Saturday, March 1

World Champion on tour: Dr. Lasker in Hamburg

On the 27th of February the World Champion, Dr. Lasker, visited Hamburg for an exhibition of simultaneous play at the Hotel Esplanade. The Champion found 29 opponents ranged against him, and after a session of five hours' duration had completed 20 games, at which points the remaining contests were decided by adjudication. Overall, the Doctor made the fine score of 21 wins and 6 draws, as against only two defeats, an excellent result in view of the strength of the opposition, which included four participants from the recently concluded Hamburg Chess Club Championship tournament.

During his stay Dr. Lasker offered some remarks on current events in the world of chess, and in particular noted the great strides made by Russian players in recent years, as evidenced by the level of play at the All-Russian tourney in St. Petersburg. The Champion also discussed the differences between the positional and combinational schools of chess, noting that in our day Masters rarely fall exclusively into one camp or the other, but rather seek to combine both styles into a single harmonious whole.

The large number of spectators present attests to the high regard in which our noble game is held in Hamburg, and we understand that there is a strong likelihood the city will host at least two games of the proposed Lasker-Rubinstein World Championship match later this year, assuming that much-anticipated event does indeed come to pass.

We present below one game from the exhibition, a defeat of the Champion by Herr Wilhelm Schönmann, who recently took joint second place in the Hamburg club tourney.

No comments: