Emanuel Lasker

The longest-reigning World Champion in history. Lasker held the title for 27 years, approaching chess as psychology as much as logic.

Mathematician, Philosopher, Fighter

Emanuel Lasker was born on December 24, 1868, in Berlinchen (now Barlinek, Poland), the son of a Jewish cantor. The family moved to Berlin when Emanuel was eleven, and it was there that he learned chess from his older brother Berthold, himself a strong player. Emanuel showed mathematical talent early and would maintain his interest in mathematics throughout his life, earning a doctorate from the University of Erlangen in 1902 with a thesis on geometric functions.

Lasker's approach to chess was fundamentally different from his predecessors. While Steinitz had approached chess as a search for objective truth, Lasker recognized that chess was played between human beings, each with psychological strengths and weaknesses that could be exploited. He would deliberately play moves that were slightly inferior objectively but that would make his opponents uncomfortable, taking them out of their preparation and into unfamiliar territory where their nerves would be tested.

This psychological approach was controversial but devastatingly effective. Lasker won games that he should have drawn and drew games that he should have lost, simply by creating situations where his opponents were more likely to make mistakes than he was. His tenacity in defense was legendary: he would fight for every pawn, every tempo, every half-point, with a stubbornness that wore down even the strongest opponents.

Champion of the World

Lasker won the World Championship from Steinitz in 1894, defeating the aging champion 10-5 in a match played in New York, Philadelphia, and Montreal. He was 25 years old. He would hold the title for the next 27 years, successfully defending against Steinitz (1896-97), Marshall (1907), Tarrasch (1908), Janowski (1909), Schlechter (1910), and Janowski again (1910).

The 1910 match against Carl Schlechter was the closest call of Lasker's reign. Trailing by one point going into the final game, Lasker needed a win to retain his title. He produced one of the great fighting victories of his career, winning a complex endgame to draw the match 5-5 and keep his championship.

Lasker vs Bauer, Amsterdam 1889

One of Lasker's most celebrated games features a stunning double bishop sacrifice, a pattern that would become known as "Lasker's Sacrifice" and would be studied by generations of players.

The Fall and the Later Years

In 1921, Lasker finally lost his title to José Raúl Capablanca, the Cuban genius whose flawless technique and natural talent proved too much for the 52-year-old champion. Lasker did not win a single game in the match, losing four and drawing ten. It was the end of an era.

Remarkably, Lasker continued to play at a high level for another decade. He won the New York 1924 tournament ahead of Capablanca and the young Alekhine, at the age of 55, one of the greatest tournament victories by an older player in chess history. His play in this tournament, particularly his famous victory over Réti, showed that the old champion had lost none of his psychological insight or fighting spirit.

Lasker was forced to flee Nazi Germany in 1933 because of his Jewish heritage. He and his wife Martha lived in poverty in England and the Soviet Union before settling in New York, where he died on January 11, 1941, at the age of 72. He was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame in its inaugural class.

"On the chessboard, lies and hypocrisy do not survive long. The creative combination lays bare the presumption of a lie." — Emanuel Lasker