Ed Lasker Makes A. Nimzowitsch A Casualty of the Lopez Exchange

Edward Lasker (1885-1981) was born in Germany (in an area now in Poland). He became an engineer and moved to London, England where he played his famous casual game against Sir George Thomas. Before war began in 1914, he moved to America. He won the U.S. Open five times. His match with Frank Marshall in 1923 was for the U.S. Championship. He lost by one point after 18 games. FIDE awarded him the international master title, although it has been argued he was grandmaster strength. He wrote books on chess and go. I met Ed Lasker at the Marshall Chess Club in New York when he was nearly 80. I saw him at other clubs and at tournaments, where he photographed players with a Leicaflex. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to play casual games with him and have an even score. More important than that is the following casual game with Nimzowitsch. Aron Nimzowitsch (1886-1935) was born in Latvia, moved to Germany as a student, and to Denmark in 1920 or so. He was one of the world's top players. His chess books are classics.