NOTE: Though both of these matches were specifically designated as not being for the World Title at the time they were played, the second of these matches is often referred to as a World Championship match in chess books. Since leaving it out would be confusing, we present it here, with this caveat.

1909 Exhibition Match A
Emanuel Lasker (Germany) vs. David Janowski (France)
Paris, France
May 12-21, 1909

Conditions:  Four games.

France 1 2 3 4 Score
Lasker 1 0 0 1 2
Janowski 0 1 1 0 2
Result:  Drawn Match.

  • Lasker's next potential challenger was David Janowski, whose patron, the famous French artist M. Nardus put forth a generous stake. First up was a 4-game mini-match to test Janowski's suitability as a challenger.

  • With a drawn match, each player received 1,250 Francs.

  • With the drawn result, M. Nardus was convinced to put up the money for a longer match later in the year.

    See the Games of the Match!

    
    1909 Exhibition Match B
    Emanuel Lasker (Germany) vs. David Janowski (France)
    Paris, France
    October 19 - November 9, 1909
    
    Conditions:  Unclear.  Either 10 Games regardless of score, or first to win 7 games.
    
    
    
    
    France 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Score
    Lasker ½ 1 1 1 1 0 1 ½ 1 1 7 (w/2 draws)
    Janowski ½ 0 0 0 0 1 0 ½ 0 0 1 (w/2 draws)
    Result:  Emanuel Lasker wins.

  • Since Lasker was already committed to playing a title defense against Karl Schlecter next year, he was unable to put the title on the line in this match. Nevertheless, a longer match was played. Despite its result, M. Nardus put up the money for a full-fledged World Championship between Lasker and Janowski the next year. How do you say "There's a sucker born every minute" in French?

  • Janowski was of Polish extraction, but had emigrated to France by the time of these matches.

  • Match Breakdown
     #    White - Black      Locale  Date        ECO  Result
     1    Lasker - Janowski  Paris   10-19-1909  C87  ½-½
     2    Janowski - Lasker  Paris   10-21-1909  C49  0-1 
     3    Lasker - Janowski  Paris   10-22-1909  C68  1-0 
     4    Janowski - Lasker  Paris   10-25-1909  C49  0-1 
     5    Lasker - Janowski  Paris   10-27-1909  C68  1-0 
     6    Janowski - Lasker  Paris   10-30-1909  C66  1-0 
     7    Lasker - Janowski  Paris   11-02-1909  C87  1-0 
     8    Janowski - Lasker  Paris   11-05-1909  C66  ½-½
     9    Lasker - Janowski  Paris   11-06-1909  C87  1-0 
    10    Janowski - Lasker  Paris   11-09-1909  B34  0-1 
    

    See the Games of the Match!


    Return to the Chesschamps Main Page
    Return to the World Championship Main Page