Lasker Life and Games: The Second Chess King

Emanuel Lasker was the second World Champion, and held the title for longer than anyone else: 27 years. Below, I explore his life and games.

Photo: Cleveland Public Library, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Table of contents:

Emanuel Lasker was born the youngest of four children in 1868 in Berlinchen, Germany, although today the town is called Barlinek, and is part of Poland. Around 1880, his older brother, Berthold Lasker, moved to Berlin to study medicine at university. At the age of 11, Emanuel was sent to live with his brother in Berlin. While there, he caught Measles, and learned to play chess from his brother while recovering in hospital. After recovering, he joined Berthold in playing for stakes and giving chess lessons, which provided a small income.

In 1889, Lasker won the second division of the strong tournament at Breslau, which was sufficient to earn the master title. This was an important achievement, as it lead to his first invitation to an international tournament, which took place at Amsterdam that same year. Lasker gave a good account of himself, finishing in a respectable 2nd place with 6/8, ahead of such famous names as Mason and Gunsberg. Lasker finished the year with match victories against von Bardeleben (+2-1=1) and Mieses (+5-0=3). Scoring such a crushing victory against Mieses was particularly impressive, as he had taken third place at the first division of the Breslau tournament that year.

Lasker continued to improve, sharing first place with his brother at the tournament in 1890 in Berlin. Added to this was a crushing match win against a leading English player, Henry Bird, by seven wins to two. After further match victories against Nicholas Theodore Miniati (+3=2-0), Francis Joseph Lee (+1=1), and the strong German player Berthold Englisch (+2=3), Lasker moved to London in 1892, which was the chess capital of the world at the time.

Lasker’s time in London was no less triumphant, as that same year he won the strong tournament hosted by the city, ahead of the leading English players Blackburne, Mason, Gunsberg and Bird. 1892 also saw Lasker score crushing match victories over Blackburne (8-2) and Bird (5-0), as well as Schowalter (7-3) and Zupide (2,5-0,5).

Following his London successes, Lasker moved to America in 1893. He immediately announced his arrival with an incredible performance in New York, finishing on a perfect 13/13. Lasker therefore challenged Tarrasch to a match, who was one of the strongest players in the world at the time. However, Tarrasch declined the challenge, replying that Lasker had not yet proven himself strong enough to play a match against him.

As Tarrasch had declined his challenge, Lasker decided to challenge Steinitz to a World Championship match instead. The usual costs of travelling to the match were not an obstacle in this case, as Steinitz was also living in America at the time. Steinitz accepted, and the match took place in three cities: New York, Philadelphia, and Montreal. Lasker ultimately won the match comfortably, with seven wins, five losses, and four draws, and so became the World Champion. Despite this, the chess world was not eager to accept him as the strongest player in the world, and pointed to Steinitz’s advanced age and declining health as major factors influencing the result of the match.

Hastings 1895 was the first big opportunity for Lasker to confirm his status as World Champion, as many of the top players competed. However, he finished only third, behind Pillsbury and Chigorin. The chess world became even more confused about who the strongest players were.

Therefore, a tournament was held that same year in St Petersburg, where Lasker, Steinitz, Pillsbury and Chigorin all played each other six times. Lasker’s victory, two points ahead of Steinitz in second place, greatly enhanced his reputation.

Steinitz’s strong performance in St Petersburg, however, sparked a World Championship rematch between the two. This was played in 1897, and was the first opportunity for Lasker to defend his crown. In the match, he gave Steinitz no real chances: Lasker won the match by ten wins to two, with five draws.

After a break from chess to focus on his studies of mathematics and philosophy, Lasker returned to tournament play with a crushing victory at the strong international tournament of London 1899, scoring 23,5/27 and finishing 4,5 points ahead of second place. This was followed by another incredible performance at Paris 1900, where Lasker finished in clear first with 14,5/16.

In 1902, Lasker received his doctorate in mathematics. Around this time, he visited the theater regularly, and even acted in some plays as an extra. However, in 1903 Lasker moved back to America, and the following year he shared second place with Janowski at Cambridge Springs. Marshall finished in clear first, and the chess world again wanted to know who its strongest player was.

Therefore, in 1907, Marshall and Lasker played a World Championship match in several American cities. Despite Marshall’s success at Cambridge Springs, Lasker dominated the match, winning by eight wins to zero, with seven draws.

In 1908, Lasker played another World Championship match, this time against Tarrasch, who had been one of Lasker’s harshest critics after Lasker had won the title in 1894. The match was played in Düsseldorf and Münich, and Lasker again dominated, winning by eight wins to three, with five draws.

In 1909, Lasker shared first place with Rubinstein at the strong St Petersburg tournament, before winning a match against Janowski by seven wins to two. It is unclear whether this match was an official challenge for the title.

The following year, Lasker played a World Championship match against Schlechter in Vienna and Berlin. After nine games, the score was one win to Schlechter, with nine draws. However, Lasker won the tenth game, thus drawing the match and retaining his title. Despite only needing a draw to win the match, Schlechter played very aggressively and riskily in the last game, and today it is unclear whether the rules of the match stated that the challenger would have to win by two games to win the title. Later in 1910, Lasker again defended his title, this time against Janowski. Like their previous match in 1909, Lasker crushed his opponent, winning by eight wins to zero.

After successfully defending his title on multiple occasions, Lasker took another break from chess. Shortly after Lasker’s return, with a victory at the St Petersburg tournament of 1914 ahead of Capablanca and Alekhine, WWI began, which caused a major disruption to the international tournament circuit. During this period, however, Lasker found time to win a match against Tarrasch, by five wins to zero.

After the war, Lasker played another World Championship match, this time against Capablanca in Havanna, Cuba. Capablanca proved too strong, and won by four wins to zero, with ten draws. Lasker had been World Champion for 27 years, a record which still stands today, over a hundred years later!

Losing the title did not diminish Lasker’s tournament successes. He immediately bounced back to win the strong international tournaments of Mährisch-Ostrau 1923 (10,5/13), and the famous New York 1924 (16/20), at the latter tournament finishing 1,5 points ahead of the new World Champion. 1925 saw Lasker achieve another strong result, finishing second at the strong Moscow tournament, again ahead of Capablanca.

After the Moscow tournament, Lasker took another break from chess. Around this time, he wrote and published books on various topics, one of which being Lasker’s Manuel of Chess. He also became the captain of the German bridge team, as well as a leading western Go player. However, soon tragedy struck, as in 1928, both his brother and aunt passed away.

In 1933, rising antisemitism forced Lasker to leave Germany, and he lost much of his wealth and possessions. He was therefore forced to return to competitive chess, at the age of 64, to generate an income. Lasker achieved an impressive 6th place at the strong international tournament of Zürich 1934, and followed this up with an even more impressive 3rd place at Moscow 1935, ahead of Capablanca. At Moscow, Lasker also received a brilliancy prize.

After the Moscow tournament, Lasker took up a position as the trainer of the Soviet chess team. However, this did not last long, as he was forced to move to the USA in 1936, to avoid Stalin’s purges. Lasker’s last international tournament saw him share 7th place with Flohr at the strong Nottingham tournament of 1936. His health began to decline, and he died in 1941, at the age of 72.

Dr Jacques Hannack wrote a book about Lasker’s life called The Life of a Chess Master, published in 1959. The introduction was written by Lasker’s friend, Albert Einstein.

Lasker’s victory in the 11th game of his first World Championship match with Steinitz is particularly instructive, as it demonstrates several important strategic themes.

Lasker, Emanuel

Steinitz, William

World-ch05 Lasker-Steinitz +10-5=411

April 21, 1894 – NY, Philadelphia & Montreal

1.d4d52.c4e63.Nc3Nf64.Nf3Be75.e3O-O6.Bd3The Queens Gambit Declined was starting to gain populairty in the 1890s, although it was not yet as popular as it would be in the early 20th century.6…c57.dxc5dxc47…Bxc58.cxd5exd5is also possible, if black wants to play with the isolated queens pawn.8.Bxc4Qxd1+White does not mind the exchange of queens, as the king will sit comfortably on e2.9.Kxd1Nc610.a3Bxc511.b4A standard plan in this pawn structure. The b2-b4 advance gives white a queenside space advantage and gains a tempo on black's bishop, while preparing to fianchetto the dark squared bishop.11…Bb612.Ke2Although the king is in the centre, it is not in danger, as the queens have been exchanged and black has no way to attack it.12…Bd713.Bb3The bishop would be vulnerable to discoveries on c4 after a black rook gets to c8, so white tucks it away before it becomes an issue.13.Bb2immediately is possible too.13…Rac814.Bb2a5?This advance allows white to claim a queenside space advantage and to win the e5 square as a strong outpost for the knight.14…Bc715.Rhd1Ne5improves the queenside knight and prevents white's knights from finding powerful central outposts. For example, after16.Nd4Bb8, black is ready to claim the c4 square as an outpost.15.b5Ne716.Ne5White has claimed a queenside space advantage and has a strong knight on e5.16…Be8?!16…Bc7It is necessary to exhange off the powerful knight, although17.Nxd7Nxd718.Na4Nb619.Nxb619.Nc5?Be5!20.Bxe5Rxc521.Bd6Rxb5gives white little.19…Bxb620.Rac1gives white a plus thanks to the bishop pair.17.a4Now white has more space and the more active pieces.17…Bc718.Nc4Of course, Lasker avoids the exchange of the powerful knight.18…Bd719.Rac119.b6Bd819…Bb820.Nxa5wins a clean pawn.20.Rhd1is also possible, preventing the f8 rook from joining the game.19…Ned520.Nxd5?!It is not necessary to release the tension.20.Rhd1brings the last piece into the game while maintaining the tension.20…Nxc3+21.Rxc3Nd522.Rcc1leaves white with a clear plus, thanks to the extra space and the more active pieces.20…Nxd5?20…exd5!gains space and opens up the c8-h3 diagonal for the bishop, alleviating some of black's cramp.21.Ne5Be6White has the better structure, more space and more activity, but black's pieces have gained a bit of breathing room. The light squared bishop now has the e6 square, allowing the black rooks to stay connected.21.Ne5Now black's lack of space forces him to give up the bishop pair, giving white firm control of the dark squares.21…Bxe5After21…Be8, the f8 rook would be completely shut in.22.Bxe5f623.e423.Bd4is another option, keeping the status quo.23…fxe524.exd5Kf725.Rhd1?After25.d6, white has more space, the better structure, far more active pieces, and targets to attack on e5 and e6.25…Ke7?This gives white another chance to play d5-d6.25…Rxc126.Rxc1Rc827.Rd127.Rxc8Bxc8is equal.27…Ke728.d6+Kf6is defendable for black. The e5 pawn is much more difficult to attack with only one pair of rooks on the board, the black rook controls the open file, and the passed d6 pawn is firmly blockaded.26.d6+Kf627.Ke327.Rc7is also strong:27…Rxc728.dxc7Ke729.b6+−27…Rxc128.Rxc1Rc829.Rxc8Bxc830.Bc2!The bishop manoeuvre is decisive: it will be incredibly powerful on e4.30…Kf730…h6does not help:31.Be4Kf732.Kd3Ke833.Kc4b6Otherwise the king will invade on the dark squares.34.Bc6+Kd835.Kd3While will win the e5 pawn.31.Bxh7g632.Ke4There is no defence.32…Kf6After32…Kg733.Kxe5Kxh734.Kf6, white wins with Ke7 followed by d6-d7.33.g4g533…Kg734.Kxe5Kxh735.Kf6Kh636.Ke7still doesn't work.34.Kf3Kf735.Be4Ke836.h4!Kd736…gxh437.g5and black can't stop both passed pawns.37.h5Ke838.Ke3Black cannot stop both the h pawn and the d pawn.1–0

A king may find itself to be quite comfortable in the centre if the queens have been exchanged and the opposing army has no way to attack it.

A common strategy for the side with less space is to exchange pieces, as this leaves the remaining pieces with more room to manoeuvre.

Knights are at their most effective when they have advanced central outposts.

Lucas Anderson made an amazing video which goes into Lasker’s life in great detail.

Lasker’s chessgames.com page is a great source of information.

The first volume of Kasparov’s My Great Predecessors series is an amazing resource too.