World Chess Championship 1921

Opponents of the 1921 World Chess Championship

Portraits
	Emanuel Lasker	José Raúl Capablanca
nation
status	Defending champion	challenger
Age	52 years	32 years

The 1921 world chess championship was a duel between the reigning world chess champion Emanuel Lasker and his challenger José Raúl Capablanca . Capablanca won and became the third world champion in chess history.

prehistory

The Cuban Capablanca had earned a reputation as an almost invincible "chess machine". When he won the tournament in San Sebastián in 1911 that was to decide the challenger for Lasker, he asked Lasker for a title fight. However, Lasker demanded a clause stating that Capablanca would have to win by 2 points in order to become world champion, which he rejected outraged. On August 12, 1920, an agreement was finally reached through the mediation of the Dutch Chess Association in The Hague .

Organization and rules

The game was played in Havana . The match was limited to 24 games: the winner should be the player who was the first to achieve 12½ points or 8 games won. What would have happened in the event of a tie was not specified in the game contract. The reflection time was one hour for every 15 moves. With five game days a week, there were up to two meetings a day, but never several games on one day. The first session lasted four hours and the second two hours, with at least three free hours in between. The right of disposal over the games was set on both players.

Controversy over Lasker's abdication in 1920

Lasker put down his world title in 1920 in favor of Capablanca, which was written into the game contract. However, it is controversial whether Lasker was even allowed to resign the title in Capablanca's favor and after the news became known, this surrender of the title was not accepted by the chess public. For example, the German chess newspaper only saw Capablanca as world champion after the title fight. In the edition from August to September 1920 it was said in a footnote to Lasker's abdication: "A view against which the entire chess world rebels." want.

course

The match began on March 15, 1921 at Havana's Gran Casino de la Playa . Lasker failed to get along with Capablanca's style. In addition, the tropical climate bothered him. When he was behind with 10 draws after 14 games with 4 defeats and Capablanca rejected his request to continue in a milder climate, he gave up. It was the first and only time that a World Cup was ended prematurely by giving up.

World Chess Championship 1921

	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	Victories	Points
Lasker	½	½	½	½	0	½	½	½	½	0	0	½	½	0	0	5
Capablanca	½	½	½	½	1	½	½	½	½	1	1	½	½	1	4th	9

literature

• Raymund Stolze : Contested Crown - The duels of the world chess champions from Steinitz to Kasparow . Sportverlag, Berlin 1992, ISBN 3-328-00526-9 .

Web links

• Tournament report and games at chessgames.com (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Edward Winter: How Capablanca Became World Champion
2. ↑ Deutsche Schachzeitung: The Capablanka-Lasker competition , at: Vermischtes . Deutsche Schachzeitung , August - September 1920. pp. 199 & 200