chess-The Oxford Companion to Chess - First Edition by David Hooper & Kenneth Whyld

1914, a historic event because Capablanca. now
clearly favoured as chaUenger, met Lasler tor lhe
6rst rime in rournamenr play. ln rhe 66t slage. an
a!-play aI contesl ol eleven playeB. Capablanca
scoied 8. Lasker 6i. These tNo, along th
ALEKrnNr. Marshall, and Tarrasch lhen @mpeied
ioado$te-.onndall-pLay allsecondstagc. Inthis
Lasker made ihe astonishing scor€ olsixwinsand
rwo draws to take lirsi prize (+10=7 1) halt a
point abead olCapahlanca. both welahead olthe
Iieid. Anatch belweenthemseemedprobable. but
lhe Fisl World War intervened. The war may have
cxtcnded Lasker's tenure of thc title beyond ils
natural span. but he conld still play {orld class
chess as he dcmonst.ated in a snall bul strong
lournament al Bertin in 1918 whcn he came fiBt
(+3=3) ahead oI Rubinsrcin, schlechrer, and
Tarrasch. Neverlheless Laske. was deieated by
capabllnca in lhcir natch ot 1921 Far lron
nnished, Laskervon tourniments at Ostrava 1923
(+8=5) and at New York 1924 (+13:6 1) ahead
ol Capablanca and Alckhinei these lwo achievcnenrs-
aslonhhnrg lor a nan olhis agc. wcre hh
last rournament victones.
From 1895 to 1924 he had played in ten major
toumametrls, nnins or sharins eieht li^t pnzes,
ode second, andonc thnd. His ?8 Per cenl score in
theseclcnis(+119=46 18),spreadovcr30yeas,
was easily thebest tournament rccord oI tbe dme.
He played in lile Forc tournaments: Moscow
192s. seond (+10=8-2) afterBoGoDUBow ahead
of Capablancar Zurich 1931, lilth (+9=2 4)i
Moscow 193s, rhnd (+"=13) aiter BoflrNNI(.nd
FroER ahead otCapablancai Mosco* 1936, sixthi
and Nottlngnam 1936 (+6=5 3) to share sevenlh
place. He played inlhelast lour fton necessity,Ior
in 1933 he add his wiie werc drivenoutoiGermany
and tbeir property conliscaled. In England ftom
1933. in the USSRITom 1935, hewenrlo the USA
i. lq37 ,nd there he died
A fine tactician, an cxpe.t in mancilri.g,
Lasker was also one ol ihe grearest delensilc
playe6. In th€ opening pbase he did not inlentionaUy
seek infenor pasitionsi a comnon mn
concepton fostered hy Ra!! He liked ro leave lhe
beaten track and was not oncerned rhar this
somctimes left him wnh slghl disadvanlage.
providing the position ollered scope for his lalent
He believed that such positions were delensible
and had thc skiu to back tbis belief. In hk game
asainstcapablanca arsrPeretsburg Gee below) he
knew the advance ol his f-pawn Nas nsky bur it
gave him the kind of gane he liked, and he had
calculated ihai if ihe rorst happ..cd he could
delend his posinon. Sccptical ol all dogma he
pl.yed positions as lhey arose and according to
their lature or his opponent\-Predilcctions. He
intentionauy avoided naking longrerm plans,
believing lben 10 be undesirable: eames rarel,
unfold in a logical way and holding 10 a 6xcd idea
might inpan a phyeas judeement. His head ruled
his heart. and Lasker oNed ouch lo his Sreat
strengtholcharaclcr. He enlered few tournnnenh
LAS(ER 179
blt concentrated ha.d on every ga6e io elery
cvent. More successfulr than his contcnporaries
he leamedhow to copesith ciroB. He knew that
inaseriesof ganeshewouldsoonerorlaternakea
mistakei when this happened he was prepared,
suffering no nentai disturbance bnl immediately
seeking rhe best couise in lhe changed situadon.
ENE sritcs that Lsker ould ma&e a nistahe-and
smile, knowing rhar perieclion is not granted to
L2sker Nrote selcral chess books. His nrst. a
booklet cntitl.d conDo6?,se D a}lers (1896) an
to more than thiny ednions or trdslalions.
Lehtbuch (les S.hachvieb (1926), rewnlGn i,
Engrish hy him as Ldstcl's ,ua rual olchz$ 11932),
describes his approacb 10 thc gane, gives .
sympathetic testinony to stoinitz. and oifers an
exposition ol tbe rEony ofrbe gane atfibuted 10
Sleinnz. His hesl lou.nanenl book was of St
Pete6burg 1909. lle also ediled fou short-liled
chcss mageines. An educalcd man with an
enquiring nind, Lasker aho wrote on otber
subjects. He published sevenl mathenati@l pal).
ers and his ihesison geonetncal calculus remains
rclcvant in this age ol eledronic compule$. He
coDld discouGe od many subjcds a.d would talt
fa. into lhe nigbt- but as lhe Austnan born player
E. Kein obseNed. 'at the end ol the day he always
revertcd lo chess.i He wrote books or philosoPhy.
drawing analogies fro6 chcss. These are no1
wirhour interesr. but philosophers nored that nc
construcled nologicalsysle6. (He recoenizedlhis
himself,.nd in hn book S,/u88lc (1907) he
sugcened rhal morc expe.ienced hands should
build on bis ideas.) He also srotc books on
Laskci plain! asainst CaEhlarca, Mo!o* 1925