rubinstein was jewish, and his family planned for him to become a rabbi. however, he did not finish his studies, and chose to devote himself to chess entirely. the decision came in 1903 after he won fifth place at a tournament in kiev. he learned to play chess when he was 16,&lt;ref name="h/w"&gt;hooper d. and whyld k. 1992. "the oxford companion to chess". oxford.&lt;/ref&gt; and played with the strong master gersz salwe in łódź.