LASKER = The BOSS.

Lasker = THE BOSS. 
(image of the boss for reference)

Evidence of being the boss:

This mofo was born in 1868.  Name some good chess players before Lasker?  Morphy.  MAYBE Steinitz. That's it.  OK, maybe there were some other 'decent' ones, but really it was all about Morphy back then, until he retired after owning everyone.  Then this badass dude Lasker comes along.  Lemme tell you all why Lasker is the boss. 

1868 this mofo pops out of his momma and he barely uncrosses his eyes and does his first baby cry before his parents kicked his ass out and told him to study mathematics.  While doing that, he studies chess with his brother, keeping a low profile, ready to pounce in a few years on the chess scene.

BAM, 1889 comes along and Lasker wins all 20 games he plays in a local tournament.  Badass?  Definately.

A mere 5 years later Lasker's bossness is evident, and everyone in the chess world knows it.  He challenges Steinitz and promptly smashes his face in.  World Champion achieved.

Guys, it's not even 1900 and he's World Champion.  All the strong players before him?  There wasn't very many, mostly chess runts, except Morphy/Steinitz.  Ok,  so Lasker has the crown, lets proceed with history. 

Our main man is in his 20s now.  He's not super young anymore, but not that old either.  Lasker cuts swathes through all of the chess elite during the late 1800's:

Lasker proceeds through the years as a badass but stronger players keep on coming.  But you think he cares? He doesn't give a DAMN.  They are studying Lasker and getting better, but guess what?  Lasker is studying Lasker and getting better.

Let's fast forward about 20 years. Lasker is nearing 50 years old now. It's a whole new generation of players. These guys aren't the runts he used to plow through when learning how to play during the 1800's. Capablanca, Alekhine, Nimzowitsch, Marshall, Tarrasch, these guys are GOOD.  How we doin against the new generation?:

BAM. GG.

Let's continue with history.  How about another 10 years?  Our homeboy is getting close to 60 now.  He's still winning tournaments though, and the players just keep on getting stronger.  How are we doin against the VERY best during this time?

Are you even surprised? He isn't, and neither should you be.

Uh oh guys, we're in the mid 1930's now.  It's getting REALLY serious. Seriously, it's 1935.  Lasker was born in 1868.  He's an ancient relic now, almost 70 years old with a history of awesome behind him. Dude was slaying dinosaurs and carving pawns out of wood with stone knives before these 1930s chess elite were born. Was fire even invented by 1868?  Doubtful.  Anyways, chess players have come and gone, the game has COMPLETELY changed since he started playing.  Grandpa Badass still must fight!

Not bad old chap, not bad.  He died a few years later of old age.  RIP SIR LASKER.

LASKER = THE BOSS

SPRINGSTEEN = THE BOSS

SINATRA = THE CHAIRMAN

LASKER = THE OLD GUY WITH THE STOGIE

There is only one BOSS:

Lasker was also a hypocrite. He got down with the nicotine hood team. Not smart mofo, medicine man without a healthy lung plan. Puff Daddy would say that he is all puff puff.

Ducked Pillsbury until he died of syphillis, ducked Rubinstein and Capa until World War I. Lost all his money backing Germany in the war against "the nation of shopkeepers" as he put it, so finally played Capa after demanding $1000 per loss, and proceeded to get skunked.

"A coffee house player" -- Robert James Fischer

The only player that seriously can challenge Kasparov as Greatest Ever.

TortoiseMaximus  what you don't know about Lasker could fill volumes. 

Lasker was my teacher, and without him I could not have become whom I became. The idea of chess art is unthinkable without Emanuel Lasker.  -  Alexander Alekhine

That he was a great endgame player is unquestionable. In fact, he was the greatest I have ever known. But he was also the most profound and the most imaginative player I have ever known.  - Jose Capablanca

Lasker was perhaps the first of the great masters who understood the importance of preparing for competitions; before him, of course, they studied chess, but only in general, and they were not yet able to prepare concretely …  -  Mikhail Botvinnik

The greatest of the champions was, of course, Emanuel Lasker. At the chess board he accomplished the impossible!  -  Mikhail Tal

All my life I have studied deeply and carefully the work of this great player and, as well as I can, I have tried to convert the best of it to my own use.  -  David Bronstein

I forgot to mention he barely drew Schlecter.

How many of you Lasker detractors can actually say you made an honest effort to study this champion's games? I have played over a few but this in no way gives me enough info to render an opinion. Lasker did not purposely dodge anyone.....WW1 prolonged his reign. As for Lasker losing his fortune supporting his country in WW1.....well the man was loyal to the country of his birth.....that is rather admirable. I remember reading something by a GM who stated Lasker was probably the most misunderstood player of all time.....

I'm mostly kidding, obviously he was a great player, New York 1924 (age 55) is proof of that. There were players his equal most of his reign though. If the cosmic dice roll slightly differently, he might never have been champ, or only briefly. "That guy between Steinitz and Pillsbury ... Lawler? Jerry Lawler?"

Just saying, if Carlsen dies of syphillis and World War III breaks out, Anand might hold onto this thing another 20 years ...

lets honor lasker befitting a champion for  less than 3 decades

Have to admit thats a pretty good case for bossness.

Boss [NOUN]

1. A person who oversees and directs the work of others; a supervisor.

2. A person in charge of a business or company.

3. A leader, the head of an organized group or team.

4. The head of a political party in a given region or district.

5. An enemy, often at the end of a level, that is particularly challenging and must be beaten in order to progress in, or complete, the game.

6.  Wife

To me, those seem different from "Lasker". Maybe Lasker is a boss, but it's obvious that he's not the only boss, which is what the OP states.

@LudRa95: Also possible that your dictionary is incomplete. Go get a boss dictionary!

Clearly he is #5.

But he is not the only #5, which is an implication of "=". You can have boss battles in video games that are not against Lasker, right?

No. You may think you do, but they are all Lasker.

But one of then specifically said "I am not Lasker".

Of course they all pretend not to be Lasker. Duh!