The 1921 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....

 was played between José Raúl Capablanca

José Raúl Capablanca

José 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...

 and Emanuel Lasker

Emanuel Lasker

Emanuel Lasker was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years...

. It was played in Capablanca's native Havana

Havana

Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

 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 (Lasker) would win.

World Chess Championship Match 1921

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Wins	Points
	½	½	½	½	1	½	½	½	½	1	1	½	½	1	4	9
	½	½	½	½	0	½	½	½	½	0	0	½	½	0	0	5

Lasker resigned the match prematurely, 9-5 down.

External links

• Information