[blind-chess] Annotated Game #057: Akiba Rubinstein - Frank James Marshall, Lodz 1908
- From: "Roderick Macdonald" <rjmacdonald@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Blind-Chess Mailing List" <blind-chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 18 Sep 2011 14:32:37 -1000
Annotated Game #057:
Akiba Rubinstein - Frank James Marshall, Lodz 1908
Adapted and Condensed from
Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
Contents
++1. Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein
++1.A Biography
++1.B Chess heritage
++1.C Notable chess games
++2. Frank James Marshall
++2.A Chess career
++2.B Assessment
++2.B1 Marshall's famous 23. ... Qg3!!
++2.B2 Opening theory
++2.B3 Win over Capablanca with Black
++2.C Quotes
++2.D Books
++3. Akiba Rubinstein - Frank James Marshall, Lodz 1908
++1. Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein
Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein (December 12, 1882 - March 15, 1961)
was a famous Polish chess Grandmaster at the beginning of the 20th
century. He was scheduled to play a match with Emanuel Lasker for
the world championship in 1914, but it was cancelled because of the
outbreak of World War I.
++1.A Biography
Rubinstein was born in the Polish border town of Stawiski. He
learned to play chess in school when he was 16. He was Jewish, and
his family planned for him to become a rabbi. However, in 1903,
after finishing fifth in a tournament in Kiev, Rubinstein decided
to abandon his rabbinical studies and devote himself entirely to
chess. He trained with and played against the strong master Gersz
Salwe in Lodz.
Between 1907 and 1912, Rubinstein established himself as one of the
strongest players in the world. In 1907, he won the Karlovy Vary
tournament and shared first at St. Petersburg. In 1912, he had a
record string of wins, finishing first in five consecutive major
tournaments: San Sebastian, Piestany, Breslau (the German
championship), Warsaw and Vilnius (although none of these events
included Lasker or Capablanca). Some believe that he was better
than world champion Emanuel Lasker at this time. Ratings from
Chessmetrics support this conclusion, placing him as world #1
between mid 1912 and mid 1914. Reuben Fine, on the other hand,
believed he was not quite as strong as Lasker, and was also
eclipsed by Jose Raul Capablanca after 1911.
At the time when it was common for the reigning world champion to
handpick his challengers, Rubinstein was never given a chance to
play Lasker for the world chess championship because he was unable
to raise enough money to meet Lasker's financial demands. In the
1909 St. Petersburg tournament, he had tied with Lasker and won his
individual encounter with him. However, he had a poor showing at
the St. Petersburg tournament in 1914, not placing in the top five.
A match with Lasker was arranged for October 1914, but it never
took place because of the outbreak of World War I.
After the war Rubinstein was still an elite grandmaster, but his
results lacked their previous formidable consistency. Nevertheless,
he won at Vienna in 1922, ahead of future world champion Alexander
Alekhine, and was the leader of the Polish team that won the Chess
Olympiad at Hamburg in 1930 with a superb record of thirteen wins
and four draws. A year later he won an Olympic silver.
After 1932 he withdrew from tournament play, mostly because his
schizophrenic tendencies became prevalent; he was suffering from
anthropophobia, a fear of people and society. Unlike other great
grandmasters, he left behind no literary heritage, which may be
attributed to his mental problems. He spent the last 29 years of
his life suffering from severe mental illness, living at various
times at home with his family and in a sanatorium. It is not clear
how the Jewish grandmaster survived World War II in Nazi-occupied
Belgium. One oft-related story is that the Nazis arrived one day to
take him to the death camps, but he was so patently insane that
they abandoned the attempt. However, there is no documentation to
support this tale.
++1.B Chess heritage
He was one of the earliest chess players to take the endgame into
account when choosing and playing the opening. He was exceptionally
talented in the endgame, particularly in rook endings, where he
broke new ground in knowledge. Jeremy Silman ranked him as one of
the five best endgame players of all time, and a master of rook
endgames.
He originated the Rubinstein System against the Tarrasch Defense
variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined: 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 c5 3. c4
e6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. g3 Nf6 7. Bg2 (Rubinstein - Tarrasch,
1912).
He is also credited with inventing the Meran Variation, which stems
from the Queen's Gambit Declined but reaches a position of the
Queen's Gambit Accepted with an extra move for Black.
Many opening variations are named for him. The "Rubinstein Attack"
often refers to 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e3 0-0
6. Nf3 Nbd7 7. Qc2. The Rubinstein Variation of the French Defence
arises after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 (or 3. Nd2) dxe4 4. Nxe4.
Apart from 4. Qc2, the Rubinstein Variation of the Nimzo-Indian: 1.
d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3. There are also the Rubinstein
Variation of the Four Knights Game, which arises after 1. e4 e5 2.
Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Nd4, and the Rubinstein Variation of the
Symmetrical English, 1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5.
Bg2 Nc7, a complex system that is very popular at the grandmaster
level.
The Rubinstein Trap, an opening trap in the Queen's Gambit Declined
that loses at least a pawn for Black, is named for him because he
fell into it twice. One version of it runs 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3
Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 0-0 7. Nf3 Nbd7 8. Bd3 c6 9. 0-0
Re8 10. Rc1 h6 11. Bf4 Nh5? 12. Nxd5! Now 12. ... cxd5?? is met by
13. Bc7, winning the queen, while 12. ... Nxf4 13. Nxf4 leaves
White a pawn ahead.
The Rubinstein Memorial tournament in his honor has been held
annually since 1963 in Polanica Zdroj, with a glittering list of
top-flight winners.
++1.C Notable chess games
* George Rotlewi vs Akiba Rubinstein, Lodz 1907, Tarrasch
Defense: Symmetrical Variation (D02), 0-1 A very impressive
attacking combination; "perhaps the most magnificent
combination of all time" (Carl Schlechter)
* Akiba Rubinstein vs Emanuel Lasker, St. Petersburg 1909,
Queen's Gambit Declined: Traditional Variation (D30), 1-0
This game ends in an interesting position where Lasker has
no good moves (zugzwang).
* Akiba Rubinstein vs Karel Hromadka, Moravska Ostrava 1923,
King's Gambit Declined. Classical Variation (C30), 1-0 A
nice game full of tactics and hanging pieces. The former
Czech champion Karel Hromadka fights well, but at the end
Rubinstein prevails.
* Akiba Rubinstein vs Carl Schlechter. San Sebastian 1912,
1-0 Capablanca called this game "a monument of magnificent
precision." A quintessential Rubinstein game.
* Hermanis Mattison vs. Akiba Rubinstein, Carlsbad, 1929,
(C68), 0-1 A famous rook and pawn ending that seemed
"hopelessly drawn", but was won by Rubinstein. The editor
of the tournament book said that if this game had been
played 300 years earlier, Rubinstein would have been burned
at the stake for dealing with evil spirits.
++2. Frank James Marshall
Frank James Marshall (August 10, 1877 - November 9, 1944), was the
U.S. Chess Champion from 1909-1936, and was one of the world's
strongest chess players in the early part of the 20th century.
++2.A Chess career
Marshall was born in New York City, and lived in Montreal, Canada
from ages 8 to 19. He began playing chess at the age of 10 and by
1890 was one of the leading players in Montreal.
He won the U.S. chess championship in 1904, but did not accept the
title because the current U.S. champion, Harry Nelson Pillsbury,
did not compete.
In 1906, Pillsbury died and Marshall again refused the championship
title until he won it in competition in 1909.
In 1907 he played a match against World Chess Champion Emanuel
Lasker for the title and lost eight games, winning none and drawing
seven. They played their match in New York, Philadelphia,
Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Chicago, and Memphis from January 26
to April 8, 1907.
In 1909, he agreed to play a match with a young Cuban named Jose
Raul Capablanca, and to most people's surprise, lost eight games,
drew fourteen and won only one.
After this defeat, Marshall did not resent Capablanca; instead, he
realized the young man had immense talent and deserved recognition
by the chess community. The American champion worked hard to assure
Capablanca had the chance to play at the highest levels of
competition.
Marshall insisted that Capablanca be permitted to enter the San
Sebastian tournament in 1911, an exclusive championship promising
to be one of the strongest yet in history. Despite much protest at
his inclusion, Capablanca won the tournament.
Marshall finished fifth at the St. Petersburg tournament in 1914,
behind World Champion Lasker, future World Champions Capablanca and
Alekhine, and former World Championship challenger Tarrasch, but
ahead of the players who did not qualify for the final: Ossip
Bernstein, Rubinstein, Nimzowitsch, Blackburne, Janowski, and
Gunsberg. According to Marshall's 1942 autobiography, which was
reportedly ghostwritten by Fred Reinfeld, Tsar Nicholas II
conferred the title of "Grandmaster on Marshall and the other four
finalists. Chess historian Edward Winter has questioned this,
stating that the earliest known sources that support this story are
an article by Robert Lewis Taylor in the June 15, 1940 issue of The
New Yorker and Marshall's autobiography.
In 1915, Marshall opened the Marshall Chess Club in New York.
In the 1930s, Marshall captained the US team to four gold medals at
four Chess Olympiads. During one round, he returned to the board
and found that his comrades had agreed to three draws. After he
finished his own game, he gave each of them a stern talk
individually on how draws do not win games or matches.
In 1936, after holding the U.S. championship title for 27 years, he
relinquished it to the winner of a championship tournament. The
first such tournament was sponsored by the National Chess
Federation, and held in New York. The Marshall Chess Club donated
the trophy, and the first winner was Samuel Reshevsky.
++2.B Assessment
Marshall was best known for his great tactical skill. One aspect of
this was the "Marshall swindle", where a trick would turn a lost
game around. Andrew Soltis writes that, "In later years his prowess
at rescuing the irretrievable took on magical proportions". Not so
well known now, but appreciated in his day, was his endgame skill.
++2.B1 Marshall's famous 23. ... Qg3!!
In his famous game against Stepan Levitsky at Breslau 1912,
Marshall concluded with a stunning sham sacrifice of his queen,
allowing it to be captured three different ways:
1.d4 e6 2.e4 d5 3.Nc3 c5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.exd5 exd5 6.Be2 Nf6 7.O-O Be7
8.Bg5 O-O 9.dxc5 Be6 10.Nd4 Bxc5 11.Nxe6 fxe6 12.Bg4 Qd6 13.Bh3
Rae8 14.Qd2 Bb4 15.Bxf6 Rxf6 16.Rad1 Qc5 17.Qe2 Bxc3 18.bxc3 Qxc3
19.Rxd5 Nd4 20.Qh5 Ref8 21.Re5 Rh6 22.Qg5 Rxh3 23.Rc5 Qg3!! 0-1
This move is considered one of the most brilliant moves ever played
(Tim Krabbe ranked it third.) Legend has it that the spectators
showered the board with gold pieces after Marshall's stunning last
move.
++2.B2 Opening theory
Frank Marshall has a number of chess opening variations named after
him. Remarkably for a player who died over 60 years ago, two gambit
variations that are still theoretically important today are named
after him. One is the Marshall Attack in the Ruy Lopez (1. e4 e5 2.
Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3
d5). Marshall's first well-known game with this opening was against
Jose Raul Capablanca in 1918, although Marshall had previously
played it in other games that did not gain widespread attention.
Even though Capablanca won in a game widely regarded as a typical
example of his defensive genius, Marshall's opening idea became
quite popular. Black gets good attacking chances and scores close
to 50 percent with the Marshall, an excellent result for Black. The
Marshall Attack is so well-respected that many top players often
choose to avoid it with "Anti-Marshall" variations such as 8.a4.
An important gambit in the Semi-Slav Defense is also named after
Marshall. That "Marshall Gambit" begins 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 e6
4.e4!? Now the main line runs 4...dex4 5.Nxe4 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 (6.Nc3
saves the pawn but is not considered dangerous) Qxd4 7.Bxb4 Qxe4+
8.Be2 with sharp and unclear play.
Another opening named after Marshall is the Marshall Defense to the
Queen's Gambit (1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nf6). It is generally considered
inferior to the Queen's Gambit Declined (2. ... e6), Slav Defense
(2. ... c6), and Queen's Gambit Accepted (2. ... dxc4).
++2.B3 Win over Capablanca with Black
Although Marshall lost to Capablanca far more often than he won (+2
-20 =28), he was one of a few players ever to beat him with the
Black pieces. The game was played in Havana in 1913:
1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nf6
3. Nxe5 d6
4. Nf3 Nxe4
5. d4 d5
6. Bd3 Bg4
7. O-O Nc6
8. c3 Be7
9. Nbd2 Nxd2
10. Bxd2 O-O
11. h3 Bh5
12. Re1 Qd7
13. Bb5 Bd6
14. Ne5 Bxe5
15. Qxh5 Bf6
16. Bf4 Rae8
17. Re3 Rxe3
18. fxe3 a6
19. Ba4 b5
20. Bc2 g6
21. Qf3 Bg7
22. Bb3 Ne7
23. e4 dxe4
24. Qxe4 c6
25. Re1 Nd5
26. Bxd5 cxd5
27. Qe7 Qc8
28. Bd6 h6
29. Rf1 f6
30. Re1 Rd8
31. Bc5 Kh7
32. Qf7 Qf5
33. Be7 Qd7
34. Kf1 Rf8
35. Qe6 Qxe6
36. Rxe6 Re8
37. Re2 Kg8
38. b3 Kf7
39. Bc5 Rxe2
40. Kxe2 f5
41. Kd3 Ke6
42. c4 bxc4+
43. bxc4 g5
44. g4 f4
45. Bb4 Bf6
46. Bf8 dxc4+
47. Kxc4 f3
48. d5+ Ke5
49. Kd3 Kf4
50. Bd6+ Be5
51. Bc5 Kg3
52. Ke4 Bf4
53. d6 f2
0-1
Capablanca rarely lost in the endgame.
++2.D Quotes
* The hardest thing in chess is to win a won game.
++2.E Books
* Frank Marshall, My Fifty Years of Chess, 1942, ISBN
1-84382-053-6 (2002 Hardinge Simpole edition).
* Andy Soltis, Frank Marshall, United States Chess Champion:
A Biography With 220 Games, 1994, ISBN 0-89950-887-1.
++3. Akiba Rubinstein - Frank James Marshall, Lodz 1908
Lodz 1908
White: Akiba Rubinstein
Black: Frank James Marshall
Result: 1-0
ECO: C49 - Four Knights Opening, Brentano Variation, Symmetrical
Variation
Notes by R.J. Macdonald
1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Nc3 Nf6
(The Four Knights Opening.)
4. Bb5 Bb4
(This is the Brentano Variation.)
5. 0-0 0-0
6. d3
(The Paulsen Variation continues with 6. Bxc6. Black equalizes after 6. ...
dxc6 7. Nxe5 Re8 8. Nd3 Bxc3 9. dxc3 Rxe4 10. f3 Re8 11. Re1 Rxe1+ 12. Qxe1 Bf5
13. Bg5 h6 14. Bxf6 Qxf6. Alternatively, white can choose the Gunsberg
Variation, 6. Nd5 Nxd5 7. exd5 e4. However, black gains a slight advantage
after 8. dxc6 dxc6 9. Ba4 exf3 10. Qxf3 Bxd2 11. Bb3 Ba5 12. Be3 Qf6 13. Qxf6
gxf6 14. Rad1 Kg7.)
6. ... d6
(This is the Symmetrical Variation.)
7. Ne2
(More common here is the Metger Variation, 7. Bg5 Bxc3 8. bxc3 Qe7. In this
line white retains a slight advantage after 9. Bh4 h6 10. Re1 a6 11. Bxc6 bxc6
12. h3 Be6 13. Qe2 Rfb8 14. d4 exd4 15. cxd4 g5 16. Bg3 .)
7. ... Bg4
(Black equalizes easily after 7. ... Bc5 8. h3 Bd7 9. Ng3 h6 10. Qe2 Re8 11.
Be3 Bxe3 12. Qxe3 d5 13. a3.)
8. Be3!?
(8. c3 Bc5 leads to equality. Other replies for black are: (a) 8. ... Bxf3 9.
gxf3 Bc5 10. Bxc6 bxc6 11. Ng3 Qd7 12. Kg2 Qe6 13. f4 exf4 14. Bxf4 d5 15. f3
Bb6 16. Qc2 Rfe8 17. b3 Rad8 18. Rad1 c5 19. c4 c6 20. Kh1 dxe4 21. dxe4 Rxd1
22. Rxd1 Rd8 23. Rxd8+ Bxd8 24. Qd3 Be7 25. Kg2 g6 26. Bc7 1/2-1/2, as in the
game R. Teichmann - F. Marshall, Prague 1908. (b) 8. ... Bxf3 9. gxf3 Bc5 10.
Ng3 Qc8 11. Bxc6 bxc6 12. Kg2 Qe6 13. f4 exf4 14. Bxf4 d5 15. e5 Nd7 16. d4 Be7
17. Be3 f6 18. f4 fxe5 19. fxe5 Rxf1 20. Qxf1 Rf8 21. Qa6 h5 22. Rf1 h4 23.
Rxf8+ Nxf8 0-1 in 51 moves, as in the game C. Schlechter - F. Marshall, Prague
1908. (c) 8. ... Bxf3 9. Bxc6 Bxe2 10. Qxe2 bxc6 11. cxb4 Nd7 12. Be3 a5 13.
bxa5 Rxa5 14. f4 exf4 15. Rxf4 c5 16. Bd2 Ra7 17. Bc3 Qe7 18. Qd2 Ne5 19. Rf5
f6 20. a3 Nc6 21. Qf2 Ra4 22. b3 Raa8 23. Qc2 1/2-1/2, as in the game J.
Mortensen (2138) - I. Dogantug (2175), Izmir 2004. (d) 8. ... Ba5 9. Ng3 Ne7
10. h3 Bd7 11. Bc4 c6 12. Bb3 Ng6 13. d4 Bc7 14. Re1 h6 15. Bc2 Be6 16. Qe2 Qd7
17. c4 Qc8 18. d5 Bd7 19. a4 a5 20. Be3 c5 21. Bc1 Re8 22. Ra3 Bd8 23. Nf5 Be7
24. Nxe7+ 1-0 in 52 moves, as in the game D. Campora (2542) - J. Martin Vazquez
(2194), Seville 2002. (e) 8. ... Ba5 9. Ng3 Bb6 10. h3 Nh5 11. hxg4 Nxg3 12.
Re1 h5 13. Ng5 d5 14. Qf3 h4 15. Kh2 Qf6 16. Qxf6 gxf6 17. Nh3 Nxe4 18. dxe4 d4
19. g5 fxg5 20. Bxg5 dxc3 21. bxc3 1-0, as in the game C. Schlechter - W.
Napier, Cambridge Springs 1904.)
8. ... Nh5
(8. ... Bxf3 9. gxf3 Bc5 10. Bxc6 bxc6 11. d4 exd4 12. Nxd4 offers equal
chances.)
9. Bxc6
(9. Nc1 Nd4 10. Bxd4 exd4 leads to equality.)
9. ... bxc6
(Black has the pair of bishops.)
10. Ne1
(10. c3 Ba5 offers equal chances.)
10. ... d5
(10. ... Qe7!? would give black a slight advantage.)
11. f3
(Both sides have equal chances. White threatens to win material: f3xg4.)
11. ... Be6
12. g4
(Better is 12. d4, and White hangs on after 12. ... dxe4 13. fxe4, with a
slight edge for white.)
12. ... Nf6
(Black now has a strong position.)
13. Ng3 d4
(13. ... Bd6 14. c3 gives black a moderate advantage.)
14. Bd2 Be7
(14. ... Rb8 15. b3 is strong for black.)
15. Ng2 Rb8
(15. ... g6 16. b3 is strong for black.)
16. b3
(This move controls c4.)
16. ... c5
(16. ... h6 17. Nf5 gives black a slight advantage.)
17. Nf5
(Black is slightly better.)
17. ... Bxf5
(17. ... Bd6 18. f4 Bxf5 19. gxf5 gives black a slight advantage.)
18. gxf5 Rb6
(18. ... Qd6 19. f4 Nd7 20. Qg4 offers equal chances.)
19. Rf2
(19. f4 Bd6 leads to equality.)
19. ... Qd7
(19. ... Nd7 20. f4 gives black a slight advantage.)
20. Qe2
(20. f4 Bd6 leads to equality.)
20. ... Rfb8
(20. ... Bd6 21. f4 offers equal chances.)
21. f4
(Both sides have equal chances.)
21. ... exf4
(21. ... Bd6 22. Qf3 leads to equality.)
22. Bxf4
(22. e5 Nd5 23. Nxf4 gives white a slight advantage.)
22. ... c4
(22. ... Ra6!? is noteworthy, and seems to equalize.)
23. bxc4
(White has a slight advantage.)
23. ... Rb1+
(23. ... Ne8 24. Bg3 is strong for white.)
24. Rxb1
(White now has a moderate advantage.)
24. ... Rxb1+
25. Rf1
Key Move Diagram:
6k1/
p1pqbppp/
5n2/
5P2/
2PpPB2/
3P4/
P1P1Q1NP/
1r3RK1
Position after white's 25th move.
25. ... Rb2?
(25. ... Rxf1+!? 26. Kxf1 Ne8 looks somewhat better but white still has a
strong position.)
26. e5
(White now has a very strong position.)
26. ... Ne8
27. Bg3
(27. e6 Qd8 is decisive for white.)
27. ... Qa4
(27. ... Bg5!? looks better but white still has a moderate advantage.)
28. f6
(White's position is very strong.)
28. ... Bf8
(28. ... Bb4 29. fxg7 Nxg7 30. Nf4 Qxc2 31. Qe4 is very strong for white.)
29. Qg4
Key Move Diagram:
4nbk1/
p1p2ppp/
5P2/
4P3/
q1Pp2Q1/
3P2B1/
PrP3NP/
5RK1
Position after white's 29th move.
29. ... g6??
(the position was bad, and this mistake simply hastens the end. 29. ... Qxc2
30. Ne1 Qe2 still leaves white with a very strong position.)
30. e6 Rxc2
(30. ... Rb6 is the the only chance to get some counterplay, but after 31. Nf4
Nxf6 white is still winning.)
31. Ne1 Rxa2
(31. ... Rc1 is the last straw: 32. Qg5 Rxe1 33. Bxe1 Qc6 is decisive for
white.)
32. exf7+ Kxf7
33. Nf3 Nxf6
34. Ng5+
(34. Nxd4?! is a useless try because of 34. ... Qa6, giving white only a slight
edge.)
34. ... Kg7
Key Move Diagram:
5b2/
p1p3kp/
5np1/
6N1/
q1Pp2Q1/
3P2B1/
r6P/
5RK1
Position after black's 34th move.
35. Rxf6!
(Mate attack!)
35. ... Kxf6
(If 35. ... Kxf6 36. Qf4+ with a Mate attack.)
36. Qf4+ Ke7
37. Qf7+ Kd8
38. Ne6+
(Black resigned in view of 38. Ne6+ Kc8 39. Qxc7#.)
1-0
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