To celebrate its hundredth anniversary, the Berliner Schachgesellschaft staged a fourteen-master jubilee tournament in February 1928. Aron Nimzowitsch, at the height of his powers, won it with 10/13 — half a point ahead of the local favourite Efim Bogoljubow.
A hundred years of the Schachgesellschaft
The Berliner Schachgesellschaft, founded in 1827 and one of the oldest chess clubs in the world, marked its centenary with an international jubilee tournament held from 4 to 20 February 1928. The prize fund came to 4,300 Reichsmarks, with the 2,000-Reichsmark first prize underwritten by Berlin's city government.
The field mixed a grandmaster core — Nimzowitsch, Bogoljubow, Savielly Tartakower, Richard Réti, Paul Johner, Hungary's Lajos Steiner, and the young Swede Gösta Stoltz — with the strength of Berlin and German master chess: Carl Ahues, Fritz Sämisch, Alfred Brinckmann, Karl Helling, Willi Schlage, Paul Saladin Leonhardt, and Berthold Koch.
Nimzowitsch by half a point
Nimzowitsch, whose hypermodern manifesto My System had appeared serially over the preceding years, produced one of his finest tournament performances: eight wins, four draws, and a single loss — to Lajos Steiner in round 10. He drew his round-4 game with Bogoljubow, and that half point proved exactly the final margin: 10 for Nimzowitsch, 9½ for Bogoljubow.
Tartakower took third on 8, ahead of Johner on 7½ and the Berlin master Helling, whose 7 made him the best of the local contingent. The two rivals at the top continued their duel through 1928 and beyond: Bogoljubow won at Bad Kissingen later that year and challenged Alekhine for the world title in 1929, while Nimzowitsch's run of form would peak with his great victory at Carlsbad 1929.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nimzowitsch, Aron | 10/13 | +8 -1 =4 | games |
| 2 | Bogoljubov, Efim | 9½/13 | +7 -1 =5 | games |
| 3 | Tartakower, Saviely | 8/13 | +4 -1 =8 | games |
| 4 | Johner, Paul F | 7½/13 | +5 -3 =5 | games |
| 5 | Helling, Karl | 7/13 | +6 -5 =2 | games |
| =6 | Reti, Richard | 6½/13 | +4 -4 =5 | games |
| =6 | Steiner, Lajos | 6½/13 | +4 -4 =5 | games |
| =6 | Brinckmann, Alfred | 6½/13 | +3 -3 =7 | games |
| =9 | Saemisch, Friedrich | 6/13 | +3 -4 =6 | games |
| =9 | Ahues, Carl Oscar | 6/13 | +2 -3 =8 | games |
| =11 | Schlage, Willi | 4½/13 | +3 -7 =3 | games |
| =11 | Leonhardt, Paul Saladin | 4½/13 | +2 -6 =5 | games |
| =11 | Stoltz, Gosta | 4½/13 | +2 -6 =5 | games |
| 14 | Koch, Berthold | 4/13 | +1 -6 =6 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nimzowitsch, Aron | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Bogoljubov, Efim | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Tartakower, Saviely | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 4 | Johner, Paul F | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | |
| 5 | Helling, Karl | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 6 | Reti, Richard | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 7 | Steiner, Lajos | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | |
| 8 | Brinckmann, Alfred | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 9 | Saemisch, Friedrich | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 10 | Ahues, Carl Oscar | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 11 | Schlage, Willi | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | |
| 12 | Leonhardt, Paul Saladin | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | |
| 13 | Stoltz, Gosta | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 14 | Koch, Berthold | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.