Sequoyah
88% Profile Match
Agence Rol, Dr Emanuel Lasker, January 1921, Bibliotheque nationale de France (Gallica), public domain · Press photograph 'Dr [Emanuel] Lasker (echecs)' by the Paris press-photo agency Agence Rol (the individual photographer is not named), January 1921, reference Rol 63114, glass negative 18 x 13 cm, Bibliotheque nationale de France (Estampes et photographie, EI-13 (755)), digitised on Gallica. The BnF's own catalogue record for this item (read through its OAI service) gives the date as January 1921, identifies the subject as Lasker and states the rights as 'domaine public' / 'public domain'. The scan was 6105 x 8511 pixels; this project cropped away the negative's frame and edge labels (to 5060 x 7690) and reduced it to 790 x 1200 pixels, never enlarging it · Public domain (item-level statement by the Bibliotheque nationale de France; 1921 press photograph by Agence Rol)
athlete · 20th Century
Emanuel Lasker
1868–1941
Known For
athleticscientificcultural
Not yet included in personality matching — the documented evidence doesn't yet cover enough of the personality model. Everything else on this page is fully available.
Trait Constellation
Key Achievements
Won the world chess championship from Wilhelm Steinitz in 1894 and held it for 27 years, defending it against Marshall, Tarrasch, Janowski and Schlechter until he lost it to Capablanca in 1921.
As a mathematician, introduced the notion of a primary ideal in 1905 and proved the primary decomposition theorem for ideals of polynomial rings, a result Emmy Noether generalised in 1921.
Wrote Common Sense in Chess (1896) and Lasker's Manual of Chess, and philosophical works including Das Begreifen der Welt (1913), and held a doctorate in philosophy and mathematics.
Moments That Reveal Them
After returning to competition at Zurich in 1934, he took third place at the second Moscow International in 1935 at age 66, without losing a game.
This is consistent with sustained competitive effort late in a long career. Persistence
In December 1926, after he was left off the invitation list for the 1927 New York tournament, he issued a long public statement against the organiser that set off fierce exchanges in the press.
This is consistent with a willingness to take a dispute over conditions into public view. Conflict Tolerance
Turning Points
Reaching ten wins against Steinitz in Montreal on 26 May 1894, at age 25, made him world champion, a title he then kept for 27 years.
This is consistent with a competitor who converted early promise into a lasting championship. Competitiveness
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Sources
- Emanuel Lasker (Q57095), verified live via the Wikidata API (2026-11-04): English label 'Emanuel Lasker', description 'German chess player, World Chess champion (1868-1941)', born 1868-12-24, died 1941-01-11, Korean label present. Orientation only; not used as support for any row.
- 'Emanuel Lasker', Open Chess Museum, FIDE (World Chess Federation), read in full: world champion from 1894 to 1921 (described as the longest reign in chess history); won the 1894 match against Steinitz and the 1896-97 rematch; defended against Marshall, Tarrasch, Janowski and Schlechter; played in student tournaments and internationally by 1889; competed after 1921 and at 66 took third place at the second Moscow International without losing a game; held a doctorate in philosophy and mathematics; wrote Common Sense in Chess (1895) and Manual of Chess (1925); his writings stress general method over memorised results; emigrated to the USSR in 1935 and later to the USA. CANONICAL SIGNIFICANCE SOURCE. A federation museum, so admiring in tone; little behavioural detail.
- 'Emanuel Lasker', World Chess Hall of Fame (inducted 2001), read in full: second world champion, 1894-1921, who held the official title longer than anyone else; learned chess from his older brother; won the title from Steinitz in 1894; defences against Marshall, Tarrasch, Schlechter and Janowski; lost the title to Capablanca in 1921; used psychology in his play and a style ahead of its time; prolific author including Lasker's Manual of Chess and writings on mathematics, philosophy and games such as bridge. A hall-of-fame entry, admiring and brief.
- J. J. O'Connor and E. F. Robertson, 'Emanuel Lasker', MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews (last updated 2003), read in full: education at Berlin, Gottingen and Heidelberg; lectures at Tulane (1893); doctorate at Erlangen under Max Noether (1900); the 1905 Mathematische Annalen paper that introduced primary ideals and proved a primary decomposition theorem for polynomial rings, later generalised by Emmy Noether (1921); the games laska and a nim variant; chess results by year; the six title defences of 1907-1910; the 1921 loss to Capablanca after fourteen games; philosophical books of 1907-1940; the 1933 confiscation of property reported by Gareth Williams and the 1934 return to competition for financial reasons; the combative, tenacious style described by Williams; Botvinnik on his practical preparation; his own account of choosing openings his opponents had condemned; emigration to England, Moscow (1936) and New York (1937). A scholarly history-of-mathematics biography that relies on other authors for the chess character.
- 'Emanuel Lasker', Encyclopedia of World Biography (Gale, updated 2018) with the Encyclopaedia Judaica entry by Gerald Abrahams, as reproduced on Encyclopedia.com, read in full: won the 1894 title match 10-5 with four draws and the 1896 rematch 10-2 with five draws; held the title but defended it only six times, and critics said he avoided risky matches; insisted on payment for playing and for publication rights; published Lasker's Chess Magazine from 1904 and a New York Evening Post chess column; took a break from chess to study mathematics; doctorate at Erlangen; late in life earned much of his income as a professional bridge player; fled the Nazis for England then New York; debated relativity with Einstein; a Hastings observer's remarks on his character. A general reference compilation: some claims (the Tsar's 'Grandmaster' titles of 1914, failed pigeon breeding) are questioned by Edward Winter and are not used here.
- Edward Winter, 'Emanuel Lasker Miscellanea', Chess Notes (chess historian's archive, accessed 2026-11-04), read through the opening and the passages on money, matches and style: Lasker played 19 matches and lost only one; his 1907 and 1908 statements about payment for professionals and his magazine's deficit; Tarrasch's remark that he was paid over 4,000 roubles for St Petersburg 1914; Steinitz's October 1894 letter reclaiming the title after the agreed rematch was not played; Lasker's June 1920 resignation of the title to Capablanca citing unpopular rules; John Nunn (2014) quoted on Lasker as a great fighter with a strong will to win whose provocative moves were no worse than the alternatives, and on the myths of swindles and deliberately bad moves; Winter's own criticism of Hannak's 1959 biography and of unsupported legends. A critical independent chess historian who cites dated contemporary newspapers; a very long page of which about a third was read closely.
- Edward Winter (ed.), "Capablanca's Reply to Lasker", Chess Notes, reproducing Capablanca's article in the British Chess Magazine of October 1922, read in full: Capablanca's account of the 1911-12 and 1919-20 negotiations, saying Lasker answered a letter about an unfair condition through the press and refused to play him, named an arbitrator and set him aside when he did not agree, and resigned the title in 1920 under their agreement; he also accuses Lasker's 1922 book of misrepresentation. The rival's own side of a dispute, so adversarial and one-sided, and the author's claims are not independently confirmed here.
- Richard Forster, 'Lasker Speaks Out (1926)', Chess Notes (Edward Winter's site), read in the introduction and the account of the sources: after winning the 1924 New York tournament Lasker was not invited to the 1927 New York tournament; a conflict with the chief organiser Norbert Lederer had been building for two and a half years; in December 1926 Lasker made a long public statement that sparked fierce exchanges in the press; his original text is lost and is reconstructed from German, Dutch, Spanish and English versions. A specialist's source-critical article; the statement itself was not read in full.
- Edward Winter, 'The Lasker v Schlechter Controversy (1910)', Chess Notes, read in full: the terms of the 1910 ten-game match with Schlechter were never published in a final form and remain disputed; contemporary reports differ on whether the title was at stake; the American Chess Bulletin records that Lasker, asked on board ship on 20 May 1910, said he had placed the title at stake. Used only as a caution that the match terms are unresolved.
- Bibliotheque nationale de France, Gallica record 'Dr [Emanuel] Lasker (echecs) [joueur d'echecs] : [photographie de presse] / [Agence Rol]', Rol 63114, 1921, glass negative 18 x 13 cm, EI-13 (755): the holder's own OAI/SRU record gives the subject as Lasker, the date as 1921 (January) and the rights as 'domaine public' / 'public domain'. Used for the portrait only.