Lasker – Tarrasch World Championship Match 1908

dates: 17 August–30 September 1908
location: Düsseldorf and Munich, Germany
score: 10½–5½ (Lasker–Tarrasch)
winner: Emanuel Lasker

Emanuel Lasker in a German Federal Archives portrait dated 19 March 1929. This later portrait is not from the match. Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 102-00457 / Unknown photographer.

Siegbert Tarrasch challenged Lasker after winning the 1907 Ostend tournament. Their long-standing rivalry finally became a World Championship match in Düsseldorf and Munich. Victory required eight wins.

Lasker established an early lead and retained the title by eight wins to three, with five draws. Game 14 lasted 119 moves and stands apart from the shorter encounters in this collection. The full points total was 10½–5½.

All 16 played games appear below in match order. The game records preserve the archive’s player names, round numbers and dates, including unknown date components. Select either player in the embedded trainer to work through the decisions from that side. A drawn game remains a complete exercise for both players.

Emanuel Lasker's Profile

Match results

Lasker – Tarrasch World Championship Match 1908 final standings and game-by-game scores
Player	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7	Game 8	Game 9	Game 10	Game 11	Game 12	Game 13	Game 14	Game 15	Game 16	Points
Emanuel Lasker	1	1	0	1	1	½	1	½	½	0	1	0	1	½	½	1	10½
Siegbert Tarrasch	0	0	1	0	0	½	0	½	½	1	0	1	0	½	½	0	5½

Each game column shows the score earned by that player. 1 = win, ½ = draw, 0 = loss. Points are out of 16.

Completed 0 / 16

Game 1: Game 1: Lasker wins in 55 moves

The opening moves were 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 (ECO C68). Emanuel Lasker won with White after 55 moves. The recorded continuation ends with 55.Kb5. The running points score became 1–0 (Lasker–Tarrasch).

Game	Event	Year	Moves	Played	Current move	Score	Correct	Accuracy	Action
Emanuel Lasker – Siegbert Tarrasch 1-0	World Championship 8th	1908	55	No	—	—	—	—	Start

Game 2: Game 2: Lasker wins in 41 moves

The opening moves were 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O d6 (ECO C66). Emanuel Lasker won with Black after 41 moves. The recorded continuation ends with 41...Bg5. The running points score became 2–0 (Lasker–Tarrasch).

Game	Event	Year	Moves	Played	Current move	Score	Correct	Accuracy	Action
Siegbert Tarrasch – Emanuel Lasker 0-1	World Championship 8th	1908	41	No	—	—	—	—	Start

Game 3: Game 3: Tarrasch wins in 44 moves

The opening moves were 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 (ECO C98). Siegbert Tarrasch won with Black after 44 moves. The recorded continuation ends with 44...Nf7+. The running points score became 2–1 (Lasker–Tarrasch).

Game	Event	Year	Moves	Played	Current move	Score	Correct	Accuracy	Action
Emanuel Lasker – Siegbert Tarrasch 0-1	World Championship 8th	1908	44	No	—	—	—	—	Start

Game 4: Game 4: Lasker wins in 41 moves

The opening moves were 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O d6 (ECO C66). Emanuel Lasker won with Black after 41 moves. The recorded continuation ends with 41...a1=Q. The running points score became 3–1 (Lasker–Tarrasch).

Game	Event	Year	Moves	Played	Current move	Score	Correct	Accuracy	Action
Siegbert Tarrasch – Emanuel Lasker 0-1	World Championship 8th	1908	41	No	—	—	—	—	Start

Game 5: Game 5: Lasker wins in 38 moves

The opening moves were 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 (ECO C98). Emanuel Lasker won with White after 38 moves. The recorded continuation ends with 38.Qg5. The running points score became 4–1 (Lasker–Tarrasch).

Game	Event	Year	Moves	Played	Current move	Score	Correct	Accuracy	Action
Emanuel Lasker – Siegbert Tarrasch 1-0	World Championship 8th	1908	38	No	—	—	—	—	Start

Game 6: Game 6: a draw after 53 moves

The opening moves were 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 (ECO C10). The players drew after 53 moves. The recorded continuation ends with 53...Rg6. The running points score became 4½–1½ (Lasker–Tarrasch).

Game	Event	Year	Moves	Played	Current move	Score	Correct	Accuracy	Action
Siegbert Tarrasch – Emanuel Lasker 1/2-1/2	World Championship 8th	1908	53	No	—	—	—	—	Start

Game 7: Game 7: Lasker wins in 76 moves

The opening moves were 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 (ECO C15). Emanuel Lasker won with White after 76 moves. The recorded continuation ends with 76.h7. The running points score became 5½–1½ (Lasker–Tarrasch).

Game	Event	Year	Moves	Played	Current move	Score	Correct	Accuracy	Action
Emanuel Lasker – Siegbert Tarrasch 1-0	World Championship 8th	1908	76	No	—	—	—	—	Start

Game 8: Game 8: a draw after 48 moves

The opening moves were 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 (ECO C67). The players drew after 48 moves. The recorded continuation ends with 48...Rxc6. The running points score became 6–2 (Lasker–Tarrasch).

Game	Event	Year	Moves	Played	Current move	Score	Correct	Accuracy	Action
Siegbert Tarrasch – Emanuel Lasker 1/2-1/2	World Championship 8th	1908	48	No	—	—	—	—	Start

Game 9: Game 9: a draw after 72 moves

The opening moves were 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 (ECO C15). The players drew after 72 moves. The recorded continuation ends with 72.Kf3. The running points score became 6½–2½ (Lasker–Tarrasch).

Game	Event	Year	Moves	Played	Current move	Score	Correct	Accuracy	Action
Emanuel Lasker – Siegbert Tarrasch 1/2-1/2	World Championship 8th	1908	72	No	—	—	—	—	Start

Game 10: Game 10: Tarrasch wins in 32 moves

The opening moves were 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 (ECO C67). Siegbert Tarrasch won with White after 32 moves. The recorded continuation ends with 32.Rd6. The running points score became 6½–3½ (Lasker–Tarrasch).

Game	Event	Year	Moves	Played	Current move	Score	Correct	Accuracy	Action
Siegbert Tarrasch – Emanuel Lasker 1-0	World Championship 8th	1908	32	No	—	—	—	—	Start

Game 11: Game 11: Lasker wins in 28 moves

The opening moves were 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 (ECO C12). Emanuel Lasker won with White after 28 moves. The recorded continuation ends with 28.Rxe6+. The running points score became 7½–3½ (Lasker–Tarrasch).

Game	Event	Year	Moves	Played	Current move	Score	Correct	Accuracy	Action
Emanuel Lasker – Siegbert Tarrasch 1-0	World Championship 8th	1908	28	No	—	—	—	—	Start

Game 12: Game 12: Tarrasch wins in 65 moves

The opening moves were 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bb4 (ECO C49). Siegbert Tarrasch won with White after 65 moves. The recorded continuation ends with 65.Kc4. The running points score became 7½–4½ (Lasker–Tarrasch).

Game	Event	Year	Moves	Played	Current move	Score	Correct	Accuracy	Action
Siegbert Tarrasch – Emanuel Lasker 1-0	World Championship 8th	1908	65	No	—	—	—	—	Start

Game 13: Game 13: Lasker wins in 44 moves

The opening moves were 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.Nf3 Nc6 (ECO D40). Emanuel Lasker won with White after 44 moves. The recorded continuation ends with 44.Qf6. The running points score became 8½–4½ (Lasker–Tarrasch).

Game	Event	Year	Moves	Played	Current move	Score	Correct	Accuracy	Action
Emanuel Lasker – Siegbert Tarrasch 1-0	World Championship 8th	1908	44	No	—	—	—	—	Start

Game 14: Game 14: a draw after 119 moves

The opening moves were 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 (ECO C67). The players drew after 119 moves. The recorded continuation ends with 119...Kh4. The running points score became 9–5 (Lasker–Tarrasch).

Game	Event	Year	Moves	Played	Current move	Score	Correct	Accuracy	Action
Siegbert Tarrasch – Emanuel Lasker 1/2-1/2	World Championship 8th	1908	119	No	—	—	—	—	Start

Game 15: Game 15: a draw after 51 moves

The opening moves were 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 c5 3.dxc5 e6 4.e4 Bxc5 (ECO D02). The players drew after 51 moves. The recorded continuation ends with 51...Rc1+. The running points score became 9½–5½ (Lasker–Tarrasch).

Game	Event	Year	Moves	Played	Current move	Score	Correct	Accuracy	Action
Emanuel Lasker – Siegbert Tarrasch 1/2-1/2	World Championship 8th	1908	51	No	—	—	—	—	Start

Game 16: Game 16: Lasker wins in 26 moves

The opening moves were 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bb4 (ECO C49). Emanuel Lasker won with Black after 26 moves. The recorded continuation ends with 26...Bxd4. The running points score became 10½–5½ (Lasker–Tarrasch).

Game	Event	Year	Moves	Played	Current move	Score	Correct	Accuracy	Action
Siegbert Tarrasch – Emanuel Lasker 0-1	World Championship 8th	1908	26	No	—	—	—	—	Start

Sources and image credits

By IgniteChess Editorial Published 2026-10-13

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