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Robert Hübner was the best German chess player for decades after the war. Born in Cologne on 6 November 1948, his talent for chess became apparent at an early age. He learned the rules of the game at the age of five. In 1957 he joined the railway chess club Turm Köln, where he was coached by Paul Tröger, among others. In 1963, at the age of 14, Robert Hübner had already won the German U18 Youth Championship. A year later he represented Germany at the European Youth Championships and the following year at the World Youth Championships. In 1967, Robert Hübner became German champion for the first time. At the age of 18 he took part in his first chess Olympiad, and in his early 20s Hübner qualified for the Candidates' Matches by finishing second in the Interzonal Tournament in Palma de Mallorca, thereby establishing himself among the world's elite. This success also secured him the title of Grandmaster, making him the youngest Grandmaster in German chess history.
Hübner and Petrosian | Photo: Anefo
Alongside his chess career Hübner studied Classical Philology, specialising in the study and decipherment of papyri. In 1976 Hübner received his doctorate in his field from the University of Cologne.
Hübner achieved countless successes in national and international individual and team competitions and was the undisputed number one in German chess for decades. Between 1968 and 2000 Hübner represented Germany at eleven Chess Olympiads. Twice, in 1972 and 1990, he won gold for the best individual result at his board. Hübner qualified for the Candidates four times, and in July 1981 he was ranked third in the world behind Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi.
Thanks to his friendship with Gisbert Jacoby, who had supported Hübner in his Candidate Matches, Hübner was also one of the first authors of the "ChessBase Magazine" in the late 1980s, which he enriched for a long time with analyses and anecdotes.
In 1985 the German magazine "Der Spiegel" organised a match between Hübner and Garry Kasparov
Hübner concentrated not only on the sporting side of chess. He analysed with scientific meticulousness, always striving to be objective. Hübner's deep and comprehensive analyses, especially of his own games, are famous, and he was always merciless in pointing out his own mistakes.
With the same precision Hübner studied the history of chess and the games of the great players, acquiring a profound knowledge which he shared in lectures, essays and books.
When Hübner took on a subject, he did it thoroughly. Through his Finnish teammate Heikki Westerinen, he made friends in Finland and learned Finnish so that he could communicate better with them. On his own initiative, Hübner also translated texts by the Finnish satirist "Olli" into German and published them in a book.
Hübner's public image, partly formed during his candidature in the 1970s and 1980s, was sometimes distorted and did not correspond to reality. After a series of negative experiences with the media and disappointments with people, Hübner appeared at first glance to be a rather reserved and sometimes even suspicious person. However, once you got to know him, he turned out to be a very friendly and sensitive person, although his sharp sense of humour could sometimes be quite biting.
Hübner during a simul | Photo: Schachstiftung
Hübner and Hort at the chess board | Photo: Emanuel Lasker Gesellschaft
Hübner was a knowledgeable, open and witty conversationalist who enjoyed discussing not only chess but also all other aspects of daily life. He was rather sceptical about recent developments in chess, as tournaments and formats were increasingly determined by show elements. At some point he lost interest in competitive chess, preferring to retranslate Homer's "Iliad" from ancient Greek, learn to make icons and travel with his friends. For a time he looked after his seriously ill elder brother Wolfgang Hübner (1943-2020).
In the course of time, Hübner published a number of books, as well as many essays, which were not only remarkable for their content, but also for their great linguistic elegance. The Emanuel Lasker Society honoured him for his work with the Lasker Prize.
Thomas Weischede, Elisabeth Pähtz, Robert Hübner | Photo: Emanuel Lasker Gesellschaft
Two years ago, Hübner was diagnosed with stomach cancer and underwent a difficult operation. He bravely tried to come to terms with his fate, and in the summer of 2024 he still had several plans for the future. But by the end of the year, his health had deteriorated dramatically.
Hübner died in the early hours of 5 January 2025 in a hospital in Cologne-Kalk. Friends and companions, including Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Brigitte and Vlastimil Hort, Bodo Schmidt and Dr Arndt Borkhardt, visited him there during the last days of his life to bid him farewell. Robert Hübner was 76 years old.
Robert Hübner (1948-2025) | Photo: Anefo
ChessBase Magazine #205: Special on Robert Huebner
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