LaviChess

Rubinstein's Immortal

Akiba Rubinstein sacrifices first his queen and then a rook. What is left are two bishops that tear down the white king's defenses.

  • WhiteGersz Rotlewi
  • BlackAkiba Rubinstein
  • WhereŁódź
  • WhenDecember 26, 1907
  • EventTournament in Łódź
  • Result0–1, Black won
  • OpeningTarrasch Defense (D32)
  • Length25 moves

On December 26, 1907, Gersz Rotlewi and Akiba Rubinstein met in a tournament in Łódź. Rubinstein was 27 and in the middle of his strongest period: that year he won both the tournament in Carlsbad and the All-Russian Masters' Tournament.

The chess writer Hans Kmoch gave the game the name Rubinstein's Immortal. Garry Kasparov has called it Rubinstein's “truly ‘immortal’ game” and “his most famous creation.”

The players

Akiba Rubinstein (1880–1961) is counted among the greatest players never to become world champion. A world championship match against Emanuel Lasker was planned for October 1914 but never happened when the First World War broke out. After the war, in November 1918, the family moved to Sweden, where they lived until 1922.

Gersz Rotlewi (1889–1920), also called Georg in the sources, was a Polish master, not yet twenty when this game was played. In 1910 he won the Hauptturnier A at the German Chess Congress in Hamburg, which earned him the master title, and in 1911 he finished fourth in the strong tournament at Carlsbad. He died in 1920, only 30 or 31 years old.

The game move by move

Step through with the arrows or tap a move. Moves with a dot have a comment.

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Gersz Rotlewi has the white pieces, Akiba Rubinstein the black.

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Open on the analysis board

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Play like Rubinstein

Guess the moves Rubinstein played, one at a time. The move from the game earns two points, and a move Lavi thinks is about as good earns one. The other side's moves and the game's notes come as you go.

Play like RubinsteinPlay like Rotlewi

The moments that decided it

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After 22…Rxc3: the queen on h4 can be taken, and Rubinstein doesn't care.
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After 23…Rd2: another rook is sacrificed, to lure White's queen away from e4.
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After 25…Rh3: White's queen is pinned and can't stop …Rxh2#.

The end

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The final position after 25…Rh3. White resigned after 25…Rh3.

Why the game is famous

Rubinstein's pieces work together like a textbook example. Two bishops on long diagonals, a rook that gets in on the h-file and a knight on g4 that holds the squares around the king. Two sacrifices in a row remove White's defenders, until the bishop can take on e4 with check.

The game shows how far two bishops reach when the diagonals open, and how little material counts when all your pieces join the attack. Kasparov called it Rubinstein's most famous creation.

The whole game with notes, as text

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 Savielly Tartakower criticized the move as a waste of time: the queen will soon have to look for a better square, and 10.Qc2 was, in his view, the most useful move. 10… Qe7 Black offers a pawn. If White takes it with 11.cxd5 exd5 12.Nxd5, then 12…Nxd5 13.Qxd5 Rd8 follows, with a strong attack. 11. Bd3 dxc4 12. Bxc4 b5 13. Bd3 Rd8 14. Qe2 Bb7 15. O-O Ne5 16. Nxe5 Bxe5 Black threatens 17…Bxh2+: if the king takes back, the fork 18…Qd6+ follows, and then 19…Qxd3. 17. f4 Bc7 18. e4 Rac8 19. e5 Bb6+ 20. Kh1 Ng4 Black takes aim at White's kingside. Both bishops, the knight and soon the queen target the squares around the king. 21. Be4 Qh4 The queen threatens …Qxh2#. 22. g3 The pawn attacks the queen and also opens the second rank, so that White's queen guards h2. 22… Rxc3 Rubinstein leaves his queen where it is. The rook takes the knight that protected the bishop on e4, and now White's queen has to guard both e4 and h2. Hans Kmoch gave the move three exclamation marks. 23. gxh4 White takes the queen. He doesn't have much choice: after 23.Bxc3, for example, comes 23…Bxe4+ 24.Qxe4 Qxh2#. 23… Rd2 Now a rook is sacrificed too. It lures White's queen away from the bishop on e4, and the queen can't go just anywhere: 24.Qe1 is met by 24…Rxh2#. 24. Qxd2 White takes the rook. 24… Bxe4+ The bishop captures with check. 25. Qg2 The queen blocks and is pinned to the king by the bishop on e4. 25… Rh3 The rook goes where White's queen seems able to take it, but the queen is pinned by the bishop on e4. The rook threatens …Rxh2#. Black is down a queen and a rook for two minor pieces, but soon forces mate. Rotlewi resigned.

PGN – the game as text for other chess programs
[Event "Tournament in Łódź"]
[Site "Łódź"]
[Date "1907.12.26"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Gersz Rotlewi"]
[Black "Akiba Rubinstein"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D32"]

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 Bc7 18. e4 Rac8 19. e5 Bb6+ 20. Kh1 Ng4 21. Be4 Qh4 22. g3 Rxc3 23. gxh4 Rd2 24. Qxd2 Bxe4+ 25. Qg2 Rh3 0-1

Download .pgn

Sources

  • Chessgames.com, Rotlewi–Rubinstein 1907
  • Wikipedia: Rotlewi versus Rubinstein
  • PGN Mentor, Rubinstein.pgn

The moves compared in three sources (Chessgames, Wikipedia, PGN Mentor): identical, 50 half-moves. (PGN Mentor also has a second version with a different move order in the opening; we follow the three that agree.) Rotlewi resigned after 25…Rh3. The date from Wikipedia and Chessgames. Every move has also been replayed by computer and checked against the rules of chess.

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Updated November 6, 2026