[Event "Lodz1"]
[Site "Lodz"]
[Date "1907.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Rotlewi, Georg A"]
[Black "Rubinstein, Akiba"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D40"]
[WhiteElo "2556"]
[BlackElo "2605"]
[Annotator ""]
[PlyCount "54"]
[EventDate "1907.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventCountry "POL"]
{[%evp 17,53,-5,36,-22,13,-41,-48,-69,-42,-78,-55,-73,-46,-71,-46,-57,-52,-105,
-67,-176,-98,-478,-423,-440,-431,-392,-314,-758,-873,-29992,-29993,-29995,
-29996,-29996,-29997,-29998,-29999,-29999] D40: Queen's Gambit Declined:
Semi-Tarrasch with 5 e3 Knaak,R: 'Rotlewi (Jahrgang 1889, aber schon 1920
verstorben) hat durch diese Partie zweifelhaften Ruhm erlangt; dabei war er so
schlecht nicht: Beim Turnier in Karlsbad 1911 kam er nur einen Punkt hinter
Rubinstein ein; er schlug ihn zudem im direkten Aufeinandertreffen und sorgte
so dafür, daß der große Akiba nur 2. wurde (hinter Teichmann). Nach 1911 gibt
es keine Partien mehr von ihm. '} {The Players Georg Rotlewi (1889-1920) was
a Polish player who achieved considerable success in his short career. His
best result was probably fourth place in the enormously strong tournament at
Karlsbad 1911 with a score of 16/26 (including only two draws!). Shortly after
this he contracted a serious illness and never played again. Akiba Rubinstein
(1882–1961) was one of the world’s best players in the period 1907–22.
Born in the small Polish town of Stawiski, he learned chess at the age of 16
– unusually late for one who goes on to become a great player. A few years
later he moved to Lodz and his chess developed rapidly. By 1907 he was already
recognized as one of the leading masters and in the following five years he
won a whole string of major international events. Rubinstein challenged Lasker
for the World Championship and a match was arranged, but a poor performance by
Rubinstein at St Petersburg 1914 followed by the outbreak of the First World
War dashed his hopes of a title match. After the war years Rubinstein’s
career continued successfully and in 1922 he agreed terms with Capablanca, who
had taken the title away from Lasker the previous year. However, he was unable
to raise the necessary finance and his hopes of becoming World Champion faded
for ever. Rubinstein effectively retired from chess in 1932, with his mental
health in poor shape. Destitution and the Second World War cast a further
shadow over his declining years and he became one of the many great masters
who suffered poverty and deprivation in later life. The Game Rubinstein was
primarily a positional player whose endgame play was of unparalleled subtlety,
but when he was provoked he could be a fierce attacker. Rotlewi plays the
opening too naïvely, and soon relinquishes the initiative. In symmetrical
positions, the advantage of a single tempo can have a disproportionate
influence on the play. Here Rubinstein exploits White’s inaccuracies with
great energy, first inducing Rotlewi to weaken his kingside and then crashing
through with one of the most stunning combinations ever played.} 1. d4 d5 2.
Nf3 e6 3. e3 c5 4. c4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. dxc5 Bxc5 7. a3 a6 8. b4 Bd6 9. Bb2 O-O
{LiveBook: 154 Games} 10. Qd2 $6 {QUESTION: This is a strange move, isn't it?
ANSWER: White doesn't want to develop his bishop yet, since he would like to
recapture on c4 without losing a tempo, but while this is a developing move,
it will not prove useful, as Rubinstein will demonstrate.} {EXERCISE: What did
Rubinstein play in this position to call 10 Qd2 into question? ANSWER:} Qe7 $1
{A pawn sacrifice for the sake of accelerating Black's development – the
imminent arrival of a black rook on d8 will be uncomfortable for the white
queen.} 11. Bd3 $6 {Inconsistent with his previous move.} {EXERCISE (easy):
What's the snag with 11 Bd3 - ? ANSWER:} dxc4 $1 {Unlike Black's king's bishop,
White's will have spent two tempi recapturing the c-pawn, with the further
snag, as will become apparent, that the queen is badly placed on d2.} 12. Bxc4
{Black is slightly better.} b5 13. Bd3 {EXERCISE (easy): How should Black
continue? ANSWER:} Rd8 {Of course; the white queen is under X-ray pressure
from the d8-rook and sooner or later will be forced to lose another tempo.} 14.
Qe2 {QUESTION: White was already "playing with Black" - in a symmetrical
position with Black to move – but now he will be two tempi down. Was 14 0-0
better?} Bb7 15. O-O {EXERCISE: How can Black exploit his slight advantage in
development? ANSWER:} Ne5 $1 $36 {[%mdl 2048] With the exchange of knights
White's castled position loses an important defender, and the two black
bishops will be aimed menacingly at his kingside. . Black fights for an
advantage.} 16. Nxe5 Bxe5 {With the familiar threat of 17...Bxh2+.} 17. f4 {
Closing the h2-b8 diagonal, at the cost of weakening his kingside.} Bc7 {
With the idea of opening the game with 18...e5.} {To answer} 18. e4 {[#]} (18.
Rac1 $15) 18... Rac8 {QUESTION: How significant is Black's advantage? ANSWER:
Black has just developed his last inactive piece and both his rooks occupy
active posts. In contrast, the white rooks are still passive. This is not a
decisive advantage, but any tactical complications arising are likely to
benefit the side whose pieces are more active, so White is clearly at risk.} (
18... Nh5 $1 $19 {[%mdl 512]} 19. g3 (19. Qxh5 Rxd3) 19... Bb6+ 20. Kg2 Nf6) {
Seeking to simplify after either} 19. e5 $2 (19. Kh1 $17 {is tougher.}) 19...
Bb6+ $19 20. Kh1 {[#] EXERCISE: How did Rubinstein continue here? ANSWER:} Ng4
$1 {[%mdl 512] "In playing 19 e5? Bb6+ 20 Kh1 White clearly underestimated
this reply." – Kasparov. Rubinstein exploits the fact that the white queen
is overworked; the threat is now 21...Qh4.} 21. Be4 (21. Qxg4 Rxd3) 21... Qh4 {
[%csl Gg4][%cal Rh4h2]} 22. g3 $2 {[#]} (22. h3 Rxc3 23. Bxc3 Bxe4 24. Qxg4
Qxg4 25. hxg4) {EXERCISE: How did "Rubinstein's Immortal" continue? ANSWER:}
22... Rxc3 $1 {[%mdl 512] "An astonishing queen sacrifice, combining pins and
deflections. White can't stop the attacking fury." – Kavalek. "One of the
best combinations ever made. Black's next, uncommonly spectacular move reveals
the depth of Rubinstein's combinative idea." – Romanovsky.} 23. gxh4 {[#]} (
23. Bxc3 Bxe4+) {EXERCISE: What is the spectacular key to the combination?
ANSWER:} 23... Rd2 $3 {[%mdl 512] "Such moves bear the stamp of eternity!
Black is a queen down, and nearly all his pieces are en prise." – Razuvaev &
Murakhveri. . Black mates.} 24. Qxd2 Bxe4+ 25. Qg2 {EXERCISE: How did
Rubinstein force resignation? ANSWER:} {Rotlewi resigned, in view of} Rh3 $1 {
[%csl Gg4][%cal Rh3h2] "A clincher! Black uses a pin to deliver a pretty mate.
" – Kavalek.} 26. Rf2 $146 Bxf2 {[%csl Gg4][%cal Rh3h2]} 27. Qxe4 Rxh2# {
. Lessons from this game: 1) The advantage of moving first is a valuable but
fragile asset – take good care of it! 2) In symmetrical positions a single
tempo can play a decisive role. The first player to undertake aggressive
action can force his opponent into a permanently passive role. 3) Two bishops
attacking the enemy king along adjacent diagonals make a dangerous team.
Accuracy: White = 16%, Black = 84%.} 0-1
No comments:
Post a Comment