LASKER, EMANUEL

born Dec. 24, 1868, Berlinchen, Prussia died Jan. 11, 1941, New York, N.Y., U.S. German chess master, the world champion from 1894 to 1920, who is often regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. The son of a Jewish cantor, Lasker first left Prussia in 1889 and only five years later won the world chess championship from Wilhelm Steinitz. He went on to a series of stunning wins in St. Petersburg, Nrnberg, London, and Paris before concentrating on his education. In 1902 he received his doctorate for research on abstract algebraic systems. In 1904 Lasker resumed his chess career, publishing a magazine, Lasker's Chess Magazine, for four years and winning against the top masters. Though the championship title was finally taken from him in 1921 by Jos Ral Capablanca, he continued to play successfully until he was 67, considered a unique achievement. Lasker changed the nature of chess, not in its strategy but in its economic base. After he was financially ruined by the Great Depression, he became the first chess master to demand high fees, thus paving the way to strengthening the financial status of professional chess players. He invented new endgame theories and then retired for some years to study philosophy and to teach and write. At 66, however, he returned to tournament playing and was again successful at several international matches. His book Common Sense in Chess (1896) is considered a classic.