London 1899

◇A field for the champion

London 1899 was conceived as a gathering of the world's best. Fifteen masters were invited to a double round-robin — Lasker, Pillsbury, Janowski, Maróczy, Schlechter, Chigorin, Blackburne, Steinitz, Showalter and others — although Siegbert Tarrasch and Rudolf Charousek declined and Amos Burn withdrew on the opening day. Play ran from 30 May to 10 July, with £1,020 in prizes on offer and £250 and a gold medal for the winner.

One participant did not finish: Richard Teichmann withdrew after the fourth round with an eye infection, and his remaining first-cycle games were scored as forfeits.

◇A procession

Lasker was untouchable. His only defeat in the entire event came against Joseph Blackburne early on; from there he simply pulled away, finishing on 22½ points — four and a half clear of the three players who tied for second, Dawid Janowski, Géza Maróczy and Harry Pillsbury, each on 18. Carl Schlechter took fifth, and Blackburne, Lasker's lone conqueror, sixth.

Wilhelm Steinitz, the first World Champion, finished out of the prizes for the first time in his career. He died in poverty the following year.

◇Dominance and its measure

London 1899 is remembered as one of the great winning margins in tournament history — a champion beating the strongest field of his generation by four and a half points while losing only once. The concurrent minor tournament was won by a young American, Frank Marshall, whose success there helped launch a career that would carry him into the world's elite within a few years.