Akiba Rubinstein is universally considered one of the strongest chess players who never won the world crown. From a modest upbringing in the Polish city of Łódź, he rose to become the principal challenger to the world champion Emanuel Lasker in the years leading up to the First World War. Although their world title match failed to take place, mainly due to the outbreak of wartime hostilities, Rubinstein’s legacy has remained equal to that of any world champion. His best games are conspicuous for their power and clarity and reveal his deep positional comprehension, brilliant combinational abilities, and virtuosic endgame technique. Rubinstein also pioneered many innovative and pragmatic ideas in all phases of the game that continue to influence the theory and praxis of modern chess.
Initially published in Russian, Akiba Rubinštejn by Yuri Razuvaev and Valery Murakhveri is widely acclaimed as one of the most outstanding chess books of the latter part of the twentieth century. This work comes up repeatedly when today’s top chess players name books that have significantly influenced their understanding of the game.
After an in-depth biographical chapter, most of the book consists of detailed annotations to more than 60 of Rubinstein’s finest games against players like Alekhine, Bogolyubov, Capablanca, Euwe, Lasker, Marshall, Nimzowitsch, Schlechter, Spielmann, Tarrasch, Tartakower, and other prominent masters. Grandmaster Razuvaev’s copious notes to the games are distinguished by his clear and insightful explanations that are revelatory and highly instructive to keen players of all abilities.
“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.” Garry Kasparov
“Rubinstein [was] an incredibly talented and fantastic chess player. It is a pity that with his extensive knowledge of chess, he was not a world champion. Sometimes he created true masterpieces and was way ahead of his time. To understand this, you should just go through the collection of his best games.” Vladimir Kramnik
”There is an excellent little book by Razuvaev and Murakhveri, entitled Akiba Rubinstein. I advise all my students to study this book; in fact, I demand them to do so.”
Mikhail Shereshevsky
This first English language edition contains all the elements from the original Russian book and has been expanded with additional content. GM Andrey Deviatkin’s fresh analytical discoveries and keen assessments are presented in a new Footnotes chapter together with certain facts about Rubinstein’s life that have been uncovered since the book was first published. Newly added photographs offer a visual account of selected events from Rubinstein’s life.
Second printing, with corrections
Excerpt
