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Baden-Baden (1925) For a number of years following the First World War Germany had seen no great international tournaments. Mannheim (1914) was their latest grand-scale tournament which the outbreak of the war had brought to a premature conclusion. Lamenting this sad state of affairs, Dr. Tarrasch approached the municipal authorities of the famous old spa town of Baden Baden, which had hosted the Baden-Baden (1870) event (1) on an international scale. Their response was favourable and the organisation of the event was placed in the good doctor's hands. Most of the invitees accepted but both Dr. Emanuel Lasker and Jose Raul Capablanca insisted on large appearance fees which were unable to be met. Other absentees were Milan Vidmar and Geza Maroczy who were unable to attend because of work commitments. The final entry consisted of twenty-one competitors, including Dr. Tarrasch himself. The final result was a great win for Alekhine, foreshadowing his later triumphs at San Remo (1930) and Bled (1931). Baden-Baden, Germany, 15 April - 14 May 1925 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 Pts 1 Alekhine * ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 16 2 Rubinstein ½ * ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 14½ 3 Saemisch 0 ½ * 1 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 0 1 1 1 1 13½ 4 Bogolyubov ½ ½ 0 * 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 13 5 Marshall 0 ½ 1 1 * ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 12½ 6 Tartakover ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ * ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 12½ 7 Rabinovich 0 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ * ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ ½ 1 12 8 Gruenfeld ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ * ½ 0 0 1 ½ 1 0 ½ 1 0 1 1 1 11½ 9 Nimzowitsch 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 1 ½ * ½ 1 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 11 10 Torre ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ * ½ 0 ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 10½ 11 Reti 0 ½ 0 0 1 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ * ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 0 1 10 12 Treybal 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 1 ½ * ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 10 13 Spielmann ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ * 1 1 1 0 1 ½ 1 1 10 14 Carls ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 * 0 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 9 15 Yates 0 0 0 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 0 1 * 0 0 0 1 0 1 8 16 Rosselli ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 1 * 1 1 0 ½ ½ 7½ 17 Tarrasch 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 1 0 * ½ 0 0 ½ 7½ 18 Colle 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 1 0 ½ 1 0 0 ½ 1 0 ½ * 0 1 1 7 19 Mieses 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 1 1 1 * 1 1 6½ 20 Thomas 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 1 ½ 0 0 1 ½ 1 0 0 * ½ 6 21 te Kolste 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ * 1½ The game Marshall vs Carlos Torre, 1925 was played en-route to the tournament. The main source for this collection was the Baden Baden 1925 International Chess Tournament book by Siegbert Tarrasch. ISBN 0-939433-13-3. Reference: (1) Wikipedia article: Baden-Baden 1870 chess tournament. Original collection: Game Collection: Baden Baden 1925, by User: Benzol.  page 1 of 9; games 1-25 of 210  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. Bogoljubov vs G Thomas 1-0 31 1925 Baden-Baden D49 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav, Meran 2. C Carls vs I Rabinovich 0-1 59 1925 Baden-Baden D18 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav, Dutch 3. Colle vs A Nimzowitsch 0-1 52 1925 Baden-Baden A80 Dutch 4. Gruenfeld vs J W te Kolste 1-0 32 1925 Baden-Baden D12 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav 5. Marshall vs Saemisch 1-0 37 1925 Baden-Baden B20 Sicilian 6. S Rosselli del Turco vs Spielmann 0-1 36 1925 Baden-Baden C28 Vienna Game 7. Rubinstein vs K Treybal 1-0 31 1925 Baden-Baden D05 Queen's Pawn Game 8. Tarrasch vs Yates 1-0 26 1925 Baden-Baden C50 Giuoco Piano 9. Tartakower vs Reti ½-½ 78 1925 Baden-Baden A00 Uncommon Opening 10. Torre vs Alekhine ½-½ 14 1925 Baden-Baden A31 English, Symmetrical, Benoni Formation 11. J Mieses vs C Carls 0-1 41 1925 Baden-Baden B13 Caro-Kann, Exchange 12. A Nimzowitsch vs Tarrasch ½-½ 27 1925 Baden-Baden A20 English 13. I Rabinovich vs S Rosselli del Turco 1-0 32 1925 Baden-Baden D48 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav, Meran 14. Reti vs Gruenfeld 1-0 56 1925 Baden-Baden A00 Uncommon Opening 15. Saemisch vs Bogoljubov 1-0 54 1925 Baden-Baden E11 Bogo-Indian Defense 16. Spielmann vs Marshall   ½-½ 18 1925 Baden-Baden C43 Petrov, Modern Attack 17. G Thomas vs Rubinstein 0-1 63 1925 Baden-Baden C98 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Chigorin 18. K Treybal vs Tartakower   ½-½ 31 1925 Baden-Baden B02 Alekhine's Defense 19. Alekhine vs Colle 1-0 61 1925 Baden-Baden D07 Queen's Gambit Declined, Chigorin Defense 20. J W te Kolste vs Torre 0-1 27 1925 Baden-Baden C12 French, McCutcheon 21. Bogoljubov vs Spielmann 1-0 44 1925 Baden-Baden C13 French 22. Colle vs J W te Kolste 1-0 47 1925 Baden-Baden D49 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav, Meran 23. Gruenfeld vs K Treybal 1-0 59 1925 Baden-Baden D31 Queen's Gambit Declined 24. Marshall vs I Rabinovich 1-0 29 1925 Baden-Baden D10 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav 25. S Rosselli del Turco vs J Mieses 0-1 57 1925 Baden-Baden B40 Sicilian  page 1 of 9; games 1-25 of 210    REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)   < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing> Mar-27-13    notyetagm: Alekhine vs Colle, 1925 45 ... ? click for larger view White has just captured a Black rook on g8 with 45 ♖g3x♖g8. Should Black make the obvious recapture on g8 or does he have a better move? Colle playing Black simply recaptured the White g8-rook and lost. 45 ... ♔h7x♖g8? click for larger view Instead he could have forced White to take a perp by playing the *much* stronger <ZWISCHENZUG> 45 ... ♕d7xa4!, threatening mate on the <WEAK BACK RANK> while simultaneously creating <CONNECTED PASSERS> on the queenside. (variation) 45 ... ♕d7xa4!= click for larger view Oct-25-13    Benzol: "Capablanca won the London Tournament in 1922 because he was the World Champion; Lasker won in New York in 1924 as if he were the World Champion; but Alekhine won the Baden-Baden Tournament like a real World Champion". - Savielly Tartakower Oct-25-13    keypusher: <Benzol: "Capablanca won the London Tournament in 1922 because he was the World Champion; Lasker won in New York in 1924 as if he were the World Champion; but Alekhine won the Baden-Baden Tournament like a real World Champion". - Savielly Tartakower> By which he meant <in the absence of the world's strongest players?> :-) Oct-25-13    Benzol: It could be interesting to speculate what the final placings would've been if Lasker and/or Capablanca had played in this tournament. :) Jul-05-14    FSR: <Benzol: It could be interesting to speculate what the final placings would've been if Lasker and/or Capablanca had played in this tournament.> 1. Alekhine 2. Lasker 3-4. Rubinstein, Capablanca Jul-05-14    perfidious: To get there with Lasker and Capablanca present, Alekhine would have had to pound the lesser masters without mercy, as he actually did; for he could then do little with either the reigning champion or his predecessor. Jul-05-14    FSR: My prediction is predicated on the assumption that, much as <perfidious> suggests, Alekhine would have beaten up on the lesser lights while drawing against the superstars. (He didn't actually <win> against Capablanca until 1927, and against Lasker until 1934 - Alekhine's only win against the great man). If so, the tournament could have been something like Moscow (1925) with Alekhine playing Bogo's part. But who knows, maybe Lasker could have pulled off another New York (1924) and won the thing. Aug-03-16    King.Arthur.Brazil: A photo of this set of fabolous great masters of BADEN-BADEN in the following e-address: http://www.chessvibes.com/?q=report... Aug-28-16    King.Arthur.Brazil: It is very sad to see the big ex-champion Tarrasch lose games where he was better, making unbelievable moves that made him lost... It was preferable to retire of doing this hole... Maybe, he needed money... Aug-28-16    plang: ...and maybe he loved chess What was he "ex-champion" of? Aug-29-16    Howard: If I remember correctly, after World War I, Tarrasch never again placed in the top-three of any tournament he played in---and he was in quite a few after the war. Sep-02-16    King.Arthur.Brazil: Your are right! I must write "ex-vice-Champion", since it was defeated by Lasker in 1908. But we will never know why Tarrasch didn't was kind for match Lasker before. From 1904 to 1908, he lose several oportunities, where maybe, he was best prepared. The score 8x3 for Lasker (1908) and both score of Lasker 8x1 Marshall and Tarrasch 8x0 Marshall (1904) explains my opinion. I guess the "vice-champion" in Chess is a honor title too. Remember that are several extra-ordinary players that are in this list: (never were the world Champion): Tarrasch, Schlecter, Reti, Smyslov (was Champion only one year!, 1954), Bronstein, Tahl, Kortchnoi, etc. Apr-04-17    sudoplatov: Marshall scored the same here as in Moscow 1925. Jul-22-17    mifralu: <whiteshark: Tarrasch mentioned in the tournament book that both <demanded to high extra-honoraria for their participation>, but he didn't specify it.> Trotz des bewilligten extra Honorars von 2000 Mark, hat sich die Weltmeisterklasse (Dr. Lasker, Dr. Capablanca) aus finanziellen Gründen der Teilnahme entzogen. Karlsruher Tagblatt (16 April 1925) Abendausgabe Seite 3 Apr-30-18    whiteshark: Thanks <mifralu>! Are you living nearby Karlsruhe by sheer chance? May-17-18    goser: There is probably a mistake in reporting the result of Carlos Torre. First (as the table suggests) he lost just three games, not four. Second, he got 11, not 10.5 points, if his results from the same table are calculated. May-17-18    TheFocus: The discrepancy is Treybal - Torre, which is given in the Baden-Baden 1925 tournament book by Jimmy Adams, editor, as a win for Treybal. The cross-table in the book shows a win for Treybal, but a draw for Torre; the same cross-table as above. May-17-18    MissScarlett: Well spotted, <HawkEye>. The table, not scoring of results, is apparently at fault. Torre's loss to Treybal is given as 1/2. Will correct. May-17-18    TheFocus: Thank you, <MissScarlett>. It pays to have a large library at hand. May-17-18    zanzibar: But more certain of catching the errors would be a policy of automatically generating the xtabs from the PGN. Apr-16-23    stone free or die: <Germany . — The prizes in the Baden - Baden masters' tournament will be 1,500, 1,000, 700, 500 and 300 marks respectively, with 20 marks for each win and 10 marks for each draw by non-prize winners. All competitors will receive the usual expenses.> BCM (1925) p183 Apr-16-23    stone free or die: <BADEN-BADEN TOURNAMENT. This great masters' tournament came to an end on May 13th, when, after 21 rounds, the famous young Russian, Alexander Alekhine, achieved a magnificent victory. With 12 wins and 8 draws, he was a point and a half ahead of his nearest rival. We doubt whether he has ever done better, in one sustained effort, than at Baden-Baden, and he is certainly one of the finest tournament players the world has ever seen. Rubinstein, the Polish-Jewish master, was also in very fine form and at the start led even Alekhine. A lapse or two, one being serious, let him down a little afterwards, but he retained his grip on the second prize. Sämisch showed himself a worthy follower of the great German experts of the past, and with youth in his favour ought to go far in the years to come. Bogoljuboff did not begin well, but pulled up later, and thoroughly deserved fourth prize. Marshall, with 11 draws, and Tartakover, with no less than 13, had a great race, Marshall leading the other till near the end, but finishing less strongly. Both have reason for satisfaction, mingled perhaps with a little regret over the too frequent half. Rabinovitch showed that his Russian form can be reproduced in international company also. Grünfeld was somewhat disappointing. Occasional attacks of "chess blindness" was the cause, according to the Deutsches Wochenschach. Nimzovitch was good, but not at his very best ; while Torre, in his first great tournament, gave hopes of better things to come. The scores of the ten prize-winners among themselves, were: Alekhine 6½, Rubinstein 4½, Sämisch 4½, Bogoljuboff 4, Marshall 5½, Tartakover 5, Rabinovitch 3½, Grünfeld 4½, Nimzovitch 3, and Torre 4. The non prize winners were headed by no less a master than Reti, whom most judges would, with some confidence, have forecasted as likely to be well up the prize-list. As he scored 4 against the ten leaders and only 31 against the seven bottom players, it looks as if he did not sufficiently regard the importance of playing to the board, not the man ! The modest position of our English representatives is naturally a disappointment over here. Yates finished up with losses against Torre and Colle, and he had a poor score against those below him in the table. On the other hand, his score against the prize-winners was no worse than Rabinovitch's, and better than Nimzovitch’s. Sir George Thomas, apart from his wins against Reti, Yates and Tarrasch, had to be content with 6 drawn games and the rest losses This obviously does not represent his best form. > BCM v45 (Jun 1925) p257 Apr-16-23    Olavi: If you change the final positions of Treybal and Spielmann with each other, after all they had the same number of points, then Alekhine's score of alternating wins and draws against numbers 2-17 in the tournament is perfect. Perhaps a convenient tiebreak can be found... Oct-17-23    kereru: Notable for a rare appearance by a Soviet master (Rabinovich) who proved that the Soviets were already on a par with the West. Until the FIDE era, Soviet and European chess were different worlds. Oct-17-23    MissScarlett: <Until the FIDE era, Soviet and European chess were different worlds.> It would be helpful if you define the FIDE era, because I'm unclear on your meaning. search thread:    < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing> NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion. Please observe our posting guidelines: No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language. No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts. 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