Lasker-Capablanca

In the spring of 1909 , the young Columbia University drop-out, José Raúl Capablanca, defeated the popular, soon-to-be U.S. Champion, Frank Marshall in match play (in fact this loss to Capablanca, who actually lived in the United States at the time, compounded the claims for the U.S. title). One might even say he devastated him. On the basis of this victory, some of Capablanca's supporters urged him to challenge Emanuel Lasker, the current World Champion, to a title match, but Capablanca demurred.
Just two years before Frank Marshall had been similarly demolished by Lasker. However, Capablanca's win over Marshall earned him a spot in the international tournament at San Sebastian, Spain. This was the strongest tournament since Nuremberg 1896 (according to Capablanca himself). The dark horse Cuban prodigy won this tournament in style, reminding everyone of Pillsbury at Hastings in 1895. Prior to the (Feb-March, 1911) tournament at San Sebastian, Capablanca's supporters had sent a feeler, via León D. Paredes, president of the Havana Club and a chess aficionado who had been playing the game before José Raúl was born, to see if Lasker would be amenable to a championship match with Capablanca in Havana with with victor the first one to win ten games. Lasker turned down the possibility citing the unsuitably warm climate of Cuba and the interminablitiy of match that would requite ten wins as his reasons. The victory at San Sebastian gave Capablanca the self-justification to challenge Lasker himself.

Emanuel Lasker 1907

On November 4, 1911 Lasker was giving a lecture at the Brooklyn Arts & Educational Institute called "The Meaning of Chess." During the intermission he was approached by a man who presented himself as Frederick D. Rosebault, representative of Jose R. Capablanca, and who handed him a letter address from Capablanca, postmarked Vienna (below, as per Isaak Linder). Rosebault was actually a buisness partner of Capablanca as well as his manager.

To Dr. Emanuel Lasker, New York
Dear Sir,
I herewith challenge you to a match with myself for the world championship of chess.
I await your rely, with your correspnding points of regulation and conditions.
                                                                   Sincerely yours,
                                                                   J-R. Capablanca
                                                                   Grand Hotel, Vienna.
                                                                   October 16, 1911.

Lasker responded a few days later vaguely but with the sense that he favored the match. Then, after another two week he tendered his 17 point set of conditions to Capablanca:

Capablanca, of course, was not thrilled and replied rather perfunctorily, listing which points he accepted and rejected. His main contentions were the 12 moves per hour time control, which he considered too slow, that Lasker would retain all rights to the games and that the challenger would need to win by a two-game margin. Lasker, in turn, reinterated and further explained his reasons for each unaccepted provision to which Capablanca responded somewhat less perfunctorily and with what Lasker termed as animosity. What Capablanca perceived as Lasker's way of avoiding a match, Lasker percieved as Capablanca's lack of respect and an attack on his honor.
Walter Penn Shipley was selected to act as arbitrator, but despite his effeorts the negotiations turned ever more sour and finally Lasker refused to negotiate while Capablanca protested in vain. The negotiations were public and both the chess media and secular newspapers covered them such as the below clipping from the Washington "Star".

   Lasker had imposed the similar condition of the challenger's need to win by a 2 game margin in his precious match with Carl Schlechter in 1910. Now, Lasker publically bemoaned the fact that these unlikely-to-be-resolved negotiations with Capablanca destroyed all chances of securing a match with Rubenstein - whose claim as a challenger actually exceeded that of Capablanca - any time soon.
     Akiba Rubinstein and Lasker met and came to an agreement on terms. The match was to be "eight games up, draws not counting; to be ended after the thirtieth game, if no decision has been reached by then; and winner to be he who holds the majority of points, unless the difference be one point, in which case the match is to be continued until one side wins a game, or for four games at the utmost, and the match to be drawn if these four games are drawn; the time limit to be twelve moves an hour; five play days per week, and play to proceed four hours in succession or in two sittings of two hours and a half each." Their only disagreement was the time Rubinstein didn't want to play in the evening hours and Lasker felt he owed that to the spectators, most of whom were free during the evening.
     As it turned out, Rubinstein wasn't able to secure adequate financing until right before the outbreak of WWI which ruined the opportunity.

   In July of 1913, following his rather undiplomatic negotiations with Lasker, Capablanca ironically took a position as a diplomat in the Foreign Service of Cuba. In 1914 Rubinstein, Capablanca and Lasker all participated in the famous St. Petersburg tournament. This tournament helped clarify things. Rubinstein, for whatever reason, had an extremely poor showing, not even making it into the finals. Young Alexander Alekhine to everyone's surprise came in third, putting him in the limelight as a serious contender. Lasker started the tournament lacklusterly but finished strong. Capablanca started brilliantly but slowed down towards the end, finishing second behind Lasker. Capablanca wrote, "I, half a point behind in second place, can affirm that it was not the superiority of my opponent that defeated me but the draining of my strength." At any rate, there was no longer any doubt in anyone's mind that Capablanca was the one true challenger for the chess crown and that a match between him and Lasker was inevitable.

Capablanca facing Lasker at St. Petersburg, 1914

Capablanca possibly learned a lesson in overconfidence, but it seems he also learned something about diplomacy. During the tournament banquet, Capablanca congratulated Lasker on his victory and retracted all the impertinent remarks he had made during and after their failed negotiations. He and Lasker shook hands and made up.

Then The War intervened.

Like many Europeans, Lasker and Rubistein were financially ruined by the war. Lasker stayed in Berlin with his wife, the former Martha Cohn (née Bamberger), trying to retain or salvage whatever he could. Capablanca didn't have such concerns and continued his chess exploits.