Question? What’s the


by International Master Daniel Gurevich


“What is the Rubinstein Trap?”


to win games. However, as far as I know, the Rubinstein Trap is the only one named after somebody who fell right into it! Many believe that, at his peak, Grandmaster Akiba Rubinstein was even stronger than reigning World Champion Emanuel Lasker. Unfor- tunately, he never got the chance to play a world championship match that would prove it. Rubinstein’s games are worth a look:


T you can


learn very much from his excep- tionally solid positional style and brilliant endgame technique.


But GM Rubinstein did have one


weakness. Quite a few of his games were ruined by his blunders. Still, it


4 April 2016 www.uschess.org


here are many opening traps named after players who successfully used them


is amazing that he fell for the Rubinstein Trap twice in the same variation of the Queen’s Gambit Declined, in games just two years apart!


Euwe-Rubinstein, 1928 BLACK TO PLAY


8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1


a b c d e f g h


Here, in order to make his position less cramped, Rubinstein hatched a plan to trade off White’s dark-squared bishop. 11. ... h6 12. Bf4! Max Euwe, who would later become the fifth world champion, correctly chooses to keep his bishop alive. The weaker retreat 12. Bh4?! would have been met with 12. ... Ne4!, allowing Black to untangle his pieces. 12. ... Nh5?


Rubinstein blunders, thinking that


he is about to accomplish his goal. Instead, after 12. ... Nf8, his position would have been only slightly worse. But now Euwe struck with 13. Nxd5! Since 13. ... cxd5 allows 14. Bc7, trapping the queen, Black was forced to go through with 13. ... Nxf4. Despite tenacious efforts, down a critical pawn, Rubinstein could not save the game after 14. Nxf4; he finally resigned on move 55.


Alekhine-Rubinstein, 1930 BLACK TO PLAY


8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1


a b c d e f g h Does this position look familiar?


This time, Black did not opt for 11. ... h6. 11. ... Ne4?


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