World Chess Championship 1921
Capablanca takes the title from Lasker without losing a game — ending the longest reign in championship history at 27 years.
- Year
- 1921
- Format
- First to 8 wins (Lasker resigned after Game 14)
- Venue
- Union Club, Havana
- Cycle
- classical
Emanuel Lasker had been world champion since 1894 — twenty-seven years, the longest reign in the championship’s history before or since. By 1921 he was 52 years old; José Raúl Capablanca, the Cuban grandmaster who had been recognised as the strongest challenger for nearly a decade, was 32. The match was held in Havana, Capablanca’s home city, in March–April 1921.
The Match
Capablanca won four games, drew ten, and lost none. Lasker resigned the match after the fourteenth game on grounds of poor health — by that point Capablanca had a 9–5 lead with the match in obvious decline. The score was the most one-sided championship loss ever inflicted on a defending champion until Carlsen–Anand 2013 nine decades later.
The Legacy
Capablanca’s victory marked the end of the classical era’s last great champion and the beginning of the modern style — endgame technique, accurate piece play, and the avoidance of speculative complications. Capablanca held the title for six years before losing it to Alekhine in 1927.