October 13 1895
The Philadelphia Times, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Sunday, October 13, 1895
Morphy and Lasker.
We will attempt to draw an arithmetical comparison between Paul Morphy and Emanuel Lasker, using the three world's championship matches. Morphy vs. Anderssen, Anderssen vs. Steinitz and Steinitz vs. Lasker, as the basis of comparison. Morphy beat Anderssen 7 to 2, or in the proportion of 21 to 6. Steinitz beat Anderssen 8 to 6, making the comparison between Morphy and Steinitz as 21 to 8. Lasker, however, beat Steinitz 10 to 5, or in the proportion of 16 to 8. This would leave Morphy's superiority over Lasker as 21 to 16. Morphy and Lasker were great players in the same direction. While not having more theory than their opponents, they excelled in their splendid execution over the board. They took the shortest roads to victory, free from errors or cobwebs.