The Rubinstein Attack
I am currently reading the fantastic book 'Rubinstein Move by Move' by Zenon Franco:
The chapters are organised so that the varied playing style of Rubinstein is totally covered, from his excellent positional play to his mastery of the endgame. Today I'd like to discuss something that caught my eye from the chapter 'Playing For the Initiative and the Attack'.
The Rubinstein Attack
The Rubinstein Attack is a system from the White side of the Queen's Gambit Declined which is characterised by the following moves:
Despite its name being attributed to Rubinstein, it was first played by Emanuel Lasker. Rubinstein himself played it for the first time in 1907 and went on to enjoy decent success with the opening, winning 4, drawing 2, and losing only 1. Finally if stats are your thing, the opening has a respectable 37.5% win rate compared to a loss rate of only 16.6%.
What are the ideas behind the opening?
As the name suggests, the system is a way for White to get a fighting chance against the QGD which can often lead to positions which are quite bland for some people's tastes (coming from an Exchange Queen's Gambit player!).
From the 7th move, White is signalling that he is willing to castle on the Queenside since he restrains from developing the Rook via 7.Rc1, which is the usual move.
If this happens, White often launches an assault on the Black King by throwing Gary and Harry- or the g and h-pawns, if you prefer to call them that- up the board.
This aforementioned Kingside attack is sometimes signalled by an exchange on f6, as in the following game...
The next game is from Alekhine, which further proves the opening's credibility. While it may not be as brilliantly attacking, it features some very important points that are essential for understanding the system.
To end this post, I will leave some games for you to enjoy and study on your own. They aren't all quick King-stompings so even if attacking isn't your style, you'll be able to find something to suit your taste. I hope you have been inspired to try out the Rubinstein Attack yourself- spice up your Queen's Gambit games!
