On finiteness of rings with finite maximal subrings (Q1210464)

T. J. Laffey suggested that a ring with a finite maximal subring is finite. The authors prove this conjecture for \(PI\)-rings. Earlier the same result has been obtained for commutative rings by the first author and \textit{F. Guerriero} [Int. J. Math. Math. Sci. 13, No. 3, 535-544 (1990; Zbl 0711.16011)] and for arbitrary rings by the second author [Commun. Algebra 21, No. 4, 1389-1392 (1993; Zbl 0793.16009)]. The example of \textit{A. Yu. Ol'shanskij} [Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR 245, 785-787 (1979; Zbl 0431.20025)] of an infinite group all of whose proper subgroups are maximal of prime order, shows that the analogous conjecture for groups is false.