World Championship 1908: Lasker – Tarrasch

Siegbert Tarrasch, the great teacher of classical chess, had spent years declining to play for the title — which made his one and only championship bid, against a rival he disliked, all the more anticipated. Lasker won it decisively, and the Praeceptor Germaniae never got another chance.

◇Two Germans, no love lost

For years Tarrasch was rated among the very strongest players alive, yet he had never challenged Steinitz, so it was a surprise when he finally played Lasker — a man he was famously not on good terms with. He earned the match by winning the Ostend 1907 tournament by half a point; the two agreed a first-to-eight-wins contest across Düsseldorf and Munich.

The clash was billed as dogma against pragmatism: Tarrasch's crisp classical principles against Lasker's flexible, fighting practicality.

◇Practice beats principle

Lasker took charge early, winning the first two games, and was never seriously threatened, closing out the match 10½–5½. Game 14 stretched to 119 moves — the longest game in World Championship history until the marathon fifth game of the 1978 match.

Tarrasch, past his peak, blamed his form on a lack of practice and even the maritime climate of Düsseldorf. Lasker would defend the title twice more; Tarrasch never again played for it.