The older brother of Emanuel Lasker, to whom he taught the game, professionally Berthold was a doctor of medicine.
In the late 1880s and early 1890s he was among the leading players in Berlin and he had several good tournament results during that time. Tarrasch called him a "very genius player, whose strength rarely accorded due value in a tournament because of his nervousness.“
While practicing as a physician in Elberfeld in western Germany he met and in 1894 married the poet and playwright Else Lasker-Schuler and moved to Berlin where he set up a practice as a specialist for skin diseases
The relationship with his wife was unhappy, but in 1899, Else gave birth to a son, Paul, who became a well known German artist. He died of tuberculosis at the age of 28 on December 14, 1927.
The Laskers were divorced on April 11, 1903. Else accused Berthold of violence. She also denied that Berthold was Paul's father, a claim the court found credible. Soon after the divorce, on November 30, 1903, Else married Georg Lewin, the founder and original editor of the German Expressionist magazine Der Sturm which showcased the works of prominent expressionist artist. The Lewin /Lasker marriage ended, 1912.
At the beginning of the century Berthold went to the US and opened an office in New York City. There was an article in the August 3, 1902 edition of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle which stated that Lasker was about to leave the US and return to Germany. His return came as a surprise because Lasker had become a fixture in NY chess circles.
He had passed all state medical exams and established a practice specializing in skin diseases, but felt it necessary to abandon the practice because he had caught malaria and it had left him in poor health and he believed a better climate in Germany would he helpful. As a highly esteemed member of the Manhattan CC, the article stated the the genial doctor would be missed.
Is there that much difference between the climates on NYC and Berlin? It would seem so. NYC has cool, wet winters and hot, humid summers with plentiful rainfall all year round...apparently a good breeding ground for malaria. In Berlin, the summers are comfortable and partly cloudy and the winters are long, very cold, snowy, windy, and mostly cloudy.
During his short stay in the United States he won the New York State Chess Association championship in 1902.
After returning to Germany he lived in Berlin permanently. While living there he played in local tournaments.
In 1925, together with Emanuel, he wrote Days of Mankind, a drama containing deep philosophical symbolism. Lasker died in 1928 only a few months after the death of his second wife, Regina.
It's hard to say exactly how strong Berthold was, but Chessmetrics estimates that between 1888 and 1894 his rating was around 2650. By comparison, when the following game was played in 1902 his opponent had a rating estimated to be in the low 2500s. I was unable to ascertain any details on the "Handicap" tournament at the Manhattan CC, but evidently Delmar received some kind of handicap.
Eugene Delmar–Berthold Lasker0–1D00Manhattan CC Handicap New York1902Stockfish 15.1
Stonewall Attack 1.d4 d5 2.e3 f6 3.d3 c5 4.c3 e6 5.f4 Some authors
have claimed that the Stonewall is a system in which white can play this
attacking P-formation regardless of how black chooses to defend against it.
That's hype designed to sell books. GM Andy Soltis, who himself wrote a book
on the Stonewall, right at the beginning cautioned that white must know the
features of the Stonewall so he can adapt his play according to his opponent's
plans. The Stonewall is NOT a system opening where you can play the same moves
no matter what black plays. In fact, such openings do not really exist. As in
all openings white has to be flexible in the choice of his opening moves and
that means he must put some effort into studying. c6 6.f3 e7 I think
that when facing the Stonewall black can really flummox his opponent by
playing ...g6 and ...Bg7 7.0-0 0-0 8.e5 d7 8...e4 9.xe4 dxe4 10.d2 f5 only results in equality. Tsoi,D (2392)-Diakonova,E (2225) Moscow 2019 9.d2 c8 10.df3 The point of his last move was to hinder ...Ne4 so this is
wrong. 10.f3 A typical Stonewall maneuver. c7 11.h3 cxd4 Bad...real
bad. 11...g6 was a must! 12.xh7+ h8 13.exd4 g6 14.xg6+ White
eventually won. Warlick,J (2205)-Volpinari,D Novi Sad 1990 10...e8 11.h1 e4 12.xe4 A poor choice. 12.dxc5 xe5 13.xe5 f5 14.b4 leaves white
well off. 12...dxe4 13.d2 f6 13...f5 was better. 14.dc4 b5 15.xc6 xc6 16.e5 f6 and black's position has the most potential. 14.g4
This is an awkward square for the N. 14.xd7 is the one way to stay ahead. xd7 15.xe4 and white is doing well. 14...f5 15.e5 xe5 16.fxe5
Neither side has any real prospects on the K-side so black now begins
operations on the Q-side. c7 17.e2 a6 18.a4 c6 Also quite good was 18...b5 19.b3 b5 20.axb5 axb5 21.b2 d7 22.ad1 This is too passive. Mixing things up with 22.c4 would have been better. c4 22...cxd4 23.cxd4 d5 24.c1 ec8 and white is under considerable pressure.
23.bxc4 bxc4 24.a1 a8 This prevents Ba3 and white eliminates his
miserable bad B. 25.xc4 xa1 26.xa1 The last several moves have resulted
in white getting very close to equality, but in subsequent play Lasker manages
to drum up some play on the K-side. f4 Opening up the position. 27.f1 27.e2 is the only move. f3 28.f1 g5 29.f2 and white is
hanging on. 27...b5 27...f3 was considerably stronger. 28.b3 d5 29.c2 g5 and white is in difficulty. 28.a8+ Even though the R is needed
to try and help defend against black's attack and 28.Qb3 was his best try,
this move is not without a point! f7 29.b3 xf1 30.d1 White's clever
point now reveals itself...the B cannot retreat to safety. xg2+ This gums
up white's plan! 30...d3 31.h5+ g6 32.xh7# Clever! 31.xg2
Mate with Qh5+.is still a threat. f3+ Not any more! 32.h1 Natural, but
ot loses instantly. The precarious looking 32.Kg6 was not much better though. 32.g3 g5 33.e1 d5 34.b8 c4 White is running out of playable moves. 35.a3 a2 36.f8+ g6 The threat is ...Qg2# 37.f1 xa3 32...b5 33.a2 e2 White resigned as his position is quite hopeless. 33...e2 34.xe2 34.g1 f2 is unanswerable. 34...fxe2 35.a1 h4 followed by 36...e1=Q 0–1
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