Raymond Keene

Bugged

Polish grandmaster Akiba Rubinstein was one of the strongest players never to win the world title. Up to 1914 he seemed unstoppable, but then the Cuban genius Capablanca burst on to the scene and after the first world war Rubinstein was a changed man. In Chess and Chessmasters (Hardinge Simpole), Gideon Stahlberg wrote: ‘A latent disease of the mind was slowly weakening the titan’s creative powers and sapping his ability … but one could still recognise that he was a great master; his play was almost more subtle than before and his art more remarkable’.

It was seen as a sign of his mental distraction that he seemed constantly disturbed by imaginary flies, though it has been postulated that this could have been caused by a condition called posterior vitreous detachment, which puts black floaters in the field of vision. So his artistry in the 1920s may have been held back by a minor optical ailment, rather than early symptoms of his eventual problems.
 
Rubinstein did withdraw from chess in the 1930s due to his declining powers, and in three more decades of life he played no serious games.

These game notes are also based on Stahlberg’s comments, modified by modern computer checks.
 
Rubinstein-Hromadka: Maehrisch Ostrau 1923; King’s Gambit
 
1 e4 e5 2 f4 Bc5 3 Nf3 d6 4 Nc3 Nf6 5 Bc4 Nc6 6 d3 Bg4 7 h3 Bxf3 8 Qxf3 Nd4 9 Qg3 Qe7 This was a popular line and it was well-known that 9 … Nxc2+ 10 Kd1 Nxa1 11 Qxg7 was very dangerous for Black. 10 fxe5 dxe5 11 Kd1 White gives up the right to castle but has compensation with the bishop pair and open f-file.



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