Mickey’s meltdown in Poland

Britain’s leading Grandmaster for many decades, Mickey Adams,  has enjoyed a spectacular run of recent successes: a first and a second place in the London classic, victory in the over-fifties world senior championship, success in the Cambridge open, first in the English championship, not to mention his ninth British championship title this year. In the course of this tour de force Micky notched wins in individual games against his principal rivals on the UK chess scene, the Grandmasters Stuart Conquest, Gawain Jones and former Russian import, Nikita Vitiugov.

Now, sadly, Mickey has suffered a complete and uncharacteristic meltdown in the latest Rubinstein Memorial at Polanica-Zdrój in Poland. One of Mickey’s strengths has been his ability to avoid loss. In the Rubinstein event, disaster overtook Mickey in four of his nine games. Let us hope that this is a temporary blot on his otherwise distinguished and generally ironclad career.

61st Rubinstein Memorial 2025

No. Player             1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10  Total

— —————-  — — — — — — — — — — —–

 1  Yakubboev          X   ½   ½   ½   ½   ½   1   1   1   1   6.5

 2  Wojtaszek          ½   X   ½   1   ½   ½   ½   1   ½   1   6.0

 3  Bluebaum           ½   ½   X   ½   ½   ½   ½   1   1   ½   5.5

 4  Navara             ½   0   ½   X   ½   ½   1   ½   ½   1   5.0

 5  Aravindh           ½   ½   ½   ½   X   ½   0   1   1   0   4.5

 6  Kovalenko          ½   ½   ½   ½   ½   X   ½   ½   ½   ½   4.5

 7  Bartel             0   ½   ½   0   1   ½   X   ½   ½   ½   4.0

 8  Adams              0   0   0   ½   0   ½   ½   X   ½   1   3.0

 9  Teclaf             0   ½   0   ½   0   ½   ½   ½   X   ½   3.0

10  Klimkowski         0   0   ½   0   1   ½   ½   0   ½   X   3.0

Radoslaw Wojtaszek vs. Michael Adams

Rubinstein Memorial, Polanica Zdroj, 2025, rd. 4

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. a3 b6 7. Qc2 c5 8. Rd1 Bb7 9. cxd5 Nxd5 10. dxc5 Qc8 11. Nxd5 Bxd5 12. e4 Bb7 13. Bd3 bxc5 TN

This novelty seeks to avoid the drawish exchange of heavy pieces after, 13… Qxc5.

14. O-O Nd7 15. Ne5 Nxe5 16. Bxe5 Rd8 17. Bb5 a6 18. Rxd8+ Bxd8 19. Bc4 Bc7 20. Bc3 Bc6 21. Qe2 Qb8 22. f4 Bb5 23. g3 Qb7??

It is nigh-impossible to give a plausible reason for such an awful blunder, especially when Black has such easy equality available after, 23… Bxc4 24. Qxc4 Qb5 25. Qxb5 axb5.

Perhaps the kindest explanation is that a finger slip occurred, with Black intending instead, 23… Qb6! 24. f5 Bxc4 25. Qxc4 Rd8 26. Kg2 Qb5 27. Qxb5 axb5 28. Kf3 exf5 29. exf5 f6.

24. Qg4 g6 25. Bxe6 Bxf1?

Prosaically, 25… Ba5 26. Bd5 Qb6 27. Bxa5 Qxa5 28. Bxa8 Bxf1 29. Kxf1 is an improvement over the move played. But it matters little, so hopelessly lost is Black by now.

26. Bxf7+ Kxf7 27. Qd7+ Kf8 28. Bg7+ Kg8 29. Bf6 Black resigns 1-0

Rubinstein’s win against Capablanca served as an example of the play from the great grandmaster memorialised every year at Polanica-Zdrój in Poland.

Akiba Rubinstein vs. Jose Raul Capablanca
San Sebastian, 1911, rd. 13

Notes by Jacques Mieses and Dr. Savielly Tartakower

1. d4

Tartakower: In a game overflowing with the finer points of positional play, the outstanding feature is perhaps the problem-like turn 17. Qc1, by which White very elegantly saves all his unguarded pieces and remains with an extra pawn.

1… d5 2. Nf3 c5 3. c4 e6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. g3

Tartakower: First introduced by Schlechter (against Dus-Chotimirsky, Prague, 1908), systematised by Rubinstein, this positional manoeuvre has all but refuted the Tarrasch Defence. Tartakower exaggerates: the Tarrasch is still played today.

6… Be6 7. Bg2 Be7 8. O-O Rc8

Tartakower: Too dogmatic. Black devotes too much attention to the queenside.

9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. Ng5! Nf6 11. Nxe6 fxe6 12. Bh3 Qe7 13. Bg5

Mieses: A good move but not the best. Beyond any doubt, with 13. e4! White achieves an advantage; for example, 13… d4 14. Nd5 exd5 15. Bxc8 dxe4 16. Qb3! or 13… dxe4 14. Bg5 O-O 15. Nxe4, etc.

13… O-O

Tartakower: Too late, and yet – as the storm now breaks – not late enough. Better would be 13…Rd8.

14. Bxf6 Qxf6

Mieses: A mistake. In his calculation Capablanca has overlooked the opponent’s 17th move. The right continuation was 14…gxf6. In “Chess Fundamentals” Jose Raul Capablanca states that he overlooked 16. Kg2! and not White’s 17th move giving the following combination: 16. Bg2 (the move Capablanca expected) 16… Ne5! 17. Nf4 (if 17. Rc1 Qxc1!! 18. Qxc1 Bxf2+ and wins) 17… Ng4 18. h3 (18. Nh3 Bxf2+ and Black wins the exchange) 18… Nxf2 19. Rxf2 Bxf2+ 20. Kxf2 g5 and Black wins.

15. Nxd5! Qh6 16. Kg2 Rcd8 17. Qc1!! exd5 18. Qxc5 Qd2 19. Qb5

Tartakower: Having cleverly won a pawn, White shows that he also can hold what he has gained.

19… Nd4 20. Qd3 Qxd3

Mieses: Black cannot avoid the exchange of the queens: 20… Qxb2 loses a piece after 21. Rbf1, and if 20… Qb4, then 21. Rfd1 followed by Be6+.

21. exd3 Rfe8 22. Bg4! Rd6 23. Rfe1 Rxe1 24. Rxe1 Rb6

Mieses: I don’t like this move. The best seems to be 24…Kf7. Tartakower: Very cleverly Black obtains some counterplay which will bring in a pawn on the Q-side.

25. Re5 Rxb2 26. Rxd5 Nc6 27. Be6+ Kf8 28. Rf5+ Ke8 29. Bf7+ Kd7 30. Bc4 a6 31. Rf7+ Kd6 32. Rxg7 b5 33. Bg8 a5 34. Rxh7 a4 35. h4 b4 36. Rh6+ Kc5 37. Rh5+ Kb6 38. Bd5? 

All annotators agree on 38. Bc4! being better.

Perhaps it is not appropriate to address our trusty Pancho (Stockfish 17.1) as an annotator, due to his silicon composition. But he takes exception with the above, suggesting that White’s strongest move here is 38. Rf5! (although confirming that Bc4 is preferable to 38. Bd5 as played). If Black responds with 38… Re2 (to permit his rook an open file along which to operate), he is met with, 39. h5! Re8 40. Bc4 Nd4 41. Rd5 Nc2 42. Rb5+ Kc7 43. Ra5 Rh8 44. g4, and Black is left without any meaningful counterplay. Alternatively, if 38… b3, then 39. axb3 a3 40. Rf4 Ne5 41. Ra4 Nxd3 42. Rxa3 Rxf2+ 43. Kh3, and it is clear that, three pawns down, Black has nothing like sufficient compensation for the material.

38… b3? 

All annotators agree on 38… Rxa2 being better. According to Vladimir Vukovic White still wins with 39. Rh8! b3 40. h5! Ra1 (if 40… Nb4 41.h6! or 40…Rc2 41. h6! b2 42. Ba2 etc.) 41. Bxc6 Kc7 (not 41… Kxc6? 42. Rb8 Kc7 43. Rb4 and wins) 42. Be4 b2 43. d4 a3 44. Rh7+ Kd6 45. Rb7 a2 46. Rxb2 Rg1+ 47. Kxg1 a1=Q+ 48. Rb1 Qxd4 49. Bf3, and White’s position is still winning.

Pancho departs from Vukovic’s analysis nearly immediately, as after 38… Rxa2 39. Rh8 b3 40. h5 Ra1, it thinks White does much better to continue with 41. Rc8 b2 42. Rxc6+ Ka5 43. Bc4 Rg1+ 44. Kxg1 b1=Q+ 45. Kh2 Qb7 46. Rf6 Qe7 47. Ra6+ Kb4 48. h6, with a marked advantage. However, should White continue Vukovic’s variation with 41. Bxc6, then after, 41… Kxc6 42. Rc8+ (not 42. Rb8?, as given) 42… Kb7 43. Rc4 Ka6 44. Rb4 Ka5 45. Rb8 Rc1 46. g4 Rc6 47. g5 Rc5 48. f4 Rb5, the position is completely even. 

39. axb3! 

Tartakower: The result of very precise calculations. 39. Bxb3 is another way to win.

39… a3 40. Bxc6

Mieses: This paradoxical capture is now feasible; e.g., 40… a2 41. Rb5+ Ka6 [41… Kxc6 42. Ra5] 42. Rb8!, etc.

40… Rxb3 41. Bd5 a2 42. Rh6+! Black resigns 1-0

Ray’s 206th book, “  Chess in the Year of the King  ”, written in collaboration with Adam Black, and his 207th, “  Napoleon and Goethe: The Touchstone of Genius  ” (which discusses their relationship with chess) can be ordered from both Amazon and Blackwells. His 208th, the world record for chess books, written jointly with chess playing artist Barry Martin,  Chess through the Looking Glass ,  is now also available from Amazon. 

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