Emanuel Lasker (December 24, 1868 – January 11, 1941)
was a German chess player, mathematician,
and philosopher who was World Chess Champion
for 27 years.In his prime Lasker was one of the most
dominant champions, and he is still generally regarded
as one of the strongest players ever.His contemporaries
used to say that Lasker used a "psychological" approach
to the game, and even that he sometimes deliberately
played inferior moves to confuse opponents. Recent analysis,
however, indicates that he was ahead of his time and
used a more flexible approach than his contemporaries,
which mystified many of them. Lasker knew the openings
well but disagreed with many contemporary analyses.
He published chess magazines and five chess books,
but later players and commentators found it difficult
to draw lessons from his methods. He demanded high fees for
playing matches and tournaments, which aroused criticism
at the time but contributed to the development
of chess as a professional career.The conditions which
Lasker demanded for World Championship matches in the
last ten years ofhis reign were controversial, and prompted attempts,
particularly by his successor
José Raúl Capablanca, to define agreed rules for championship matches.
Lasker made contributions to the
development of other games. He was a first-class contract bridge
player and wrote about bridge and other games,
including Go and his own invention, Lasca. His books about
games presented a problem which is still considered
notable in the mathematical analysis of card games.
Besides, Lasker was a research mathematician who was known for
his contributions to commutative algebra.
On the other hand, his philosophical works and a drama that he co-authored
received little attention.
Emanuel Lasker
Berlinchen, Prussia (nowBarlinek, Poland)
New York City, United States
Emanuel Lasker (December 24, 1868 – January 11, 1941)
was a German chess player, mathematician,
and philosopher who was World Chess Champion
for 27 years.In his prime Lasker was one of the most
dominant champions, and he is still generally regarded
as one of the strongest players ever.His contemporaries
used to say that Lasker used a "psychological" approach
to the game, and even that he sometimes deliberately
played inferior moves to confuse opponents. Recent analysis,
however, indicates that he was ahead of his time and
used a more flexible approach than his contemporaries,
which mystified many of them. Lasker knew the openings
well but disagreed with many contemporary analyses.
He published chess magazines and five chess books,
but later players and commentators found it difficult
to draw lessons from his methods. He demanded high fees for
playing matches and tournaments, which aroused criticism
at the time but contributed to the development
of chess as a professional career.The conditions which
Lasker demanded for World Championship matches in the
last ten years ofhis reign were controversial, and prompted attempts,
particularly by his successor
José Raúl Capablanca, to define agreed rules for championship matches.
Lasker made contributions to the
development of other games. He was a first-class contract bridge
player and wrote about bridge and other games,
including Go and his own invention, Lasca. His books about
games presented a problem which is still considered
notable in the mathematical analysis of card games.
Besides, Lasker was a research mathematician who was known for
his contributions to commutative algebra.
On the other hand, his philosophical works and a drama that he co-authored
received little attention.