Sad news came from Germany – Robert Huebner has passed away

Arguably, the most enigmatic of the top players of the 20th century, Huebner almost always remained in the shadows. Yet he was a great chess player and a remarkable person. Few remember today that Huebner repeatedly qualified for the Candidates —starting with his shared second place at Palma de Mallorca in 1970 (a young Robert, not even a grandmaster yet, delivered a brilliant performance there and punched his ticket to Candidates with a round to spare, finishing behind the older Robert [Fischer]) and continuing all the way to Manila in 1990, where he confidently qualified competing with a new mighty generation of players.

Moreover, at his peak in 1981, Huebner came very close to challenging Karpov in a title match. He reached the Candidates final and was in the lead against Korchnoi. With 3.5-2.5 on the scoreboard, the German grandmaster had an advantage in the seventh game ending, but Korchnoi put up a stubborn resistance. On a wild goose chase, Huebner made a terrible blunder and lost.

Huebner and Korchnoi in Hoogovens 1984 Photo: Fotocollectie Anefo

After this setback, he lost the next encounter and, having adjourned the ninth and tenth games in unpleasant positions, resigned the match. It was not the first time in his chess career. Back in 1971, after his first defeat, he forfeited the Candidates quarterfinal match against Petrosian. Throughout his entire career, Robert has been haunted by this lack of self-confidence, which strikingly contrasted with his powerful play.

In 1983, he lost a Candidates quarterfinal to Smyslov, this time on roulette (tiebreak games were played with classical time control back then, and there were no rapid and blitz games, let alone Armageddon). The match ended in a draw. The tiebreak games did not tip the balance either. It was all decided on roulette in a local casino, where Huebner didn't show up. Smyslov picked red. The ball landed on zero first. The croupier spun the wheel again, and Huebner got eliminated from the Candidates.

Huebner and Petrosian in Wijk-aan-Zee 1971 Photo: Fotocollectie Anefo

In all fairness, the German had no real chance against Karpov and Kasparov, but he was on par with other elite players at that time. Remarkably, Robert nearly reached the very top being a semi-professional, as he never stopped his academic research. A graduate papyrologist and polyglot, he spoke a dozen languages, including ancient and extinct.

When it comes to game commentaries, no one has ever analyzed chess as deeply as Huebner. His analysis of each game resembled a scientific study, sometimes spanning dozens of pages.

He was an extraordinary person. I had the privilege of speaking with Robert briefly and even played a game with him that ended in a draw. I felt his uniqueness and brilliance right away.

Analyzing with Vlastimil Hort Photo: lasker-gesellschaft.de/

In personal interactions, Huebner was reserved but spoke on various topics—always thoughtfully, with profound insights.

He seemed to have few close friends in the chess world but commanded absolute respect. Nearly everyone called him "Doctor," both in personal interactions and between themselves.

Huebner was a person from a different, not this vain world. And now, he is gone. Really sad. We will remember him.

Emil Sutovsky, FIDE CEO