Great player.  Not the most flattering picture of all time.

True, not the most flattering picture. I wonder if he was drunk?

jajajajja....yeah there are better pictures of him of course..LOL

i think he was on a hurry for the picture and forgot to put on his teeths

I wonder the way he talked without his teeths....fafablanfa...traduction...capablanca

If he wasn't drunk it could be a heck of a hangover.

World Champ for 27 years!  He was only 25 when he won the title.  Wonder if Magnus will hold the title that long?

No. I don't think it's possible to be champion that long now. When Lasker was champ there weren't as many super strong players like there are today. There's just so many more tournaments, it's worldwide on a massive scale, there are computers to help make the gifted into elite GM's, etc. So many things are different.

You're probably right.  I'd like to take a look at some of his games again.  I recently read about his playing style being called "psychological" - don't know what that means.

Thanks chessmicky!  Now there's a dapper, young world champ.

What is wrong with his picture? He is an old-timer.

Lasker was 61 years old in the picture from the opening post.

He became world champion 120 years ago today. The first Steinitz match had some really nice wins by both guys

Giving a simul in Chicago.

World Chess Championship 1921

The 1921 World Chess Championship was played between José Raúl Capablanca and Emanuel Lasker. It was played in Capablanca's native Havana from March 18 to April 28. Lasker resigned the title in 1920 in a dispute over match conditions, but agreed to take part as challenger in 1921 (partially due to his having lost a lot of money due to the First World War).

Results

The championship was set to last for 24 games: the first player to accumulate 12½ points (or win eight games) would be World Champion. If it ended 12-12 the incumbent would retain the title. Lasker had won the previous championship, but he resigned it in 1920, meaning that technically he was the challenger and Capablanca the incumbent for this match, even though the two had never met in a title match before.

World Chess Championship Match 1921

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Wins	Points
José Raúl Capablanca (Cuba)	½	½	½	½	1	½	½	½	½	1	1	½	½	1	4	9
Emanuel Lasker (Weimar Republic)	½	½	½	½	0	½	½	½	½	0	0	½	½	0	0	5

Lasker resigned the match, making Capablanca the new champion.

Another photo, apparently from the same session as above