In the year he left the Soviet Union and settled in Germany, Efim Bogoljubow won the Freie Schachvereinigung's ten-master tournament in Berlin with 7/9, a full point clear of Akiba Rubinstein.
Café chess at its strongest
Weimar-era Berlin ran on café chess, and the Freie Schachvereinigung — resident from late 1924 at the Café Zielka in the Equitable-Palast, known simply as "Café E.P." — was one of its most ambitious clubs. Its November 1926 masters' tournament, reportedly held to mark the sixtieth birthday of the Berlin chess publisher and organiser Bernhard Kagan, brought a genuinely international ten-master field into the café: Rubinstein, Ernst Grünfeld, Rudolf Spielmann, Edgard Colle, and the German and Swiss masters Carl Ahues, Fritz Sämisch, Paul Johner, Paul List, and Walther von Holzhausen.
Bogoljubow a point clear
For Bogoljubow, 1926 was a turning point: fresh from his great triumph on Soviet soil, he emigrated to Germany that year, and Berlin gave him his first big win in his adopted country. He scored 7/9 — six wins, two draws, and a single loss, to Grünfeld — drawing his individual game with Rubinstein and finishing a clear point ahead of him.
Rubinstein took second on 6, with Ahues, Grünfeld, and Spielmann sharing third on 5. Within three years Bogoljubow would be challenging Alexander Alekhine for the world championship.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bogoljubov, Efim | 7/9 | +6 -1 =2 | games |
| 2 | Rubinstein, Akiba | 6/9 | +4 -1 =4 | games |
| =3 | Ahues, Carl Oscar | 5/9 | +3 -2 =4 | games |
| =3 | Gruenfeld, Ernst | 5/9 | +3 -2 =4 | games |
| =3 | Spielmann, Rudolf | 5/9 | +2 -1 =6 | games |
| 6 | Colle, Edgard | 4/9 | +3 -4 =2 | games |
| =7 | Johner, Paul F | 3½/9 | +2 -4 =3 | games |
| =7 | List, Paul M | 3½/9 | +2 -4 =3 | games |
| =7 | Saemisch, Friedrich | 3½/9 | +0 -2 =7 | games |
| 10 | Von Holzhausen, Walther | 2½/9 | +1 -5 =3 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bogoljubov, Efim | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Rubinstein, Akiba | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | |
| 3 | Ahues, Carl Oscar | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 4 | Gruenfeld, Ernst | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | |
| 5 | Spielmann, Rudolf | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 6 | Colle, Edgard | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 7 | Johner, Paul F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 8 | List, Paul M | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 9 | Saemisch, Friedrich | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 10 | Von Holzhausen, Walther | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.