The Other Lasker

 

     No, not Edward, but Berthold, Dr. Bethold Lasker He was born December 31, 1860 and died at the age of 67 on October 19, 1928. He was the son of a Jewish cantor and grandson of a well regarded Rabbi. 

     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. 

[Event "Manhattan CC Handicap New York"] [Site ""] [Date "1902.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Eugene Delmar"] [Black "Berthold Lasker"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D00"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15.1"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventDate "1902.??.??"] {Stonewall Attack} 1. d4 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. Bd3 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.} Nc6 6. Nf3 Be7 {I think that when facing the Stonewall black can really flummox his opponent by playing ...g6 and ...Bg7} 7. O-O O-O 8. Ne5 Bd7 (8... Ne4 9. Bxe4 dxe4 10. Nd2 f5 {only results in equality. Tsoi,D (2392)-Diakonova,E (2225) Moscow 2019}) 9. Nd2 Rc8 10. Ndf3 {The point of his last move was to hinder ...Ne4 so this is wrong.} (10. Rf3 {A typical Stonewall maneuver.} Qc7 11. Rh3 cxd4 {Bad...real bad. 11...g6 was a must!} 12. Bxh7+ Kh8 13. exd4 g6 14. Bxg6+ {White eventually won. Warlick,J (2205)-Volpinari,D Novi Sad 1990}) 10... Re8 11. Kh1 Ne4 12. Bxe4 {A poor choice.} (12. dxc5 Nxe5 13. Nxe5 f5 14. b4 {leaves white well off.}) 12... dxe4 13. Nd2 f6 (13... f5 {was better.} 14. Ndc4 b5 15. Nxc6 Bxc6 16. Ne5 Bf6 {and black's position has the most potential.}) 14. Ng4 { This is an awkward square for the N.} (14. Nxd7 {is the one way to stay ahead.} Qxd7 15. Nxe4 {and white is doing well.}) 14... f5 15. Ne5 Nxe5 16. fxe5 { Neither side has any real prospects on the K-side so black now begins operations on the Q-side.} Rc7 17. Qe2 a6 {[%cal Ba7a6,Ba6b5][%mdl 32]} 18. a4 Bc6 {Also quite good was 18...b5} 19. b3 b5 20. axb5 axb5 21. Bb2 Qd7 22. Rad1 {This is too passive. Mixing things up with 22.c4 would have been better.} c4 ( 22... cxd4 23. cxd4 Bd5 24. Rc1 Rec8 {and white is under considerable pressure. }) 23. bxc4 bxc4 24. Ra1 Ra8 {This prevents Ba3 and white eliminates his miserable bad B.} 25. Qxc4 Rxa1 26. Rxa1 {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 {[%mdl 32] Opening up the position.} 27. Nf1 (27. Qe2 {is the only move.} f3 28. Qf1 Bg5 29. Qf2 {and white is hanging on.}) 27... Bb5 (27... f3 {was considerably stronger.} 28. Qb3 Bd5 29. Qc2 Bg5 {and white is in difficulty.}) 28. Ra8+ {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!} Kf7 29. Qb3 Bxf1 30. Qd1 {White's clever point now reveals itself...the B cannot retreat to safety.} Bxg2+ {This gums up white's plan!} (30... Bd3 31. Qh5+ g6 32. Qxh7# {Clever!}) 31. Kxg2 { Mate with Qh5+.is still a threat.} f3+ {Not any more!} 32. Kh1 {Natural, but ot loses instantly. The precarious looking 32.Kg6 was not much better though.} (32. Kg3 Bg5 33. Qe1 Qd5 34. Rb8 Qc4 {White is running out of playable moves.} 35. Ba3 Qa2 36. Rf8+ Kg6 {The threat is ...Qg2#} 37. Qf1 Qxa3) 32... Qb5 33. Ra2 Qe2 {White resigned as his position is quite hopeless.} (33... Qe2 34. Qxe2 (34. Qg1 f2 {is unanswerable.}) 34... fxe2 35. Ra1 Bh4 {followed by 36...e1=Q}) 0-1