Emanuel Lasker was the second "official" World Chess Champion, reigning for a record 27 years after he defeated the first World Champion, Wilhelm Steinitz, in 1894. He was born in what was then Berlinchen in Preussia, now in Poland.

After he lost the title in 1921, Lasker was still in the top rank of players. His last tournament win was at New York 1924, finishing 1.5 points ahead of Jose Raul Capablanca, Alexander Alekhine, and Frank James Marshall. Lasker died in the Mount Sinai Hospital, New York in 1941, aged 72, and was buried in the Beth Olom Cemetery in Queens. (source : chessgames.com)

Dr. Lasker is one of those chess players with one foot in the old school and the other in the new. I leave it up to you to walk in his footsteps. The first diagram often is dedicated to Emanuel Lasker, but this is wrong. The chessplayer behind this famous Boden mate is Edward Lasker, a relative of Emanuel. Enjoy!