Pillsbury must have disagreed with the conditions, and if he did, why issue a formal challenge that he knew would be rejected anyway?

At any rate, if Lasker had gone on to play Pillsbury, Maroczy, and Rubinstein, IMO he would have won two and lost one WC match. Let us suppose that Lasker's chances of winning against each one of them was an optimistic 75%.

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Pillsbury may have missed his chance because first Lasker had granted Steinitz a return match and then Lasker took time off from chess to get his Ph.D. By the time Lasker returned to active play, Pillsbury may have had to contend with other strong players for the right, as well as his own illness.

Those who wanted to play for the WC had no problem conducting negotiations - or their frustrations with them - in the press. Pillsbury had enough friends in the chess world - including Lasker(!) - that I doubt that the conditions would have been draconian, or Pillsbury would have been silent had they been.

Regarding the matches: Lasker dominated Maroczy and probably would have beaten him as easily as he did Janowsky. Rubinstein was a serious challenge to Lasker for a two or three year period - 1909-1912. By 1912 Capablanca was on the rise and Lasker had taken the measure of Rubinstein. Even during that period Lasker probably would have won a match; he excelled at them.

<Hiss> contributions to mathematics are also considered notable. Lasker published several influential papers in the area of abstract algebra,...

i don't think the word "hiss" is applicable in the paragraph

<
intransitive verb
: to make a sharp sibilant sound (the crowd hissed in disapproval) (hissing steam) transitive verb

1 : to express disapproval of by hissing (hissed the performers off the stage)

2 : to utter or whisper angrily or threateningly and with a hiss — hiss noun http://mw4.merriam-webster.com/dict... >

The following information doesn't directly address your question, but it does give some tantalizing hint that Pillsbury was approached (by whom I wonder) to play a Match with Lasker as early as 1895:

<New York Daily Tribune on September 22, 1895:>

(quoting a letter Pillsbury sent)

<Pillsbury>: "I have been approached with regard to a chess match with Lasker for the championship, and have stated that I would say nothing till I could see my American friends. Such a match must of necessity be played in England, and the Hastings Chess Club has already requested first consideration for its financial arrangement for at least half of the games. In case the arrangements are concluded the match would hardly be commenced before March 1, 1896, and therefore I give it to you simply as news, as I shall do nothing definite about it till I see you."

Thanks so much for that. Where on earth did you find this great photo? I've never seen it before and I've been hunting Lasker photos for months now.

<jessicafischerqueen>, Thanks for the compliment. I can't remember where I got it. I was searching for something else, and started following a few links.

Thanks! I saved them both with your name attached so I'll remember where I got them from.

I already had the third one.

< The losing side has the greater part of his army in positions where they had no bearing whatever upon the questions at issue. They might have been just as well anywhere else but on the board. >

-- Em. Lasker

-- Em. Lasker

" The delight in gambits is a sign of chess youth... In very much the same way as the young man, on reaching his manhood years, lays aside the Indian stories and stories of adventure, and turns to the psychological novel. "

-- Em. Lasker

<Emanuel Lasker>