Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1894-03-31
STEINITZ And LASKER.
How the Chess Giants Look as
They Play Together.
THE CHAMPIONS MASSIVE HEAD.

Phlegmatic Even When Threatened With
observation-disclosures Looks Like a Divinity
student-The Funeral Silence, the To-
bacco Smoke and the Small Attendance.
Two monarchs of the royal game of chess
William Stenitz, the red bearded veteran,
who has ruled king of all players for
over a quarter of century, and Emanuel
Lasker, the STRIPPING prince of the game,
who has just won his spurs and is reaching
for the crown that has so long decked Stein
it's brow-sit before a chess table, with
their men marshaled for the fray. The
room is filled with a small but enthusiastic
band of interested spectators. Two tiny
clocks set at - and joined together upon the
teeter principle so that when one is up the
other is down, are silent beside them.
The hands of Second Hodges watch point
! to the hour of 3. The tiny clock toward
Lasker is up and ticking. Steinitz's clock
is down and silent. The game has begun,
and it is Lasker's move. The spectat Ors
crane their necks, watching the board with
eager eyes. Funeral silence reigns. When
the white pawn goes to kings 4, the spec
tators exchange significant glances. Lasker
is again trying the Ruy Lopez, the opening
that won for him the first game in the
match. Lasker pulls down his clock, stop
ping IL, anu tue utIuS VI Uuc y
clock begin to move. 1t is his turn to play,
and the black pawn quickly goes to kings
4. For few minutes the little clocks go
up and down quite rapidly, and the first
half dozen moves are made in as many min
utes. At least Is moves must be made an
hour by each player and precious time that
will be needed later is saved by rapid NOV
ing at first.
AS he sits at the table Steinitz' S striking
physical characteristic is his massive head,
with it's great red beard and auburn hair
sprinkled with faint traces of gray. In
strange contrast is the small body beneath
with its short, frail, slender legs that are
the constant prey of rheumatism. He is
never wthoUr his crutch or cane. Both are
held between his neither limbs, and one leg
is thrown across the crutch His arms rest
upon the table, the hands clasped or lying
quietly one upon the other. Occasionally
he twiddles his thumbs when the situation
is threatening, but his general attitude is
cool, collected, phlegmatic, no matter if his
unerring eye dscerns checkmate three
moves away. He wears a rundown collar
and black bow tie, and a snowy handker-
chief neatly folded peeps from his coat
pocket.
He occasionally looks about the room or
drinks from glasses containing water and
are the board and its men are ever before
his mind. If the situation calls for a most
careful move, he stOlidly studies the board
for quarter of an hour or more, regardless
of the relentless ticking of his tiny clock,
before he decides what to do. Once the
proper play is selected he reaches for the
piece and draws back without touching it
twice or thrice before he finally lifts it
from the board. The move made, he starts
his opponents clock, rises from the table,
dons his enormous hat and supported by
crutch and cane moves about the room
greeting friends with CHEEKY smile, faint
whisper and cordial grip of the hand. He
is back at the table ready for play, how
ever an instant after l.asker moves At
times he does not remove his hat, and at
others he thrusts his right arm through his
crutch and rests upon it.
Lasker, sitting opposite, looks like di-
vinity student His face is singularly pal
lid, with the blue tint of a closely shaver
heavy beard showing through the skin near
his ears. He has round, bulletlike head,
with black hair closely cut and devoid of
parting On the back of his neck two scars
form n perfect Greek cross His Roman
nose is surmounted by glasses, and the
most cursory glance detects his Hebrew an
cestry. He wears link cuffs without cuff
buttons, and II bright jewel CLEANS in the
folds of his blue fOur-in-hand tie.
His hands are small, white and well
formed, and his favorite position when
studying the board is leaning his elbows on
the table and resting his face in both hands.
Minute after minute he sits like statue,
motionless, silent apparently lifeless, eX
cept for the nervous twitching of his eye
lids He is terribly i'll earnest and is play