ORIGINAL: Lasker - Steinitz World Championship Rematch (1896)

DRAFT EDIT in progress:<crawfb5>

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EDIT <Karpova>

This time line tool is very useful: http://www.chessarch.com/excavation...

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EDIT <Karpova>

Steinitz interview

<C.N. 8290 has a summary of a Steinitz interview from 1899 which may be of interest for the Steinitz - Lasker matches>

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EDIT <OhioChessFan>

<<Come November, the two great rivals met in Moscow.>

"Come November" strikes me as far too colloquial.

Four weeks later, Steinitz's mind went, and he was sent to a psychiatric clinic. He was soon found to be hopelessly mad. 1

There's got to be a better term than "mind went".>

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EDIT <Karpova>

<See http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/... for the match conditions according to page 468 of the December 1896 'BCM': <it will be decided by ten won games, draws not being counted. The time-limit is 15 moves an hour. A purse of �200 will be presented by the Moscow Club to the winner, and �100 to the loser.>

Isn't it incredible that the biggest part of the original history page deals with Nuremberg (1896) instead of the WC match itself?>

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In January of 1896 Emanuel Lasker won the very strong St. Petersburg Tournament ahead of Steinitz, Pillsbury, and Chigorin by an impressive two point margin. Wilhelm Steinitz achieved second place, and this admirable finish was enough to encourage the persistent veteran to challenge Lasker one more time. Lasker accepted, and they agreed to meet in Moscow in November of 1896.

However, before that match could take place, there was one more very strong tournament to get through: the Nuremberg Tournament in the summer. In addition to Lasker and Steinitz, the line-up included Tarrasch, Pillsbury, Chigorin, Blackburne and a rising star from Vienna named Carl Schlechter. In August of 1896, after 18 intense rounds of chess, Lasker took the top honors at Nuremberg with a score +12 -3 =3, one of the crowning achievements of his career. Steinitz's sixth place with a score of +10 -6 =2 was a disappointment, and did not bode well for his chances in the upcoming Moscow match.

Come November, the two great rivals met in Moscow. Steinitz lost the very first game with the White pieces. Lasker won the second game, which some regard as the best game of the match. More wins for Lasker followed, one after another, and after only 17 games, Lasker retained his title with the tremendous score of 10 to 2 (and 5 draws).

Four weeks later, Steinitz's mind went, and he was sent to a psychiatric clinic. He was soon found to be hopelessly mad. 1]]

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1Harold Ribalow and Meir Ribalow http://www.jewsinsports.org/Publica...