Chess: A Knight’s Tour: March 1
March 1, 2009
Sun-Sentinel.com – Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA
Bill Cornwall
One Of A Kind: Having possessed the title of World Champion for an incontestable record 27 years, Emanuel Lasker has good reason to be considered a candidate for the best player in history. One high point during his career occurred when he was in his mid-50s and no longer champion. He dominated the 1924 New York International Tournament. He outpaced World Champion Jose Capablanca and future champion Alexander Alekhine. This column’s game shows him counterattacking against the ggressive Alekhine.
School Champs: More than 700 kids competed in the Florida Scholastic Chess Championship in Miami last month. The following individuals got first place trophies for the open sections: Noam Rothman (kindergarten through first grade), James Barrick (K-3), Alejandro Rodriguez (K-5), Luciano Aguilar (K-8), Karel Gonzalez (K-12). The first-place teams were: Oak Hall School (K-1, K-3, & K-5), Highland Oaks Middle (K-8), and Mater Academy (K-12). Visit www.floridachess.org.
Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com
“Having possessed the title of World Champion for an incontestable record 27 years, Emanuel Lasker has good reason to be considered a candidate for the best player in history.”
He only defended his title 6 times, and in 1910 was a half point shy of losing it to Schlechter. And yet he’s being considered by some as the best player in history?
Well, his reign has it flaws and was probably extended for a few years longer than it normally should, but he was one of the most dominant players in history. And his dominance was spread over decades! It was not until 1936 that Capablanca finished a tournament ahead of Lasker. No wonder that Capablanca considered him as the most dangerous opponent in any single game.