MARK RUBERY CHESS

Chess historian Leonard Reitstein notes that Lasker was due to tour South Africa for two months in 1909, but the then World Champion withdrew from his commitment via a short telegram: ‘Lasker comes not’. The 2nd world champion was to be in South Africa for eight weeks, three of which he was to spend in Johannesburg. The program was to be taken up with simultaneous performances, consultation games and single games against leading players. He had advised the Johannesburg Chess Club on the subjects he was going to lecture on. These subjects were (1) Chess and life, (2) The beautiful in chess and its impression on sentiment, (3) The significance for the non-chess player of Morphy and Steinitz, (4) The usefulness of chess as entertainer and educator and (5) The recent championship match against Tarrasch.

The surprise and disappointment at Lasker’s eleventh-hour refusal was quite devastating for the organisers and the expectant chess public. Lasker was not just champion of the world but this and his other intellectual achievements led him to be held in awe by player and non-player alike. Lasker later wrote to explain to one of the country’s top players, Bruno Siegheim that he was only able to give five weeks to stay in this country as opposed to the eight weeks of the intended programme. Siegheim responded in his chess column that this explanation was rather unconvincing as in a prior letter Lasker had stated “Leave plenty of time for travel and rest and do not crowd too much in one day. An extra week or two will not matter”

Capablanca was proposed as a late replacement but alas nothing came of this.

The first World Champion to visit this country was Max Euwe in 1955 and later in 1975 followed by Karpov in 1993.

WHITE TO PLAY AND WIN

The m… o3 st5 ie ntQ e! ll7 iga eR n3 t i8 ne spK e+ c7 tf ioR n2 o7 f aK ny+ number of fine paintings will not make the observer a painter, nor will listening to a number of operas make the hearer a musician, but good judges of music and painting may so be formed. Chess differs from these. The intelligent perusal of fine games cannot fail to make the reader a better player and a better judge of the play of others. – Emanuel Lasker