Blitz Book Review: Rubinstein: Move by Move by Zenon Franco

A nice look at Rubinstein's opening theory, games, and influence on the game of Chess

Rubinstein: Move by Move is a tad different from many of the other entries into the Move by Move series that I’ve read and reviewed. This may have a lot to do with how deeply important Rubinstein was to the development of chess theory. Also, this is a book of games from a player who probably could have become the World Champion in his prime (though sadly never accomplished this). Playing through its entirety will make you a believer. There was a time where Rubinstein was probably the strongest player in the world, even over current and future world champions Lasker and Capablanca.

People constantly gush over Capablanca’s strategic endgame techniques, which are very instructive for learning how to place your pieces and pawns, but you would be remiss not to take a look at Rubinstein’s games as well, which often featured uncanny endgame prowess in rook endgames in particular. Rubinstein is so prodigious with this that the book dedicates an entire chapter just to Rubinstein’s rook endgame technique.

This book is what you would come to expect from the Everyman Chess Move by Move series, which is why I’m doing a blitz book review — you probably know what you’re looking for. But I do want to point out some highlights about it:

To start, there are 34 fully analyzed Rubinstein games in here — but also multiple instances of supplementary games which look at how the corresponding game by Rubinstein influenced more modern players. No other Move by Move book has engaged in this kind of structure, and for that alone I can commend this one over, say, Nimzowitsch’s or Capablanca’s Move by Move entries. You’re definitely getting a holistic view of Rubinstein’s style and influence.

Also, the book takes a look at Rubinstein’s attacking games. It’s true, Rubinstein was a positional endgame player — one of the best of all time. He also uncorked some absolute brilliancies. Everyone should already know about the queen sacrifice against Rotlewi (Game 12) that ended in a crushing attack on the enemy king. But among one of the most fascinating things to see was how Rubinstein played the King’s Gambit in his own style (Game 15).

Lastly, one of the neatest things about Rubinstein is that he was one of the first to think of the middlegame when choosing an opening. He tried to steer the game into his own territory from the beginning. This echoes a lot of modern advice a century later today, not seeking a theoretical advantage from the opening, and rather choosing for the sake of the resulting middlegame, where your superior knowledge of the structure and piece configuration will lead to a practical advantage instead. So, the book gives you a whole chapter on that concept for you to chew on.

Overall, this is another competent entry in the Move by Move series. It’s a jack of all trades, master of none: You’ll get Rubinstein’s career highlights plus a generous helping of supplementary games. You’ll learn a bit about rook endgames and how he played them. You’ll learn that he was also a ferocious attacker. And in general, you’ll learn a bit more about chess strategy. It’s not a full look into Rubinstein’s thought process, but it’s a good introduction to him, and if you consider yourself an intermediate-level player, you will probably benefit from studying all the games contained in this book.

3.5/5