Ossip Bernstein was one of the world’s leading players in the early 20th century, and scored victories against many of the top players of his time. Below, I explore his life and games.
Photo: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Table of contents:
Biography
Early life
Ossip Bernstein was born in 1882 in Zhitomir, the Russian Empire, although now it is part of Ukraine. He began to take chess seriously only around the age of 19, but was quickly rewarded with an impressive result at Hanover 1901, where he finished 2nd.
Bernstein performed well in at least two tournaments in Berlin the following year, scoring 7/7 and 5,5/7. Around this time, Bernstein received the master title, and also completed his doctorate from the University of Heidelberg. He decided to move to Moscow, where he met his future wife, Wilma.
Bernstein announced his talent with equal 2nd place at the All-Russian 1903 tournament, behind only the former World Championship Challenger, Chigorin. There Bernstein achieved victories against famous names such as Chigorin and Rubinstein.
Competing at the top
The next few years saw Bernstein compete regularly at the top level, with very impressive results. He shared 4th place with Marco at Coburg 1904, and shared 4th again with Schlechter at Barmen 1905. 1906 was an especially important year in Bernstein’s career, as he shared tournament victory with Schlechter at Stockholm, ahead of a strong field which included Marco and Mieses.
Bernstein confirmed his high class of play by finishing equal 1st with Rubinstein at the Ostend Master tournament of 1907. This was Bernstein’s greatest achievement up to that point, as the field included many famous masters, like Mieses, Nimzowitsch, Teichmann, Duras, Marco, and Tartakower, amongst others. It became clear that Bernstein had become one of the world’s leading masters.
Following the death of Chigorin, the St Petersburg Chess Club organised a Memorial tournament in 1909. The 20-player field (reduced to 19 when Nenarokov withdrew) included many of the world’s strongest players, like Rubinstein, Spielmann, Teichmann, Schlechter, and the World Champion Lasker. Bernstein achieved a respectable 5th place, and gained invaluable experience competing against the world elite.
Before the war
1911 was an interesting year in Bernstein’s career. He became Moscow Champion by winning the Moscow City Championship, before travelling to San Sebastian. There, one of the strongest tournaments ever held up to that time took place. All the world’s leading players competed, except for the World Champion Lasker. The event is remembered for being Capablanca’s international tournament debut. Bernstein complained to the organiser, Mieses, that Capablanca had not yet achieved enough to justify being invited to such a strong tournament. However, Capablanca defeated Bernstein in the first round, a game for which he would receive the brilliancy prize, before going on to win the tournament. Bernstein shared 8th place with Spielmann, in a field of 15, and gained useful experience against the best players in the world.
Bernstein bounced back to finish an impressive 2nd, behind only Rubinstein, at Vilna 1912, ahead of both Nimzowitsch and Alekhine. In 1914, he lost a match to Capablanca 1,5-0,5, and finished equal 6th at St Petersburg. There he won a game against the World Champion, which was Lasker’s only loss of the tournament.
WWI
Bernstein’s promising and successful chess career was then interrupted by the outbreak of WWI and, a few years later, the Russian Revolution. Having been a wealthy and successful lawyer, Bernstein lost his fortune, and was even ordered to be shot by the new government. However, one of the officials recognised Bernstein’s name, and ordered him to play a game to prove that he was indeed the famous chess master. With a loss or draw meaning a quick death, Bernstein won the game, and was released. Following this, he managed to escape to Paris, and began to build a new life there.
Bernstein was far less active in the tournament scene in the 1920s, as he was rebuilding his law practice and wealth. However, he played a match with Alekhine in Paris in 1922, losing 1,5-0,5.
Rejoining the chess circuit
Having rebuilt his life, Bernstein rejoined international competition in the 1930s. He shared 5th place with Bogoljubow at the strong tournament Bern 1932, a tournament won by Alekhine. Around this time, Bernstein and Alekhine became friends, and the two played a training match in 1933. Up against clearly the best player in the world at the time, Bernstein drew the match 2-2. At the famous tournament held in Zürich in 1934, Bernstein shared 6th place with Nimzowitsch.
WWII
However, Bernstein’s life was once again severely disrupted, this time by the outbreak of WWII in 1939. Following the surrender of France to Germany in 1940, Bernstein and his family were forced to hide in caves on the French-Spanish border. After making it into Spain, Bernstein suffered a heart attack and was arrested by police, who separated him from his family.
Luckily, Bernstein received help from influential friends, who managed to have him released. Bernstein and his family remained in Spain for the duration of the war.
Later years: conquering age
Following the end of WWII, Bernstein returned to Paris in 1945. He once again began to compete in international tournaments, finishing 2nd at London 1946, and equal 15th at Groningen later that year. He also played a match as part of the French team against Australia, winning a game against Lajos Steiner.
Bernstein was awarded the Grandmaster title by FIDE in 1950. He was then invited to compete at Montevideo in 1954. Despite having entered his eighth decade, Bernstein recorded a brilliant result, sharing 2nd place with Najdorf. He also won the brilliancy prize for his victory over Najdorf, at the age of 72.
At the Olympiad held in Amsterdam that same year, Bernstein led the French team from board 1, and scored +5 -5 =5. He lived his final years in Barcelona, and died in 1962 in the French Pyrenees.
Legacy
Today Bernstein is remembered as one of the strongest players of his time. He survived two World Wars and the Russian Revolution, each time building up a successful life once more, both professionally and at the chess board. Generations of players have grown up learning from his games and from the mark he left on chess history.
Game Analysis
Bernstein won an instructive game against Gunsberg at St Petersburg 1914, instructively taking advantage of the weak dark squares in the opponent’s camp.
Lessons from this game:
- A common strategy to combat the bishop pair is to exchange one of the bishops off.
- Every pawn advance gains space but weakens squares. In this game, the 16…d5 advance weakens the c5 square, which the white knight is able to use as an outpost later.
- In general, queens do not like to be in the centre of the board early in the game, as the opponent can gain time by attacking them.
Puzzles
Bernstein – Petterson, Stockholm 1906
Teichmann – Bernstein, Ostend 1907
Schlechter – Bernstein, San Sebastian 1911
Bernstein – Najdorf, Montevideo 1954
Solutions
Further Reading
To find more about Bernstein’s life and games, the following are useful sources:
Bernstein’s chessgames.com page,
his chess.com page,
this chess.com article by Santero13,
this chessbase article by Eugene Manlapao,
and this collection of Bernstein’s tournament and match results.
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