Lasker vs. Capablanca | World Championship 1921 - GM Yasser Seirawan

Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan goes way back to the end of the longest reign in world championship history: Emanuel Lasker vs. José Raul Capablanca. The match was delayed for years due to The Great War and failed negotiations. Yasser covers the pivotal Game 5.

2015.12.03
Jose Raul Capablanca vs Emanuel Lasker, Lasker - Capablanca World Championship Match (1921): D63 Queen's Gambit Declined, Orthodox defence, 7.Rc1

[theoneandonlysmack]

Yasser is a wonderful lecturer. Such a gent.

[sdavis]

Dear GM Yasser, you are such an inspiration and a joy to watch. Thanks for your contributions!

[arnieus]

I give Yasser a 2900 rating for commentary.

[jasondoe]

Incredible lecture and very instructive analysis by GM Seirawan! Thanks!

[preussenuberalles]

You are such a great teacher, Mr. Seirawan.
Thanks for your explanations.

[rogercarl]

One of the things I like in chess lectures is when someone, like what Yasser does here, goes against the prevailing attitude. Lasker was not as bad, nor was this game as one sided, as generally people say especially based upon the result. Details and subtlety matter and gives a nuance as to why this is a great game.

[AlabamaChess]

Yasser's presentation is exceptionally instructive and really does a magnificent job exploring this classic game. Lasker's tactical play was quite resourceful in this game but not enough for Capablanca's precision.

[vincentvanpoeke]

I always thoroughly enjoy the instructive analysis GM Seirawan provides us with! :) Great job!

[GeometricStalemate]

Thank you Yasser, excellent lecture. Might now consider playing the Lasker Defence! Though today there's all those Catalans to deal with... 😅

[hoijarvi]

That was fantastic. I've seen the game, but never in this depth.

[gonzalojaner]

I missed Yasser's voice since the london chess classic ended. perfectly timed video! thabks for another amazing lecture!

[snowhusk]

12 is quite late? as a 22-year old guy who started playing chess last year i shed some manly tears, lamenting my lost potential :c

[harabas]

i subscribed at Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis because of Yasser!!!

[bigbrother]

Yippee, you're panning the cam to follow him at last! Now these are just perfect, blows every other chess tutorial on yt out of the water. Keep 'em coming!

Btw after the London Chess live coverage, seeing a video with Yasser < 10 hours seems strangely short :-)

[vegardhvidsten]

Wow, really great to see the old giants fight eachother. Very nice lecture by a very nice guy :-)

[annakh]

In 24:22 why doesn't black capture the pawn on f2 with check and only then recapture the rock?

[AG-ldrv]

Thanks GM Yasser, 10x US World Champ.

[quagapp]

Very good. Lasker actually tried to resign as World Champion (and give the title to Capablanca) before the match as he, from memory, wasn't too well. He certainly needed the win. But it is good as Seirawan did to be critical of these "great" games. No GM then or now is infallible. Capablanca was not only a "simplifier" though, that's a bit unfair. I think he realised himself things were easy after Qa4. So in a sense he also adopted the right strategy...as Carlsen does today if necessary. But I found similar things analysing games by Alekhine with an engine and his wins were not always that convincing esp. in I think it was the first game against Bogoljubov. And his win over Capablanca was not a push over as there were many complex games as there were in the drawn match Schlecter-Lasker. The draws were not dull at all. Schlecter equalised but the rules meant he lost the match. But the principle of fighting back is well illustrated here as well as the point of being reasonably skeptical of commentators. And knowing how to "read" computer evaluations.

[atvisualization]

I hope they'll post a video of key games from the London chess classic with their analysis. It's hard to watch a single game from the tournament. Or use the games in their lecture.

[carlosfcruz-rrhp]

Excellent commentary .i agree with everything he said.l believe lasker at this point had been champion for a long time and the world was ready for a new blood.