nimzo-Indian
25. G S Barnes vs Fine  0-1381932Western ChampionshipD63 Queen's Gambit Declined, Orthodox Defense
 page 1 of 25; games 1-25 of 609  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Fine wins | Fine loses  

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 19 OF 19 ·  Later Kibitzing>
May-31-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  takchess: http://tartajubow.blogspot.com/2018...
May-31-18  sudoplatov: We do have an estimate of how well Fine would have done in the USSR.

Leningrad 1937 won by Fine.
Moscow 1937 won by Fine.
Neither in the database.

May-31-18  Retireborn: Fine did play in Moscow in 1946 (as part of the US team) and his observations of Botvinnik etc then may have played a part in his 1948 decision, perhaps.
Jun-01-18  Granny O Doul: That footage linked by Jonathan Sarfati above is from "the Great Chess Movie", which is watchable on youtube and without the subtitles, at least at this moment.
Jul-13-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  Sally Simpson: Horowitz was giving a simultaneous display in Portland.

Ruben Fine adopted a disguise and took a board. (Chess Review 1942)

https://www.redhotpawn.com/imgu/blo...

Jul-13-18  JimNorCal: Sally, that is a cool photo! I'd never heard of this stunt before, what a great joke.
Jul-13-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  HeMateMe: He looks like father guido sarducci.
Nov-15-18  anjumskhan: His plus scores against all greats is enough for him to earn my respect.
Jul-03-19  Chesgambit: Fine vs Alekhine 1963
Jul-03-19  csmath: Alekhine died 1946 so unless he played as a ghost that 1963 game was impossible.
Jul-03-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  beatgiant: He probably transposed 1936 to 1963.
Jul-04-19  csmath: Well, there is a 1963 Evans Gambit game where 20-year-old Bobby Fischer absolutely annihilated Reuben Fine and destroyed all the chess mystique associated with Fine.
Oct-11-19  Cibator: <csmath: Well, there is a 1963 Evans Gambit game where 20-year-old Bobby Fischer absolutely annihilated Reuben Fine and destroyed all the chess mystique associated with Fine.>

And that, my friends, is more or less what Morphy would have done to Staunton a century earlier. The players' ages and circumstances in each case are near-exact parallels.

Nov-17-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  Ron: I was in a used bookstore today, and I came across a book by Rueben Fine, _A History of Psychoanalysis_. https://www.amazon.com/History-Psyc...

I browsed through it, wondering, Reuben Fine gave up chess for this intellectual garbage?

Nov-17-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  HeMateMe: I'm just happy there are still used bookstores <somewhere> in the USA. We no longer have them in NYC except for Goodwill stores, and the books there are mostly garbage.
Nov-29-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  Ron: I wonder if Reuben Fine had any psychoanalytic patients who were chess enthusiasts. I think it would be pretty cool if Reuben Fine discussed chess with his patients.
Mar-18-20  Parachessus: I forget who said it, but someone said that Fine's leaving chess was a loss for chess and a draw at best for psychoanalysis.
Jun-13-20
Premium Chessgames Member
  OhioChessFan: I've been laughing over the redhotpawn pic for 2 minutes now....
Jun-15-20  Caissanist: I don't know if anyone took him up on the offer, but there was a blurb in the 1975 <Chess Life and Review> where Fine wrote <‘It would please me if you mentioned that I direct a low-cost mental health clinic, known as the Center for Creative Living, located at 9 East 89th Street, New York, NY 10028, (212) 369-3330, which has a special section for the therapy of the creative individual. Any chessplayer in need of help will receive my personal attention.’>.
Jun-15-20  Caissanist: Per Edward Winter, the original source for the quote about Fine's career being a loss for chess and at best a draw for psychoanalysis seems to have been Gilbert Cant, a longtime writer for <Time>: https://www.chesshistory.com/winter... .
Jun-15-20
Premium Chessgames Member
  harrylime: he'd have a better chance of becoming WORLD CHESS champion now.

Along with Keres and Reshevski

Jun-16-20
Premium Chessgames Member
  Troller: <harrylime: he'd have a better chance of becoming WORLD CHESS champion now.

Along with Keres and Reshevski>

Doubt it. Being dead is seldom an advantage when fighting for the crown.

Oct-10-20
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: Peter Heine Nielsen and Jan Gustafsson rank Fine the 32nd greatest player of all time, ahead of the likes of Tarrasch, Ivanchuk, Pillsbury and Chigorin. https://chess24.com/en/learn/advanc...
Apr-20-23  Synchsynch: Oct-11-19 Cibator: <csmath: Well, there is a 1963 Evans Gambit game where 20-year-old Bobby Fischer absolutely annihilated Reuben Fine and destroyed all the chess mystique associated with Fine.> And that, my friends, is more or less what Morphy would have done to Staunton a century earlier. The players' ages and circumstances in each case are near-exact parallels. Bearing in mind that Reuben Fine had retired for years too. He psychologically chose an opening in which he would have almost no chance at all, the compromised defence to Capt Evan's Gambit i believe, partly in order to showcase, and to assess, Fischer's attacking style. And nobody could blame him for losing from that opening. He didn't play seriously, he knew he couldn't. So no myths ended there, Fine was a great player for his time, a top 5. Fischer's games online Vs Nigel Short would be more interesting to find!
Apr-20-23  Petrosianic: <Synchsynch>: <And that, my friends, is more or less what Morphy would have done to Staunton a century earlier.>

That's what he DID do a century earlier. Morphy and Staunton played two offhand games. Morphy won them both, but Staunton's legacy wasn't destroyed by an offhand game any more than Fine's was.

Fine actually won a game from Fischer in that series. Fischer wasn't hurt by it either.

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