World Chess Championship 1910 (Lasker-Schlechter)
Encyclopedia
Emanuel Lasker
faced Carl Schlechter
in the 1910 World Chess Championship
. It was played from January 7 to February 10, 1910 in Vienna
and Berlin
. The match was tied and Lasker retained his title.
On the other hand, in its book "Le guide des échecs" the chess author Nicolas Giffard does not express the slightest doubt that this was a chess championship, but points out that in case Schlechter won, he would still need to win a revenge match before being called the World Champion.
, before losing the game.
Historians are divided over whether the two-point margin was required. Israel Horowitz, Nicolas Giffard and F. Wilson all write that a two-point margin was required. The chess researcher Graeme Cree writes,
However Lasker himself wrote two days before the tenth game, "The match with Schlechter is nearing its end and it appears probable that for the first time in my life I shall be the loser. If that should happen a good man will have won the World Championship,", which could imply that it really was a world title match and that there was no secret "two-game lead" clause.
Other explanations have been advanced for the development of the last game. A report shortly after the end of the match appears to speculate that Schlechter threw the last game because a narrow victory for him would not have been in the financial interests of either player, as they would have had to play another match if Schlechter won narrowly, but they had not been able to get adequate financial backing for the 1910 match. Journalist Larry Evans
writes,
's explanation on the outcome of the last game is that "both players were labouring under such nervous stress that their power of judgment was not working as well as it normally did." It has even been suggested that Schlechter played to win the last game because he was too honorable to get the title by a fluke, having won the fifth game by a swindle
in a lost position.
by Thomas Glavinic
.
Emanuel Lasker
Emanuel Lasker was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years...
faced Carl Schlechter
Carl Schlechter
Carl Schlechter was a leading Austrian chess master and theoretician at the turn of the 20th century. He is best known for drawing a World Chess Championship match with Emanuel Lasker.-Early life:...
in the 1910 World Chess Championship
World Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....
. It was played from January 7 to February 10, 1910 in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. The match was tied and Lasker retained his title.
Results
Best of 10 games. The match was drawn, so Lasker retained the world title.| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 5 | |
| ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 5 |
World Championship?
The match is generally regarded as a World Championship match, but some sources have doubted this in view of its strange outcome. J.R. Buckley reported in the American Chess Bulletin that the 10-game match was not for the World Championship, and that its result suggested that "a contest on different terms, a match for the World Championship" should be played. But at the foot of this article the editor added that Lasker had told him, "Yes, I placed the title at stake." In the "Encyclopaedia of Chess", Sunnucks describes the match as "a so-called championship match."On the other hand, in its book "Le guide des échecs" the chess author Nicolas Giffard does not express the slightest doubt that this was a chess championship, but points out that in case Schlechter won, he would still need to win a revenge match before being called the World Champion.
Two-point margin?
Lasker drew the match by winning the final game. It may be that Schlechter needed to win by a two-point margin in order to win the title, and so had no choice but to play for a win in the final game, in which he missed first a win, then a clear drawDraw (chess)
In chess, a draw is when a game ends in a tie. It is one of the possible outcomes of a game, along with a win for White and a win for Black . Usually, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser.For the most part,...
, before losing the game.
Historians are divided over whether the two-point margin was required. Israel Horowitz, Nicolas Giffard and F. Wilson all write that a two-point margin was required. The chess researcher Graeme Cree writes,
There are still some who doubt whether this two-point clause existed, and as far as I know, positive proof does not exist. But the evidence of Schlechter's play in that final game, plus the difficulty of imagining a cagey bird like Lasker risking his title in such a short match without some extra protection seems pretty telling. Not to mention the fact that negotiations for a Lasker-CapablancaJosé Raúl CapablancaJosé Raúl Capablanca y Graupera was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. One of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play...
match broke down the very next year over that very same 2-point tie clause.
However Lasker himself wrote two days before the tenth game, "The match with Schlechter is nearing its end and it appears probable that for the first time in my life I shall be the loser. If that should happen a good man will have won the World Championship,", which could imply that it really was a world title match and that there was no secret "two-game lead" clause.
Other explanations have been advanced for the development of the last game. A report shortly after the end of the match appears to speculate that Schlechter threw the last game because a narrow victory for him would not have been in the financial interests of either player, as they would have had to play another match if Schlechter won narrowly, but they had not been able to get adequate financial backing for the 1910 match. Journalist Larry Evans
Larry Evans
For the football player of the same name, see Larry Evans .Larry Melvyn Evans was an American chess grandmaster, author, and journalist. He won or shared the U.S. Chess Championship five times and the U.S. Open Chess Championship four times...
writes,
Luděk Pachman
The truth is Schlechter probably never saw a clear draw! He missed 35...Rd8! with good winning chances. Later he said he intended 38...Qh4 39 Kg2 Qg4 40 Rg3 Qxc8 overlooking 41 Qg6! Flustered, he then missed a draw – and the title – by 39...Qh4! 40 Kd2 Qh2 41 Ke3 Rxf3 42 Kxf3 Qh3 43 Ke2 Qxc8 44 Qxb5, etc. The last hope to hold was 46...Qa2.
Ludek Pachman
Luděk Pachman was a Czechoslovak-German chess grandmaster, chess writer, and political activist. In 1972, after being imprisoned and tortured almost to death by the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia, he was allowed to emigrate to West Germany...
's explanation on the outcome of the last game is that "both players were labouring under such nervous stress that their power of judgment was not working as well as it normally did." It has even been suggested that Schlechter played to win the last game because he was too honorable to get the title by a fluke, having won the fifth game by a swindle
Swindle (chess)
In chess, a swindle is a ruse by which a player in a losing position tricks his opponent, and thereby achieves a win or draw instead of the expected loss. It may also refer more generally to obtaining a win or draw from a clearly losing position. I. A. Horowitz and Fred Reinfeld distinguish among...
in a lost position.
Popular culture
A fictionalised account of the match is presented in the 1998 novel Carl Haffner's Love of the DrawCarl Haffner's Love of the Draw
Carl Haffner’s Love of the Draw is a 1998 chess novel by Austrian writer Thomas Glavinic. It was Glavinic's first novel and is about a shy and withdrawn Viennese chess master who in 1910 challenges the World Champion for his title...
by Thomas Glavinic
Thomas Glavinic
Thomas Glavinic is an Austrian writer. With Kathrin Röggla and Daniel Kehlmann, he is among other young Austrian authors being perceived as significantly shaping the literary discussion in Austria.-Life:...
.