Emanuel Lasker was the German mathematician, philosopher, and chess player who became the second World Chess Champion in 1894 — and then held onto the crown for a barely-believable 27 years, from 1894 to 1921. That’s still the longest reign of any World Chess Champion in history, and nobody has come close since. He was a fighter, a pragmatist, and one of the deepest thinkers the game has ever produced.
Quick facts
- Full name: Emanuel Lasker · Born: 24 December 1868, Berlinchen, Prussia (now Barlinek, Poland) · Died: 11 January 1941, New York City (aged 72)
- Title: 2nd World Chess Champion — the era before the modern FIDE grandmaster title existed
- World title: held 1894–1921, a record 27-year reign (the longest ever)
- Also: a doctorate in mathematics (University of Erlangen, 1902) and a friend of Albert Einstein
- Style: fighting, flexible, and psychologically astute — famous for his resilience and endgame skill
Who is Emanuel Lasker?
Born in Berlinchen in 1868, Lasker was the son of a Jewish cantor and, from early on, a formidable talent at both chess and mathematics. He earned a strong reputation in the 1890s with sharp, resourceful play, and in 1894 he challenged Wilhelm Steinitz — the game’s first official World Champion — and won the match to become the second champion in history. When Steinitz demanded a rematch in 1896–97, Lasker beat him even more convincingly.
What happened next is the part that still stuns people: he simply would not let go of the title. Lasker defended the crown against the strongest players of his generation — including Frank Marshall, Siegbert Tarrasch, Carl Schlechter, and Dawid Janowski — and dominated the elite tournament circuit for two decades. He finally lost the championship in 1921 to the Cuban genius José Raúl Capablanca, but even that didn’t end his story: he kept playing world-class chess for years, and famously won the great New York 1924 tournament ahead of both Capablanca and Alekhine.
Lasker’s later life was shaped by history’s darkest turn. As a Jewish man in Germany, he was forced to flee the Nazi regime in 1933, which confiscated his property. He lived for a time in England and the Soviet Union before settling in the United States, where he died in New York in 1941.
What was Lasker’s playing style?
Lasker is chess’s great pragmatist and fighter. His contemporaries were often baffled by him — they said he played “psychologically,” even that he chose objectively second-best moves just to unsettle a particular opponent. Modern analysis suggests something subtler: he was ahead of his time, playing flexible, practical chess that valued the fight over dogma. He was happy to defend a tough position, absorb pressure, and then strike back — and his endgame technique was superb.
We dig into the details, with examples, in Lasker’s playing style.
What openings did Emanuel Lasker play?
Lasker was an open-game specialist for much of his career. As White he leaned on 1.e4, steering games into the Ruy Lopez (the Spanish) — an opening he understood inside out. He also played classical lines like the King’s Gambit and the Italian Game (Giuoco Piano) that were popular in his era. As Black against 1.d4 he gave his name to a rock-solid system: the Lasker Defense in the Queen’s Gambit Declined.
See the full breakdown in Lasker’s openings.
Career highlights
- 1894: defeats Wilhelm Steinitz to become the 2nd World Chess Champion.
- 1896–97: wins the rematch against Steinitz even more convincingly, cementing his claim.
- 1895–96 to 1900: wins a string of great tournaments, including St. Petersburg 1895–96, Nuremberg 1896, London 1899, and Paris 1900.
- 1914: wins the elite St. Petersburg tournament ahead of rising stars Capablanca and Alekhine.
- 1921: loses the title to José Raúl Capablanca — after a record 27-year reign.
- 1924: wins the celebrated New York tournament, finishing ahead of Capablanca and Alekhine.
- 1935: finishes a remarkable third at Moscow at the age of 66.
The best games
Lasker’s masterpieces range from the dazzling double-bishop sacrifice against Bauer in 1889 to the ice-cold endgame squeeze he used to beat Capablanca at St. Petersburg 1914. We’ve gathered the highlights in Emanuel Lasker’s best games.
Fun facts
- He earned a doctorate in mathematics and is co-namesake of the Lasker–Noether theorem, a genuinely important result in modern algebra — a legacy entirely separate from chess.
- He was a close friend of Albert Einstein, who wrote the introduction to a biography of him.
- He was a serious philosopher and writer, and also excelled at other games, including bridge and Go.
- At 66 he was still strong enough to finish third at Moscow 1935 — decades after first winning the world title.
FAQ
Who was Emanuel Lasker? He was the second World Chess Champion (1894–1921), a German mathematician and philosopher who held the title longer than anyone in history.
How long was Lasker World Champion? A record 27 years, from 1894 to 1921 — the longest championship reign the game has ever seen.
Who did Lasker beat to become champion, and who beat him? He won the title from Wilhelm Steinitz in 1894 and lost it to José Raúl Capablanca in 1921.
Was Emanuel Lasker really a mathematician? Yes. He earned a doctorate in mathematics (University of Erlangen, 1902) and made a lasting contribution now known as the Lasker–Noether theorem.
What openings did Lasker play? Mostly 1.e4 as White (the Ruy Lopez, plus classical lines like the King’s Gambit and Italian Game), and he gave his name to the Lasker Defense in the Queen’s Gambit Declined.
Keep exploring
Go deeper into the legend: his best games · his playing style · his opening repertoire · his rating & career arc · fun facts · or browse all chess players.
Written and fact-checked by the Chess Lab Academy Editorial Team · Facts verified against Wikipedia, Chess.com, and the World Chess Hall of Fame, as of July 2026 · Last verified 2026-07-10 · How we verify content.