RUDOLF SPIELMANN (born May-05-1883, died Aug-20-1942, 59 years old) Austria [what is this?] Rudolf Spielmann was born in Vienna, Austria. Nordic Champion in 1919 and German Champion in 1927, his notable tournament achievements included 3rd= at St. Petersburg 1909, 1st at Abbazia (1912), 2nd at San Sebastian (1912), 1st at Baden-bei-Wien (1914), 1st at Stockholm 1919, 1st= at Teplitz-Schonau 1922, 1st at Semmering (1926), one-half point ahead of Alexander Alekhine 3rd at Berlin 1928 and 2nd at Karlsbad (1929). In matches Spielmann scored victories over Aron Nimzowitsch in 1908, Richard Reti in 1910 and 1921, Savielly Tartakower in 1910 and 1921, Gideon Stahlberg in 1930, Vasja Pirc in 1931 and Efim Bogoljubov in 1932, but lost three consecutive matches to Erich Eliskases for the Austrian title. Friendly, pleasant and sensitive as a person, Spielmann's chess style stood in stark contrast. He loved complex positions and combinations which would give flight to his imagination and in the age of Hypermodernism he seemed to belong to an earlier, more romantic time. Being Jewish, Spielmann fled Nazi Germany, first for the Netherlands in 1934, then to Prague in 1938 and in 1939 escaped to Sweden. According to his close relatives (cited on p. 86 of Michael Ehn, Rudolf Spielmann, Koblenz, Germany, 1996) he locked himself in his room and was later found starved to death. Another version is that he suffered from a 'Parkinson's disease'-like illness, which worsened rapidly at the end. Spielmann was admitted to the Asö hospital, where he died. The official cause of death was 'Hypertonie und Cardiosclerosis' (ibid. p. 91). He was the brother of Leopold Spielmann. Spielmann's book 'The Art of Sacrifice' remains a classic. He is known as 'The Last Romantic'. Wikipedia article: Rudolf Spielmann Last updated: 2025-03-29 08:35:33

Try our new games table.

page 1 of 54; games 1-25 of 1,350  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. Spielmann vs E Busch   0-1 17 1903 Munich CC Summer Tournament C39 King's Gambit Accepted 2. A Wagner vs Spielmann 0-1 26 1903 Berlin D11 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav 3. Spielmann vs M Elyashiv 1-0 29 1903 Munich CC t C39 King's Gambit Accepted 4. E Cohn vs Spielmann 1-0 29 1904 Coburg-A C80 Ruy Lopez, Open 5. Spielmann vs Moewig 1-0 40 1904 Coburg-A C29 Vienna Gambit 6. Spielmann vs P Kaegbein 1-0 37 1904 Coburg-A C39 King's Gambit Accepted 7. Spielmann vs F Koehnlein 1-0 39 1904 Munich C29 Vienna Gambit 8. Spielmann vs O Bernstein ½-½ 28 1904 Berlin C39 King's Gambit Accepted 9. Spielmann vs Vidmar 0-1 39 1904 14th DSB Congress - Hauptturnier A C14 French, Classical 10. M Lange vs Spielmann 0-1 39 1904 14th DSB Congress - Hauptturnier A D63 Queen's Gambit Declined, Orthodox Defense 11. Spielmann vs Duras 0-1 48 1904 Coburg-A C29 Vienna Gambit 12. A Nimzowitsch vs Spielmann 1-0 42 1905 Nimzowitsch - Spielmann, 1st Match C45 Scotch Game 13. Spielmann vs A Nimzowitsch 1-0 19 1905 Nimzowitsch - Spielmann, 1st Match B15 Caro-Kann 14. A Nimzowitsch vs Spielmann 1-0 20 1905 Cafe Orlando di Lasso offhand C44 King's Pawn Game 15. A Nimzowitsch vs Spielmann   1-0 35 1905 Nimzowitsch - Spielmann, 1st Match C45 Scotch Game 16. A Nimzowitsch vs Spielmann ½-½ 36 1905 Nimzowitsch - Spielmann, 1st Match C45 Scotch Game 17. Spielmann vs P Leonhardt 0-1 32 1905 Hamburg C39 King's Gambit Accepted 18. Spielmann vs J W te Kolste   1-0 29 1905 Scheveningen C29 Vienna Gambit 19. Spielmann vs B Leussen 0-1 42 1905 Scheveningen B72 Sicilian, Dragon 20. P Leonhardt vs Spielmann 1-0 33 1905 Scheveningen C01 French, Exchange 21. R Loman vs Spielmann 0-1 35 1905 Scheveningen C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed 22. Spielmann vs Marshall 0-1 35 1905 Scheveningen C42 Petrov Defense 23. Spielmann vs A Reggio 1-0 24 1905 Scheveningen C30 King's Gambit Declined 24. G Oskam vs Spielmann   1-0 41 1905 Scheveningen C44 King's Pawn Game 25. G Schories vs Spielmann 0-1 25 1905 Scheveningen C82 Ruy Lopez, Open  page 1 of 54; games 1-25 of 1,350

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

< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 1 OF 10 ·  Later Kibitzing> Jan-14-02    Sneaky: Rudolf Spielmann (1883-1942) Rudolf Spielman was born on May 5, 1883 in Vienna, Austria. Rudolf Spielmann was a Viennese professional chess player who lived in Germany for most of his life. As a Jew, he fled Germany and moved to Sweden in 1939. During World War I, he served in the Austrian army. In 1935 he wrote "The Art of Sacrifice." He died in Stockholm, Sweden on August 20, 1942. His Elo historical rating is 2560. http://www.geocities.com/siliconval... May-24-03    Ribeiro: A brilliant player! May-28-03    ughaibu: Chessamateur: try here http://www.chessmetrics.com/ Jul-06-03    fred lennox: His compact machine-like force has finesse and radiates with dynamic beauty and elan. Aug-07-03    Ribeiro: <fred lennox><His compact machine-like force has finesse and radiates with dynamic beauty and elan.> Well said! His games are a perennial source of inspiration! Oct-03-03    fred lennox: Well, with a nice compliment from <Ribeiro>, I am encourage to recommend "The Art of Sacrifice." This inexpensive book will add vibrancy to any chess library. Speilmann is a colorful annotator for any level. He is rapid, fluid and to the point. Dec-15-03    Catfriend: Spielmann vs J Mieses, 1910 A great game by R.Spielman, showing his vast fantasy Dec-15-03    Benjamin Lau: Wasn't this guy very fond of beer? I think I once read that he was quoted as saying that he had only two goals in life- to play chess, and to use the tournament money to buy large quantities of beer! (Or was that Speelman?) Anyway, great player, I like fred lennox's comment about him (not the one on this page, but one somewhere else, on one of his games, about Spielmann's unique queenplay.) Dec-15-03    Benzol: <Benjamin Lau> Ben I thought it was Bogolyubov who was very fond of beer. If I recall rightly it was the only English word he knew. Dec-15-03    Benjamin Lau: Bogoljubov was a drinking fanatic for sure, but I don't know if Spielmann wasn't either. I'll go check. Dec-15-03    Benjamin Lau: http://www.chesscafe.com/text/spiel... That's a link with the implication of strong beer drinking, but nothing more. I believe I read the article about Spielmann's beer drinking from Seirawan, perhaps in one of his books. I think it might have been Winning Chess Tactics. Dec-15-03    Benzol: I think I remember reading about Bogolyubov's beer drinking in the tournament book of Nottingham 1936. Dec-15-03    Benjamin Lau: Finally found the quote: "Spielmann's main concern in life, apart from Chess, was to accumulate enough money to buy limitless quantities of beer!" – Reuben Fine Dec-15-03    Benjamin Lau: Here's the link to lennox's comment. Spielmann vs Eliskases, 1936 Dec-15-03    technical draw: There was a guy in St. Thomas, USVI, we used to call Mr. Unlimited. Thats because he could drink unlimited amounts of beer. (preferably the brand from Holland). Spielmann would have been proud of him. (even if he didn't know squat about chess). Dec-15-03    Coitis: This dude is one funky lookin guy!! Jan-27-04    S4NKT: What a brilliant quote "play the opening like a book, the middlegame like a magician, and the endgame like a machine"! Jan-27-04    Orcinus: "The opeining-up of lines must be carried out ruthlessly." - <The Art of Sacrifice in Chess> One of my favorite dictums. Jan-27-04    technical draw: "I like to watch my opponents squirm"...Bobby Fischer. Jan-27-04    TheMightyPawn: <technical draw> Didnt Fisher say that when somebody asked him why he doesnt play against computers? Jan-27-04    technical draw: <Mighty Pawn> No, I think he said that during the Fischer fear era. Of course, you're probably just jesting. Feb-16-04    Stavrogin: Imagine a tournament featuring the following players only: 1. Kasparov 2. Tal 3. Spielmann 4. Marshall 5. Zukertort 6. Morphy 7. Shirov 8. Mieses Attack, attack, attack - sac, sac, sac. The collection of games would be astonishing in regard of enteertaingvalue! The outcome? My guess: 1. Kasparov 2. Tal 3. Shirov 4. Spielmann 5. Zukertort 6. Morphy 7. Mieses 8. Marshall Feb-19-04    Bartleby: With this round-robin ensemble, Stavrogin, I'd substitute Chigorin for Kasparov since Kasparov would too clearly dominate this list. Personally, I'd also want to substitute Steinitz in Mieses' stead; Steinitz is type-cast as this positional, methodical scientist, like a Reuben Fine or Reshevsky, but his over-the-board play often exploded with fireworks! He espoused some truly deranged and brazen variations which opened up the board with the grace of a rusty carpenter's knife...and were about as safe! But he had no qualms as the thankless defender of such thorny thickets--this was especially apparent late in his career after he lost his title to Lasker, and turned into a "go-for-broke" tactician goading his attacker on. His most common opening is the Vienna Game/Gambit, if there's any doubt. Personally I'd be depressed if Marshall came in last; the great American swindler usually dominated tournaments with his swashbuckling and was a great opening theorist to boot. Feb-19-04    ughaibu: Bartleby: What do you think Aristotle meant by "chess"? Feb-19-04    aulero: <Stavrogin> Kasparov will dominate thanks to his opening preparation. I think that you need to fix the King's gambit as obliged opening. Then you can add Spassky and Bronstein and I'm sure that Kasparov would have many many problems to win this kind of tournament. Jump to page #   (enter # from 1 to 10) search thread:    < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 1 OF 10 ·  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: No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language. No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts. No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members. Nothing in violation of United States law. No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members. No trolling. 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. Do not degrade Chessgames or any of it's staff/volunteers. Please try to maintain a semblance of civility at all times. 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.

Copyright 2001-2025, Chessgames Services LLC