Most chess fans will probably have known him as a congress organiser and adviser.
But he was also an above-average player with a rating over 2150 well into his 60s.
I thought of paying a little tribute by publishing one of our games (we played six times, scoring +2=2-2).
But then I learnt of a series of blitz games Reuben played against Bobby Fischer in New York in 1963.
It must have been quite a meeting - on one side you had a highly opinionated player who did not suffer fools gladly and was convinced he was always right; on the other was a man with a strong American accent.
Eight of the nine games were won by Fischer - here is the ninth.
Reuben - Fischer
English
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5!? 3.cxd5 Nxd5 4.g3 g6 5.Bg2 Nb6 6.Nf3 Bg7 7.d3
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| This game is the earliest appearance of this position in ChessBase's Mega database |
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Stockfish17 and Dragon1 reckon White is slightly better.
7...0-0 8.Be3!?
The engines prefer this over today's more-usual 8.0-0.
8...Nc6 9.0-0 e5 10.Qd2 f5 11.Bh6 f4?!
This seems to increase White's advantage. The engines suggest 11...Qe7.
12.Bxg7 Kxg7 13.Ne4 h6 14.Rad1 g5 15.d4 exd4 16.Nxd4 Ne5?
With Black's king so exposed, it is better to force queens off the board with 16...Qxd4.
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| How should White exploit Black's mistake? |
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17.Nf3?!
White is still better after this, but stronger is 17.Qc3, after which best play, according to the engines, runs 17...Qe7 18.Nf3 Re8 19.gxf4 gxf4 20.e3!, when they reckon White's advantage is worth more than a minor piece.
17...Qxd2 18.Nxd2 Nec4 19.Rc2 Bf5?!
The engines much prefer 19..Re8 or 19...c6.
20.Nfd3?!
Here the engines recommend 20.Nd4.
20...Rae8 21.Nxc4 Bxe4 22.Bxe4 Rxe4 23.Nxb6 cxb6
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| How would you assess this double-rook-ending? |
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Black has kingside pressure, but White's superior pawn-structure gives the upper hand, according to the engines.
24.gxf4 gxf4!? 25.Rfc1 Rf7 26.f3!? Re3 27.Kf2 Rfe7 28.Rd1 Kg6?!
Activating the king may be premature. The engines suggest 28...R3e5.
29.Rd3?
White has the upper hand after 29.Rd6+ or 29.Rd4, according to the engines.
29...Rxd3 30.exd3 Re3 31.Rd2
Also apparently completely equal is 31.Rc3.
31...Kf5 32.d4 Ke6 33.Re2 Rxe2+ 34.Kxe2
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| How would you assess this pawn-ending? |
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White has the only passed pawn, but the ending is completely equal as the white king cannot penetrate Black's position.
34...Kd5
Also drawing is 34...b5.
35.Kd3 a5?
This lets White fix Black's queenside pawns, giving White a winning advantage.
36.a4!
The only winning move.
36...Kc6
36...h5 only postpones the crisis, assuming White answers with 37.h4.
37.Ke4 b5 38.axb5+ Kxb5 39.d5 Kb6
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| White to play and win |
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40.Ke5?
White wins by creating a second passer with 40.Kxf4, and if, as in the game, 40...Kc7, then 41.Ke5 Kd7 42.f4 etc.
40...Kc7 41.Kxf4
White has lost a crucial tempo on the previous line, but 41.Ke6 Kd8 is also drawn.
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| Black to play and draw |
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41...b5?
Drawing is 41...Kd6.
42.Ke5 b4
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| White to play and win |
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43.f4?
Correct is 43.Ke6!, when 43...a4 44.Ke7 a3 45.bxa3 bxa3 46.d6+ Kc6 47.d7 a2 48.d8=Q a1=Q wins for White, according to the Syzygy endgame tablebase. Black can try 43...Kd8, but that gives White a vital tempo for pushing the f pawn, ie 44.f4 a4 45.f5 a3 46.bxa3 bxa3 47.f6, and now 47...Ke8 loses to 48.f7+ Kf8 49.d6 a2 50.d7 a1=Q 51.d8=Q+ Kg7 52.Qg8#.
43...a4 44.Kd4?!
This makes the draw easy, but 44.Ke6 a3 45.bxa3 b3! 46.Ke7 b2 47.d6+ Kb7! 48.d7 b1=Q 49.d8=Q Qe4+ also holds.
44...a3 45.bxa3 bxa3 46.Kc3 Kd6 47.Kb3 Kxd5 48.Kxa3 Ke4 49.Kb3 Kxf4 50.Kc3 Kg4 51.Kd3 Kh3 52.Ke3 Kxh2 53.Kf2 ½–½
Fischer was giving dollar odds of 10-1 in the games. In other words his eight wins earned him $8, whereas if Reuben had managed to convert this pawn-ending he would have received $10, giving a monetary profit over the series of $2 (but the experience of having played the future world champion was clearly worth more than just a paltry couple of dollars).
Stewart Reuben, RIP.
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