Held in the Bohemian spa town of Marienbad only weeks after the great Baden-Baden tournament, this was where Aron Nimzowitsch showed that his hypermodern ideas could win tournaments as well as arguments. He led for much of the way until the veteran Akiba Rubinstein caught him on the last day, and the two shared first prize on 11 out of 15.
After Baden-Baden
Marienbad followed hard on the heels of Baden-Baden 1925, the marathon that Alekhine had just won, and several of its participants arrived tired from that grind. Sixteen masters contested a single round-robin over fifteen rounds — Rubinstein, Nimzowitsch, Frank Marshall, Carlos Torre, Richard Réti, Savielly Tartakower, Rudolf Spielmann, Ernst Grünfeld, the old warrior Dawid Janowski, Frederick Yates and others.
It proved a fine event for the outsiders. The 20-year-old Torre tied for third with Marshall and produced a win over Yates that he would later call the best game he ever played.
A tie settled in the last round
Nimzowitsch set the pace, playing the strongest chess of his career to that point and even beating Rubinstein in their individual game — revenge for a painful loss to him at San Sebastián 1912. But the ever-excitable Nimzowitsch could not quite hold the line: Rubinstein kept his composure down the stretch and caught him in the final round.
The two finished level on 11/15 and shared first prize, with no play-off. It was the first major international tournament victory of Nimzowitsch's career — even if he had to share it — and confirmed that the hypermodern school had come of age.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Rubinstein, Akiba | 11/15 | +9 -2 =4 | games |
| =1 | Nimzowitsch, Aron | 11/15 | +8 -1 =6 | games |
| =3 | Torre Repetto, Carlos | 10/15 | +6 -1 =8 | games |
| =3 | Marshall, Frank James | 10/15 | +5 -0 =10 | games |
| =5 | Reti, Richard | 9½/15 | +8 -4 =3 | games |
| =5 | Tartakower, Saviely | 9½/15 | +6 -2 =7 | games |
| 7 | Spielmann, Rudolf | 8½/15 | +6 -4 =5 | games |
| 8 | Gruenfeld, Ernst | 8/15 | +4 -3 =8 | games |
| 9 | Yates, Frederick Dewhurst | 7/15 | +4 -5 =6 | games |
| 10 | Opocensky, Karel | 6½/15 | +4 -6 =5 | games |
| =11 | Przepiorka, Dawid | 6/15 | +4 -7 =4 | games |
| =11 | Thomas, George Alan | 6/15 | +2 -5 =8 | games |
| =13 | Janowski, Dawid Markelowicz | 5½/15 | +3 -7 =5 | games |
| =13 | Saemisch, Friedrich | 5½/15 | +3 -7 =5 | games |
| 15 | Michell, Reginald Pryce | 3½/15 | +2 -10 =3 | games |
| 16 | Haida, August Konrad | 2½/15 | +2 -12 =1 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rubinstein, Akiba | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Nimzowitsch, Aron | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 3 | Torre Repetto, Carlos | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 4 | Marshall, Frank James | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 5 | Reti, Richard | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 6 | Tartakower, Saviely | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 7 | Spielmann, Rudolf | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 8 | Gruenfeld, Ernst | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 9 | Yates, Frederick Dewhurst | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 10 | Opocensky, Karel | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 11 | Przepiorka, Dawid | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 12 | Thomas, George Alan | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | |
| 13 | Janowski, Dawid Markelowicz | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 14 | Saemisch, Friedrich | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 15 | Michell, Reginald Pryce | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 16 | Haida, August Konrad | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.