26 December 1907 · Łódź (All-Russian Masters tournament)

Rubinstein’s Immortal: Rotlewi vs Rubinstein, Łódź 1907, the rook sacrifices

Rubinstein’s Immortal is a 1907 game from Łódź, won by Akiba Rubinstein with Black against Rotlewi. Rubinstein sacrificed two rooks, 22…Rxc3!! and 23…Rd2!!, and finished with 25…Rh3!!. Many chess players rank it among the most beautiful attacking games ever played.

Date: 26 December 1907
Place: Łódź (All-Russian Masters tournament)
Players: Akiba Rubinstein (Black) vs Rotlewi (White)
Result: 0-1 in 25 moves
Opening: Queen’s Gambit Declined structure (1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 c5)
On Chess History: You play Rubinstein, with a voice coach who is a living spool of thread

Play the story Interactive: the moves, the characters, the endings to find.

The moves

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

22…Rxc3!! and 23…Rd2!! are the two rook sacrifices. After 24.Qxd2 Bxe4+ and 25…Rh3!! the king cannot escape the mate.

Two rooks for the mate

Rubinstein’s attack came against the White king on h1, not in the centre. The game is a model of how to win when the opponent’s king is weak: the bishop on b7 points down the long diagonal at the White king, and each rook sacrifice clears one more line.

The engine’s evaluations show how precise the game is. White’s 14.Be2?? was the losing error (about −5 pawns), while 14.Qb3! kept the balance. Rubinstein then needed the sacrifices to finish, and he found them.

The finish

22…Rxc3!! gives up a rook and the bishop on b7 comes alive. After 23.gxh4 Rd2!! the second rook is sacrificed too, and 24.Qxd2 Bxe4+ follows. 24.Qxd2 Bxe4+ and 25…Rh3!! is mate: no piece can take the rook, and the mate is on h2.

The course shows the White alternatives at each move, so you can see the moment the game was lost: 23.Bxb7! would have kept the position, and 24.Qe1?? allowed Rxh2#.

Questions and answers

What makes Rubinstein’s Immortal special?

Two rook sacrifices, 22…Rxc3!! and 23…Rd2!!, followed by a mating finish 25…Rh3!!. Many players call it one of the most beautiful games ever played.

Who played Rubinstein’s Immortal?

Akiba Rubinstein with Black against Rotlewi in Łódź, 1907. Rubinstein won 0-1.

Can I play this game on Chess History?

Yes. You play Rubinstein’s side on Chess History.

Sources and checks

Rotlewi–Rubinstein, Łódź 1907 (Wikipedia and Russell Enterprises, Rotlewi 1889–1920)
Engine check on this site: Stockfish 17 (depth 20-24)

The moves on this page are checked for legality, and the engine evaluations come from Stockfish 17. Where a game is more legend than fact, the story says so.