Emanuel Lasker vs. Jackson Whipps Showalter Match
USA, 1892
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
Lasker 1 0 1 0 ½ 1 1 1 1 ½ 7
Showalter 0 1 0 1 ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ 3
What's this match doing here? Surely Lasker, as a German citizen
couldn't have played for the US Title. Well, maybe not, though the
citizenship question wasn't really decided conclusively until the
dispute of 1909, it was
probably assumed by most people.
This match is listed here for informational purposes, since Lasker
himself claimed it as a US Title match. Lasker's Chess Magazine
began publication at about the same time as the US Title dispute of
1904, in which Max Judd claimed
that Showalter and Pillsbury had never been US Champions. Weighing in
on Pillsbury's behalf, the the magazine traced the history of the US
Title, from Morphy's victory in 1857, through all the various matches,
rematches, retirements, and un-retirements of the 1890's, up to the
"present day" (i.e. 1904. Okay, granted 1904 isn't the present day
any more, but in 1904 it was). In tracing the history, the magazine
argued that this match had been for the US Title, and that
Lasker had won the title and then relinquished it, just as Lipschuetz
and Hodges did.
Even if you don't buy that claim, it's worth seeing, just for the
fact that the Kentucky Lion was able to take 2 games off of a man
who became World Champion 2 years later.
See (nine of) the Games of the Match!
Download (nine of) the Games of the Match!
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