The first great international tournament held in Germany after the First World War drew twenty-one masters to the Kurhaus at Baden-Baden. Alexander Alekhine dominated it from start to finish, winning with 16 out of 20 — a point and a half clear of Akiba Rubinstein — in the ferocious, all-attacking style that would carry him to the world title two years later. The event is remembered, too, for one of the most admired games ever played: Richard Réti's Immortal, his win over Efim Bogoljubow.
Germany returns to the board
Baden-Baden 1925 was the first major international tournament staged in Germany after the First World War, organised in large part by Siegbert Tarrasch in an effort to revive German chess. Twenty-one players met at the Kurhaus for a single round-robin of twenty rounds — 210 games in all — with Johannes Metger presiding as arbiter.
It was an extraordinary field. Alongside Alekhine and Rubinstein came Efim Bogoljubow, Frank Marshall, Aron Nimzowitsch, Savielly Tartakower, Richard Réti, and the young Mexican Carlos Torre Repetto, whose European debut here began a short but brilliant career. Tarrasch himself, once a world championship contender, finished near the bottom of the table, a sad sign of how far he had declined.
Alekhine at his peak
By 1925 Alekhine was the clear challenger to Capablanca, and Baden-Baden made the point. He set a pace that Rubinstein, the great classical player, stayed within a point and a half of but never caught, finishing on 16/20 to Rubinstein's 14½. Friedrich Sämisch took third with 13½, the best result of his career, ahead of Bogoljubow.
The manner of the win, as much as the margin, made the impression. Savielly Tartakower, contrasting Alekhine's play with the reigning and former champions, gave the tournament its most famous verdict — a line that placed Alekhine's Baden-Baden result in a class of its own.
“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.”
Réti's Immortal
The tournament also produced one of the most famous games in chess literature. Against Bogoljubow, Richard Réti, the leader of the hypermodern school, built a slow bind on the flank and finished with a string of sacrifices. The game, later called Réti's Immortal, has been reprinted in anthologies ever since as a model of the new school's ideas.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alekhine, Alexander | 16/20 | +12 -0 =8 | games |
| 2 | Rubinstein, Akiba | 14½/20 | +10 -1 =9 | games |
| 3 | Saemisch, Friedrich | 13½/20 | +10 -3 =7 | games |
| 4 | Bogoljubov, Efim | 13/20 | +11 -5 =4 | games |
| =5 | Marshall, Frank James | 12½/20 | +7 -2 =11 | games |
| =5 | Tartakower, Saviely | 12½/20 | +6 -1 =13 | games |
| 7 | Rabinovich, Ilya Leontievich | 12/20 | +7 -3 =10 | games |
| 8 | Gruenfeld, Ernst | 11½/20 | +7 -4 =9 | games |
| 9 | Nimzowitsch, Aron | 11/20 | +7 -5 =8 | games |
| 10 | Torre Repetto, Carlos | 10½/20 | +5 -4 =11 | games |
| =11 | Reti, Richard | 10/20 | +6 -6 =8 | games |
| =11 | Spielmann, Rudolf | 10/20 | +6 -6 =8 | games |
| =11 | Treybal, Karel | 10/20 | +6 -6 =8 | games |
| 14 | Carls, Carl Johan Margot | 9/20 | +6 -8 =6 | games |
| 15 | Yates, Frederick Dewhurst | 8/20 | +6 -10 =4 | games |
| =16 | Rosselli del Turco, Stefano | 7½/20 | +3 -8 =9 | games |
| =16 | Tarrasch, Siegbert | 7½/20 | +3 -8 =9 | games |
| 18 | Colle, Edgard | 7/20 | +5 -11 =4 | games |
| 19 | Mieses, Jacques | 6½/20 | +5 -12 =3 | games |
| 20 | Thomas, George Alan | 6/20 | +3 -11 =6 | games |
| 21 | Te Kolste, Jan Willem | 1½/20 | +0 -17 =3 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alekhine, Alexander | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Rubinstein, Akiba | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Saemisch, Friedrich | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Bogoljubov, Efim | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 5 | Marshall, Frank James | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 6 | Tartakower, Saviely | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 7 | Rabinovich, Ilya Leontievich | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 8 | Gruenfeld, Ernst | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 9 | Nimzowitsch, Aron | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 10 | Torre Repetto, Carlos | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 11 | Reti, Richard | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 12 | Spielmann, Rudolf | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 13 | Treybal, Karel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 14 | Carls, Carl Johan Margot | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 15 | Yates, Frederick Dewhurst | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 16 | Rosselli del Turco, Stefano | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | |
| 17 | Tarrasch, Siegbert | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | |
| 18 | Colle, Edgard | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 19 | Mieses, Jacques | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 20 | Thomas, George Alan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | |
| 21 | Te Kolste, Jan Willem | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.