Akiba Rubinstein

Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein was born on December 1, 1880, in Stawiski, Poland (then part of the Russian Empire), to a Jewish family. The youngest of 12 children, he learned chess at age 14 and initially trained to become a rabbi before abandoning religious studies for chess.

Between 1907 and 1912, Rubinstein was arguably the strongest player in the world. In 1912 alone, he won five consecutive major tournaments: San Sebastian, Pistyan, Breslau, Warsaw, and Vilna. Chessmetrics ratings place him as world number one from mid-1912 to mid-1914.

A World Championship match with Emanuel Lasker was arranged for October 1914. Then World War I broke out, and the match never happened. It is one of the great tragedies of chess history.

Rubinstein never regained his pre-war consistency. He continued to play at a high level through the 1920s, winning Vienna 1922 ahead of Alekhine and leading Poland to gold at the 1930 Olympiad with 13 wins and 4 draws. But the dominance was gone.

Mental illness plagued his later years. By the mid-1930s, his competitive career was essentially over. He lived quietly in Belgium for decades, reportedly spending his days walking the same routes through Antwerp. He died on March 14, 1961, at age 80.

Despite never becoming World Champion, Rubinstein's endgame technique and opening contributions rank among the most important in chess history.