Ronen Greatest Hits : Emanuel Lasker (3 part series)

Emanuel Lasker

Opening: C15, D35, C86, D11: French, Queen's Gambit Declined, Ruy Lopez, Queen's Gambit Declined Slav

Player(s): Lasker, Capablanca, Alekine, Horatio

Emanuel Lasker, World Champion for 27 years (1894-1921) was not your typical chess player, who usually is a mono-maniac totally absorbed - when not obsessed - by the game. Lasker had a lot of different interests, which made him one of the most fascinating personalities of his era. Albert Einstein, a good friend of his, wrote about the great chess player: 'Emanuel Lasker was undoubtedly one of the most interesting people I came to know in my later years. We must be thankful to those who have penned the story of his life for this and succeeding generations. For there are few men who have had a warm interest in all the great human problems and at the same time kept their personality so uniquely independent.' Emanuel Lasker brought into chess a fundamental new concept, which in a way was not understood by his contemporaries: psychology. The psychological approach to your opponent, which can lead you to play not the absolutely best move, but rather the best move in that precise occasion. Today this is universally accepted, and we see very good games played in this spirit, but back then, the mathematician and philosopher chess World Champion was well ahead of his time, and his way to tackle the game was not always well taken. Even Fischer, in the '60's, said that Lasker was not a chess genius, but a coffiehouse player. Today we know how strong and interesting Lasker was, and the importance of his legacy. With this mini-series, Ronen introduces us to one of the most important and charismatic champions ever.