Akiba Rubinstein - Final Installment - LCCC Live Closed - On Line Open!

Hello there LCCC'ers. Take a look at the instructions on the right hand side of the blot to learn how to play in and join our club on line. Our live chess site remains closed for now. 

Please join us on line! 

 LCCC is using 2 of the best on line chess services available and offering two different forms of chess. Live tournament play on Monday Night on Lichess.

And on-line "postal" style chess on Chess.com. 

 Not to mention that both chess sites offer their own lists of games, time limits, tournaments and chess variations - 24 hours a day! Come join us! 

Akiba Rubinstein

 Now back to our story of Akiba Rubinstein: 

 When looking at the games of Akiba Rubinstein, his approach was one of smooth transision from the opening, to the middlegame and the endgame. In pure harmony, every move seemed perfectly necessary. No extra or wasted moves were tolerated. Like the building of a house, every stone is in it's place and every stone has a role. It was the same with his chess pieces.

Rubinstein spend a great deal of time studying the general principles of the game. This led him to being the master of endgame play over his contemporaries. No one came close in that department until Capablanca came along. 

 Despite being the World's #2 player, if not #1, Akiba never got to play in a championship match. There were several reasons for this. One being the financial conditions set forth by the current champion Emanuel Lasker. Another was the arrival of another chess great - Jose Capablanca. And of course the start of World War I (WW1). 

 But there were other issues as psychological problems began to plague him and lead to his eventual retirement from the chess scene. WWI destroyed many lives and fortunes and Akiba was no different. He invested heavily in German war bonds. 

 After WWI Rubinstein played in more tournaments, but never revisited his past highs. The exception was the super-tournament in Vienna in 1922, where Rubinstein won over Alexander Alekine and Richard Reti. 

 But soon after this win, he visited a psychiatrist complaining of a fly that he imagined always settled on his forehead, breaking his concentration. The doctor sent him ot a leading psyco-neurologist in Munich. The doctor said, "My friend, you are quite mad! But what does that matter? You are a brilliant chess master." 

 It seemed to have mattered plenty. Rubinstien never wrote books to cash in on his legendary chess accomplishments. He was very conscious of his lack of a complete education. And his mental health issues kept him from being able to complete projects. 

Akiba Rubinstein spent the last 30 years of his life in a sanitorium and died in 1961. A sad end to one of the most brilliant chess minds that ever lived.

Akiba Rubinstein - 2nd Installment - LCCC Still Closed for Live Play

We hope to open soon, but since we are located at a Senior Center......who knows?

But now the next installment of the Akiba Rubinstein story.

In 1905, a 5th place finish at a Kiev tournament gave Rubinstein his first Grandmaster title  and that cemented his decision to become a chess professional. That was a benefit to the entire chess world!

Between 1906 and 1911, Akiba played in 17 international tournaments and placed first in 11 of them!
In 1912, he shocked the world by winning 5 straight international tournaments!

Now to present Rubinstein's "Immortal Game".
White: Georg Rotlevi
Black: Akiba Rubinstein

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
10. Qd2          Qe7
11. Bd3           dxc4
12. Bxc4         b5
13. Bd3           Rd8
14. Qe2           Bb7
15. O-O          Ne5
16. Nxe5         Bxe5
17. f4 ?           .........

Position after White's 17th move - f4?

What is there to do for White! This move doubles White's disadvantage to a small (-.6), Igor3000 suggests 17. Rfd1, but White would still be slightly behind.

17. ......            Bc7
18. e4 ?!          Rac8
19. e5 ?            ......
White exposes his King and Akiba jumps on that chance (-3.6). 19. Kh1 was needed here first.

19. ......             Bb6+
20. Kh1            Ng4 !
21. Be4             ......
This allows a beautiful finish but 21. Qxg4, Rxe3 is just as bad for White.

21. ......             Qh4
Well, 21. ......Nxh2 was better but a different sacrifice looms!

22. g3 ?            Rxc3 !!
23. gxh4           Rd2  !
24. Qxd2          Bxe4+
25. Qg2            Rh3 !
White resigns in the face of mates in 3! An incredible game!

We will wrap up the Akiba Rubinstein story next time.
         

Still Dark - But You Can Join Us on Chess.com

We are on Chess dot Com, having matches with other clubs!
We are on Lichess.org, having fun tournaments among ourselves. Come join the action there until our location re-opens!

Now for Part 1 of an article on a famous chess player!


Akiba Kivelovic Rubinstein was born December 12, 1882 in the Polish border town of Stawiski. It was then part of the Russian Empire. He was the youngest of twelve children. His family expected him to become a rabbi, but when he was 16, he discovered some chess books written Hebrew and the rest we say is history!

Akiba took to studying chess 6 to 8 hours a day for 300 days a year, for 5 straight years. Results came fast due to his enormous God given talent and tenacious work ethic.

In 1901, he won this beautiful game against a strong Polish master:

      1.     e4             e5

      2.     Nf3           Nc6 

      3.     Bc4           Nf6

      4.     d4             exd4

      5.     O-O          Bc5

      6.     e5             d5

      7.     exf6          dxc4

      8.     Re1+!       Kf8

      9.     Bg5?         ……..

This is a very dubious move. Much better is 9. fxg7, Kxg7  10. Ne5 with some compensation.


 9………..            gxf6

10.  Bh6+            Kg8
 11.  Nxd4!

This was the point of White’s combination.


  11………..          Bxd4

  12. c3                  Bf5?

Position after Black's move 12. …...Bf5?

Missing 12. ….Be5! 13. Qxd8, Nxd8  14. f4,  Nc6  15. Fxe5, fxe5 – leaving Black with a winning position.


       13. cxd4           Nxd4

       14. Nc3             Bg6?


This is a terrible blunder. Black has to give the knight on d4 more protection with 14. ……. C5

        15. Re8+!           Qxe8

        16. Qxd4            Qe5

        17. Nd5!             Resigns

               
Mate is soon to follow.

More on Akiba Rubinstein next article.

Still Dark - But Not on Chess dot com! Join the LCCC On Line!

LCCC is upgrading our focus on our internet presence on the biggest chess site in the world. And it is all FREE!

It is free to join Chess . com and it is free to join our Club once you make an account there.

Some members opened up a tournament on Monday Nights on Li Chess that was successful and fun. 

But on Chess dot Com we are going to up the game where our Club challenges other clubs to matches!

We will set the tournaments up. You will see an invite either to your message board on the site or the Note section on the Club site on Chess. com.

Each tournament will allow 3 days for you to make a move! 

Pick and choose how many tournaments for the Club you want to enter.

Lets walk you thru how to make an account on Chess. com and join LCCC there:

Hit the sign up button

Pick a cool username and sign up to Chess. com

Click on the 'chat' bubble (red circle) and then click on "Clubs"

Type in Livingston County Chess Club in the search box

Click on the Club name

Hit "Join" and you are done!

Hey, I'm Winning! Now I Can Relax - NOT! (LCCC Still Dark - Due to C-19)

IM Yates (White) vs GM Tartakover (Black) - Hamburg, 1927

Having a winning position in a chess game is a great feeling. But sometimes you can feel too good and lose your focus.
Is there a psychological reason for this? Yes, as we all tend to let our guard down when we no longer perceive any danger. We all tend to relax when no threat seems imminent.
But, in chess that is rarely the case even in dominating positions.
We also tend to want to 'finish things up'. In our minds we are screaming "Look pal, this game is over. You are toast! Resign already. I want to go grab a sandwich and get ready for the next round."
And it can be especially true if you have been playing for a long time before getting the advantage or have been building an ever bigger advantage over time.
Look at the position here, as played by two very strong chess masters. Black has a big advantage both material wise and position wise.  According to Igor3000 the lead is the equivalent of 11 pawns (-10.9)! An overwhelming advantage.
But the GM was frustrated that his opponent had not given up yet and decided to end things quickly.

1. ……          Qxb4?
Black gives up his queen to eliminate White's last defender while winning a pawn (-2.2)and is sure his extra pawn will bring his queen back to life to win the game

2. axb4           axb3
3. Kb2            Kc4
4. Ka3            ........

Black to make move #4

 None of this was a surprise to GM  Tartakover. He had seen all of this. He also saw that if he plays 4. …Kc3, it is a stalemate.
Tartakover saw that 4.....b2 5. Kxb2, Kxb4 is a win for Black. So, 

4. ……            b2
5. Ka2!
But White had one other legal move available to him and he took it!
Now the game is a book draw.

GM Tartakover was guilty of shutting down his full analysis of the position and getting in a hurry to win a won game.

LCCC Still Dark, But Here is a Lively Game!

Position after Black's 14th move ........f5

Here is the position after fourteen moves. Games with Kings castled on opposite wings usually lead to fireworks. Who can get there first is usually the strategy. Here is no exception. Both sides go for the win.

15. exf5             g6
16. f6                h5
Black is two move late. This move was better played at move 14 instead of the f5 actually played. White is up a half-pawn positionally (+.5).

17. Qg5?          …....
A small error as 17. Qe4,  h4 18. Ne3 kept White in the lead. Game even.

17. .......            Bh6?
Black would do better to block the invading pawn with 17. .....Qf7 first. White back on top by that half-pawn.

18. Qxg6          Qh3?
As stated, Black is all about the attack, but this is premature. 18. ......h4 was more to the point. White is up the full pawn now.

19. f7?             ........
White is also on full aggression mode and gives his extra pawn a little too much credit. It's not getting to the end zone for a while yet. Meanwhile Black is making threats, and it is never ever wise to ignore your opponent's moves. 19. Ne3 was needed. The game is back to even again.

19. .......           h4
20. Ne3??        hxg3?!
This is one move too late! 20. f4 was needed to keep White alive! 20. ...hxg3 21. Qxg3, Bxf4 22. Qxh3, Rxh3 23. Rael and White is actually up a fifth of a pawn (+.2) instead of down (-1.5)! Black has a more accurate 20. ....Qh5 21. Ng4 Bf4. So now Black is only up (-1.2), but still with an advantage.

21. Qxg3         Qe6
22. Kh1??        Bf4
Getting out of the probable rook pin on the White King and Queen with Black playing Rg8 at some point was admirable, but 22. Qf3, Bf4 23. Ng4 kept it a game. Black is up now over 6 pawns!

23. Qg4           Rxh2+
24. Kg1           Qxf7
25. Qf3            Rg8+
26. Ng4           Qd5!
27. Rfd1          Qxf3
28. Rf1            Qxg4 mate

LCCC Still Closed - But Come Join Us On-Line!

Monday Night is Chess Night!

The Club is closed due to the quarantine effort. But you can still join us for chess action on line!

We at LCCC have some innovative members. They have set up a Monday Night Tournament on a site called Li Chess!

All you need to do is make an account on Li Chess. It is completely free!

Then head to the LCCC page on Li Chess:

https://lichess.org/team/Livingston-county-chess-club

and join us by clicking on the "Join Team" button.

Then in the center of the LCCC page you will see a listing of our previous and future tournaments. The next one will be at the top.

Sign up or sign up Monday night before 6pm and get ready for a couple of hours of chess action!
The tournament runs from 6pm to 8:30pm
Time control is 15minutes with a 5 second increment.
During the tournament, you will be paired with the next available player.
You can be there at the start, you can come late and you can leave whenever you wish with no penalty.
You can also take a break and watch other games
There is also a chat feature so feel free to ask questions if you have any problems, or if you just want to say hello!
After the tournament has finished at 8:30, the site will announce the winner, 2nd and 3rd.
But this is just really for fun and to keep the Club going.

See you Monday Night!