In the great San Sebastian Tournament of 1911, Ossip Bernstein was said to object to the participation of Jose Raul Capablanca. The tournament for select winners and high-placers in previous international events had invited Capablanca solely for his 1909 match victory over Frank Marshall. Bernstein believed Capablanca was much too unknown for a tournament of such caliber, but he only lit the fire in the prodigy’s belly. Capablanca demolished him in the very first round and completed a rousing international debut, finishing clear first.
Bernstein hasn’t been objectively proven to have raised the objection, and the anecdote portrays the lot of players of his kind. The Bernsteins, whose exploits were far too few, have either been largely forgotten or have been made the beaten casts in the legends of the Capablancas.
Bernstein certainly deserves better, as he was a remarkable man in his own right. A pure amateur, he rose as one of the most formidable masters of the early 20th century. Caught in the two great social upheavals of his times – the Russian Revolution and World War II -- he seemingly lived a cycle of good fortune, tragedy and persecution. He was a true survivor who happened to be an exceptionally strong chess player.
Bernstein was born to a wealthy Jewish family on September 20, 1882, in Zhytomir, a town in Ukraine, which was then a part of the Russian Empire. He first appeared in the international chess scene as a nineteen-year-old law student in Germany, finishing second in Hanover 1901. In 1902, he earned the master’s title, and then rose quickly. He placed second in the 3rd All-Russian Masters’ Tournament of 1903, beating the winner, Mikhail Chigorin, and Akiba Rubinstein. In Coburg 1904 and Barmen 1905, he was among the prize winners. He came joint first with Carl Schlechter in Stockholm 1906. In 1907, he scored the most significant victory of his career when he won the Ostend Tournament. a 30 player round robin event, jointly with Akiba Rubinstein. Among those he left behind him were Aron Nimzowitsch, Jacques Mieses, Richard Teichmann, Oldrich Duras, Savielly Tartakower, Rudolf Spielmann, and Joseph Henry Blackburne.
Final standings after 29 rounds
Only five years after gaining his master’s title, Bernstein had risen to the top of competitive chess. Between1906-1907, Chessmetrics gives him a historical rating of 2688, 9th in the world. His victory at Ostend 1907 is given a performance rating of 2716.

In the same year, 1907, Bernstein obtained his doctoral degree at the University of Heidelberg. He returned to Russia, married, and began his career as a lawyer. While his tournament appearances became occasional, thereafter, he managed to combine chess with his profession. He placed 5th in the Chigorin Memorial of 1909, 1st in the Moscow City Championship of 1911, joint 8th in San Sebastian 1911, and 2nd in Vilna 1912. In the star-studded St. Petersburg of 1914, he finished in the middle of the pack and failed to qualify for the finals, but he inflicted the reigning World Champion Emanuel Lasker’s only loss of the tournament.
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 d6 5.d4 Bd7 6.Nc3 Be7 7.Re1 exd4 8.Nxd4 0-0 9.Bxc6 bxc6 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bh4 Re8 12.e5 Nh7 13.Bg3 a5 14.Qd3 Bf8 15.exd6 cxd6 16.Rxe8 Qxe8 17.Nf3 Bg4 18.Rd1 d5 19.h3 Bxf3 20.Qxf3 Ng5 21.Qd3 a4 22.Kf1 Qc8 23.Ne2 Qb7 24.b3 Ne4 25.Bf4 Bc5 26.Be3 Bxe3 27.Qxe3 axb3 28.axb3 Ra2 29.f3 Ng5 30.Qd3 Ne6 31.Nc3 Ra8 32.Re1 Qb4 33.Ne2 Qc5 34.c3 Qd6 35.Nd4 Qh2 36.Nxe6 Ra2 37.Re2 Ra1+ 38.Kf2 fxe6 39.Qg6 Qc7 40.Qxe6+ Kh8 41.b4 Ra8 42.Qe3 Qd8 43.Qd4 Kh7 44.h4 Qd7 45.Qd3+ Kh8 46.Qe3 Rc8 47.Qe7 Qf5 48.Qe6 Qf8 49.Qd7 c5 50.b5 d4 51.cxd4 Rd8 52.Qe7 Qxe7 53.Rxe7 Rxd4 54.b6 Rb4 55.b7 Kh7 56.h5 1–0
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Bernstein,O | - | Lasker,E | - | 1–0 | 1914 | C66 | St Petersburg International Preliminary | 8 |
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Bernstein places second in the All-Russian Masters Tournament of 1912 (Vilna 1912), an impressive result for an amateur.
After St. Petersburg 1914, Bernstein left chess altogether. Now based in Moscow, he had built a lucrative practice as an international lawyer, with banks and big industrialists as his clients. Misfortune struck, however, when the Russian Revolution broke out in 1917.
Up until the revolution, Russia had been a czarist state where the capitalist economy bred social discontent. Finally, in November 1917, the working class, under the leadership of the Bolsheviks, seized power. Instituting sweeping social, political, and economic reforms, the Bolsheviks transformed Russia into a communist state.
In the early stages of the revolution, the aristocracy and loyalists of the czar resisted fiercely. The Bolsheviks, determined to crush all reprisals, unleashed the “Cheka,” the secret police that was to hunt down their enemies.
With banks regarded as “evil institutions” that had tended to capitalism, Bernstein was marked as an enemy of the revolution. He, his wife and two small children had to flee Moscow, but the Cheka captured him in Odessa. What followed next must be one of the most harrowing experiences of a chess player. Edward Lasker, in a tribute to Bernstein in the April 1963 edition of Chess Review, relates:
“In Odessa, he was arrested and imprisoned in the Tcheka, in those days practically tantamount to being condemned to death. This arrest took place during the "red terror," when the mere fact that a man was a member of the well-to-do bourgeoisie stamped him as a criminal. Bernstein's crime was his role as legal adviser to hankers, industrialists and trusts. There was, of course, no court trial. One of those sadistic minor officials, who always show up in the wake of revolutions when executions are the order of the day, had a firing squad line up Bernstein and a number of other prisoners against a wall to be shot. Then, fortunately, a superior officer appeared who asked to see the list of the prisoner's names. Discovering on it the name, Ossip Bernstein, he asked him whether he was the famous chess master. Not satisfied with Bernstein's affirmative reply, he made him play a game with him; and, when Bernstein won in short order, he had him and the others in the group led back to prison and later released.”
As if the new lease on life was not a miracle enough, Bernstein and his family were fortunate to board a ship sent by the British government to Odessa in 1919 to rescue Russians in distress. By way of long detours, they reached Paris in 1920. With nothing more than a few possessions and what was left of the fees that Bernstein collected from a client in Serbia in the journey to Paris, the family began their lives anew.
In Paris, Bernstein once again built up his lucrative law practice and financial consultancy to restore the wealth that he had lost. In 1932, he received an invitation to participate in Bern, the strongest tournament of that year. He had been away from chess for eighteen years, but the lure of the board was too strong to resist. He placed joint 4th with Bogoljubov. His results motivated him that the following year he played a short match with the reigning World Champion, Alexander Alekhine. The match was drawn at 2-2, but only after Alekhine forced a difficult draw in the last game. Bernstein also played in Zurich 1934 where he tied Nimzowitsch at 6th.
Fate, however, would keep Bernstein restless. In 1940, World War II had broken out and France surrendered to Germany. With Adolf Hitler and the Nazis rounding up Jews for their concentration camps in Poland, Bernstein and his family were forced to flee once more. They could only go to Spain, where Bernstein had friends, and on foot if they were to elude the patrolling Germans. Crossing the Pyrenees and hiding in caves, they reached Spain all spent, sick, but undaunted.
After the war, the Bernsteins returned to Paris. Chess came calling once more and Bernstein finished 2nd to Herman Steiner in London 1946. In Groningen that same year, however, he could only finish 15th in a very strong field that included former World Champion Max Euwe, and future World Champions Mikhail Botvinnik and Vassily Smyslov. Apparently, he had run out of steam at 64, wasting wins and draws into losses.

Chess veteran Ossip Bernstein | Photo: Wikipedia
Bernstein, however, seemingly saved his best for last, and he participated in Montevideo 1954 at the ripe age of 72. There, against the flamboyant Miguel Najdorf, who was said to complain that Bernstein was too old for the event, he played what is arguably his most brilliant game.
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Brilliant: Ossip Bernstein | Photo: Wikipedia
It is sharp and sacrificial, very typical of Bernstein, and a marvelous mix of intuition and calculation. He gave a fitting finale to his career, finishing 2nd and winning the tournament’s brilliancy prize.
Bernstein passed away on November 30, 1962. His life of eighty years had encompassed chess’ Romantic, Classical, Hyper-Modern, and Dynamic Age of Soviet domination, and he more than held his own against the greatest masters of these generations. In 1950, FIDE conferred him the inaugural title of Grandmaster.
Bernstein, indeed, was a man of achievements. He was successful at whatever he chose to pursue – at chess and the legal profession alike – and all that despite the ordeals the Russian Revolution and the Second World War put him through. To his peers, however, he was first and foremost that chess player, the amateur who could have flashed his brilliance more often if only he devoted more time and energy to chess. “He was,” as his contemporary, Milan Vidmar, said, “the last of the galaxy of stars that had illumined the golden age of chess.”
Games
- Rubinstein vs. Bernstein – Rubinstein succumbs to a daring, intuitive attack. Either he loses his Queen or is mated.
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.Bd3 d5 7.exd5 cxd5 8.0-0 Be7 9.Bb5+ Bd7 10.Bxd7+ Qxd7 11.Nd2 0-0 12.b3 Qf5 13.Bb2 Bd6 14.Nf3 Rad8 15.Re1 Ne4 16.Qd3 Rfe8 17.Re2 Re6 18.Rae1 Rde8 19.Nd4 Bxh2+ 20.Kxh2 Rh6+ 21.Kg1 Qe5 22.Nf3 Qh5 23.Kf1 Qh1+ 24.Ng1 Rg6 25.f4 Rg3 0–1
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Akiba Rubinstein | - | Ossip Bernstein | - | 0–1 | 1903 | C45 | 3rd Russian National Tournament | 15 |
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- Albin vs. Bernstein – Albin neglects his development and is punished swiftly. Bernstein’s finishing combination is very clever.
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Nc3 d6 5.d3 Nf6 6.Bg5 Be6 7.Nd5 Bxd5 8.Bxd5 h6 9.Bxc6+ bxc6 10.Bxf6 Qxf6 11.c3 Rb8 12.b4 Bb6 13.Qa4 d5 14.exd5 e4 15.dxe4 Qxc3+ 16.Ke2 Qc4+ 17.Ke1 Qxe4+ 18.Kf1 0-0 19.Qxc6 Rfe8 20.Kg1 Re6 21.Qd7 Rd6 22.Qa4 Qe2 23.Rf1 Qxf3 24.gxf3 Rg6# 0–1
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Adolf Albin | - | Ossip Bernstein | - | 0–1 | 1904 | C50 | Vienna | |
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- Bernstein vs. Mieses – Bernstein plays a slow, strategic game quite atypical of his sharp style. Mieses pays a heavy price for his dark-square weaknesses.
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1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nf6 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.e5 Nd5 8.Ne4 f5 9.exf6 Nxf6 10.Nd6+ Bxd6 11.Qxd6 Ne4 12.Qd4 Nf6 13.Qd6 Ne4 14.Qb4 d5 15.Bd3 Qd6 16.Qxd6 Nxd6 17.f4 a5 18.Be3 Ba6 19.Kd2 Nc4+ 20.Bxc4 Bxc4 21.a4 Kd7 22.b3 Ba6 23.Bb6 Bc8 24.Ke3 Ra6 25.Bc5 Kc7 26.Kd4 Bd7 27.Rae1 h5 28.Re5 g6 29.Rg5 Rg8 30.Ke5 Be8 31.Re1 Ra8 32.Kf6 Bd7 33.g3 Rae8 34.Ree5 Rh8 35.Rxg6 Rh7 36.Rg7 Reh8 37.Rxh7 Rxh7 38.Kg6 Rh8 39.Kg7 Rd8 40.Rxh5 Be8 41.Rh7 Rd7+ 42.Kh6 Rxh7+ 43.Kxh7 Bh5 44.h4 Bd1 45.c3 Bxb3 46.g4 Kd7 47.g5 e5 48.f5 Bxa4 49.f6 1–0
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Ossip Bernstein | - | Jacques Mieses | - | 1–0 | 1904 | B45 | Coburg (Meisterturnier) | 13 |
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- Bernstein vs. Metger – Bernstein plays a Knight sacrifice that ends in mate, or the loss of Metger’s Queen.
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1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Bg2 Nb6 7.0-0 Be7 8.a3 Be6 9.d3 0-0 10.b4 f6 11.Bb2 Qc8 12.Rc1 Rd8 13.Ne4 Nc4 14.Qc2 Nxb2 15.Qxb2 Bh3 16.Bxh3 Qxh3 17.b5 Na5 18.Qa2+ Kh8 19.Rxc7 Rd7 20.Neg5 fxg5 21.Rxd7 Qxd7 22.Nxe5 1–0
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Ossip Bernstein | - | Johannes Metger | - | 1–0 | 1907 | A22 | Ostend-B | 21 |
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- Bernstein vs. Najdorf – Bernstein’s magnum opus, a game of fireworks and amazing sacrifices.
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 Nbd7 4.e4 e5 5.Nf3 g6 6.dxe5 dxe5 7.Be2 c6 8.0-0 Qc7 9.h3 Nc5 10.Qc2 Nh5 11.Re1 Ne6 12.Be3 Be7 13.Rad1 0-0 14.Bf1 Nhg7 15.a3 f5 16.b4 f4 17.Bc1 Bf6 18.c5 g5 19.Bc4 Kh8 20.Bb2 h5 21.Nd5 cxd5 22.exd5 Nd4 23.Nxd4 exd4 24.d6 Qd7 25.Rxd4 f3 26.Rde4 Qf5 27.g4 hxg4 28.hxg4 Qg6 29.Re8 Bf5 30.Rxa8 Rxa8 31.gxf5 Qh5 32.Re4 Qh3 33.Bf1 Qxf5 34.Rh4+ gxh4 35.Qxf5 Nxf5 36.Bxf6+ Kg8 37.d7 1–0
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Ossip Bernstein | - | Miguel Najdorf | - | 1–0 | 1954 | A55 | Montevideo | 16 |
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