Sparkling With Life

    ...that’s how Tartakower described the following game played in the 1925 USSR Championship. The winner was Pyotr Romanovsky (1892-1964, 71 years old). He was born in St. Petersburg and passed away in Moscow. He was awarded the IM title at its inception in 1950 and was made an Inte rnational Arbiter in 1951. In 1934, Romanovsky became the first Soviet player to be awarded the title of Honored Master of Sport. 

     He was USSR C and hampion in 1923 and 1927 as well as Leningrad Champion in 192 5. Both of his brothers, Yevgeny and Alexander, were players of some note.

    His opponent was Ilya Rabinovich (1891-1942, 50 years old) who was also born in St. Petersburg. He was joint USSR Champion in 1934 and Leningrad Champion in 1920, 1925 (joint), 1928 and 1940-41. He played in nine USSR Championships during the period 1920-1939, sharing the title with Grigory Levenfish in 1934/5.Primarily a positional player, in 1927, he published the first original book in Russian on the endgame. 

    He starved to death during the siege of Leningrad in 1942. Starving to death is a slow, painful process where the body consumes its own tissues for fuel. It begins with intense physical hunger and stomach pain, transitions into severe fatigue, cold, and mental fog as fat reserves vanish, and ends with the body breaking down its own muscles and vital organs. He was one of approximately 650,000 peoplewho died from starvation, freezing cold weather, disease, and artillery attacks. 

 

[Event "Leningrad"] [Site "] [Date "1925.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Pyotr Romanovsky"] [Black "Ilya Rabinovich"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C16"] [Annotator "Stockfish 18"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "1925.??.??"] {C16: French Defense, Winawer Variation} 1. e4 {[%mdl 32]} e6 2. d4 {[%mdl 32]} d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 f6 $2 {Theory on the Winawer was sparse at the time and this is a poor move. Better was the usual 4...c5 with a complex game to follow.} 5. Nf3 (5. a3 Bf8 {Very odd.} 6. Bd3 Qd7 {Even odder. 6...b6 looks natural.} 7. Nf3 Nc6 8. O-O fxe5 9. Bb5 Bd6 10. Bxc6 bxc6 11. Nxe5 Bxe5 12. Qh5+ {1-0 (37)}) 5... c5 6. Bb5+ {Usual is 6.a3 when black can play either 6...Bxc3+ or 6...Ba5} Kf8 $2 {Black has completely misplayed the opening! This leaves his K fatally weak. Simply 6...Bd7 was correct.} (6... Bd7 {is a better defense.} 7. O-O Bxc3 8. Bxd7+ Qxd7 9. bxc3 Nc6 {White is better, but not winning.}) 7. dxc5 Qa5 {Putting pressure on the pinned N, but white can ignore it.} 8. Be2 fxe5 (8... Bxc3+ {Triples white's Ps, but it does not work put well after} 9. bxc3 Qxc3+ 10. Bd2 Qxc5 11. O-O Nc6 {Black's position may look OK, but white's big lead in development, two Bs and open lines should prove to be a winning advantage.}) 9. O-O Nc6 {Black has an imposing looking center, but Romanovsky now unleashes an impressive tactical display.} 10. Nxd5 $1 {[%mdl 512]} exd5 {Black's position looks very good. He has a N for a P and what appears to be a formidable P center. However, watch how his position quickly crumbles.} 11. c3 $1 Bxc5 {Hoping for ...Bd6.} 12. b4 Nxb4 13. cxb4 Bxb4 {Black is up two Ps and in exchange white has a won position!} 14. Rb1 Bf5 15. Rxb4 {[%mdl 512]} Qxb4 16. Qxd5 Ne7 (16... Qe4 {Offering a Q trade doesn't work.} 17. Qd6+ Ne7 18. Bg5 {wims}) 17. Qxe5 {Black's center has vanished!} Qe4 18. Qb2 {What a move!} Rc8 {Black has a dangerous looking threat in ...Rc2, but it doesn't amount to anything.} 19. Bh6 Rg8 20. Qf6+ Ke8 21. Bb5+ Rc6 (21... Nc6 22. Bxg7 Qd5 23. Re1+ Be4 24. Ng5 {is equally hopeless for black.}) 22. Bxg7 Bd7 23. Bxc6 Qxc6 24. Re1 Qc5 25. Bh6 Kd8 26. Bf8 {Black resigned. It's no wonder Tartakower called this a sparkling game.} 1-0