Fresh from Karlsbad 1929, the biggest win of his career, Aron Nimzowitsch dominated an international field in Frankfurt with 9½ from 11, still pressing for a world-title match with Alekhine. Only the young American Isaac Kashdan kept up, finishing unbeaten in clear second. It was Nimzowitsch's last great tournament win.
An international field on the Main
In September 1930 Frankfurt staged an international tournament that drew masters from across Europe and the United States: Aron Nimzowitsch, the veteran Jacques Mieses, Friedrich Sämisch, the Belgian attacker Edgard Colle, Dawid Przepiórka, the young Yugoslav Vasja Pirc, England's Sir George Thomas, and the rising American Isaac Kashdan, recent champion of the Manhattan Chess Club. Nimzowitsch arrived as the man of the moment — his victory at Karlsbad 1929 had made him a declared challenger for Alexander Alekhine's world crown.
Nimzowitsch 9½, Kashdan 9
Nimzowitsch tore through the field with nine wins, one draw, and a single loss — to Przepiórka — for 9½/11 and clear first. Kashdan was the revelation of the event: unbeaten at +7 =4, he took clear second on 9, a full two points ahead of the shared third-place finishers Carl Ahues and Paul List on 7. Colle's fighting chess brought him six wins but only fifth place on 6½. Among Nimzowitsch's victims was the German master Nathan Mannheimer, positionally strangled in one of the winner's most admired games from the event.
A last big win
Nimzowitsch never won another tournament this big. The world-title match he wanted never happened, and within five years the author of My System was dead of pneumonia at 48. Kashdan's unbeaten run, meanwhile, marked him as a player who would soon be counted among the strongest in the world.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nimzowitsch, Aron | 9½/11 | +9 -1 =1 | games |
| 2 | Kashdan, Isaac | 9/11 | +7 -0 =4 | games |
| =3 | Ahues, Carl Oscar | 7/11 | +4 -1 =6 | games |
| =3 | List, Paul M | 7/11 | +4 -1 =6 | games |
| 5 | Colle, Edgard | 6½/11 | +6 -4 =1 | games |
| 6 | Przepiorka, Dawid | 6/11 | +4 -3 =4 | games |
| 7 | Pirc, Vasja | 5½/11 | +3 -3 =5 | games |
| 8 | Saemisch, Friedrich | 5/11 | +2 -3 =6 | games |
| 9 | Mieses, Jacques | 4/11 | +2 -5 =4 | games |
| 10 | Thomas, George Alan | 3/11 | +2 -7 =2 | games |
| 11 | Mannheimer, Nathan | 2/11 | +2 -9 =0 | games |
| 12 | Orbach, Wilhelm | 1½/11 | +0 -8 =3 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nimzowitsch, Aron | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Kashdan, Isaac | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Ahues, Carl Oscar | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | List, Paul M | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 5 | Colle, Edgard | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 6 | Przepiorka, Dawid | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 7 | Pirc, Vasja | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 8 | Saemisch, Friedrich | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 9 | Mieses, Jacques | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | |
| 10 | Thomas, George Alan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 11 | Mannheimer, Nathan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 12 | Orbach, Wilhelm | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.