EpisodesRound 07

The King Elevator

One queen for one pawn, then eight checks in a row. The king walks from g8 all the way down to g1.

Now playing1:39

The King Elevator: the video's cover

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Edward LaskerWins · material 26/39

George Alan ThomasK.O. · material 31/39

White: Edward LaskerAge 26. Not Emanuel Lasker, the world champion.
Black: George Alan ThomasAge 31. Later British chess champion, with 21 All England badminton titles.
Event: Casual game, City of London Chess Club
Place: London, England
Date: 29 October 1912
Opening: Dutch Defense
Result: 1-0Checkmate, 18 moves
Video: 1:39Published 13 November 2026

The story

London, 29 October 1912: the date is on Edward Lasker's own score-sheet. It is a casual game at the City of London Chess Club. Lasker is 26. His opponent, George Alan Thomas, is 31; he will become British chess champion twice and win 21 All England badminton titles.

Thomas sets up a Dutch Defense. Lasker brings his pieces to the kingside one by one, and on move 10 his queen lands on h5 with a mate threat on h7.

Thomas answers 10...Qe7, so that the queen guards h7 along the rank. But his own pawn on g7 stands in the way. It is the losing move: 10...Bxe5 held the balance.

11.Qxh7+: a queen for a pawn. The king has to take. Then 12.Nxf6+, a double check from the knight and the bishop behind it. Going back to h8 is mate in one, so the king goes forward.

It does not stop. Eight checks in a row push the black king down the board, one rank at a time: h7, h6, g5, f4, f3, g2, g1. From move 13 every black move is the only legal one.

On g1 the king stands on White's own back rank. 18.Kd2 finishes the game: the white king steps aside and the rook on a1 gives checkmate.

Key moments

Frames from the video, one for each turning point.

10...Qe7??
The losing move
The queen is meant to guard h7, but the g7 pawn stands in the way. 10...Bxe5 held.
11.Qxh7+!!
The queen sacrifice
A queen for a pawn. The king has only one move: it must take.
12.Nxf6+
Double check
The knight and the bishop check at once. Going back to h8 is mate in one.
14...Kf4
The king elevator
Every move is forced. The king goes down one rank at a time.
18.Kd2#
The king gives mate
The white king steps aside and the rook on a1 mates. Castling long was mate as well.

Command list

Ed. Lasker vs Thomas · 35 plies · 1-0

1.d4e6
2.Nf3f5
3.Nc3Nf6
4.Bg5Be7
5.Bxf6Bxf6
6.e4fxe4
7.Nxe4b6
8.Ne5O-O
9.Bd3Bb7
10.Qh5Qe7??
11.Qxh7+!!Kxh7
12.Nxf6+Kh6
13.Neg4+Kg5
14.h4+Kf4
15.g3+Kf3
16.Be2+Kg2
17.Rh2+Kg1
18.Kd2#

The PGN file

[Event "Casual game"]
[Site "London ENG (City of London Chess Club)"]
[Date "1912.10.29"]
[Round "-"]
[White "Lasker, Edward"]
[Black "Thomas, George Alan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Source "Compared and identical: GothamChess description Apbs8auwPl0; Wikipedia 'Edward Lasker' (full score to 18.Kd2#); Edward Winter, Chess Notes C.N. 6791 (chesshistory.com/winter/winter75.html: moves 1-10 as 'version 4' and the mate 18.Kd2, matching Lasker's handwritten score-sheet dated 29 Oct 1912); research/audience-video-ideas-2026-11-06/candidate-games.pgn. Date per Winter's account of the manuscript."]
[Termination "Checkmate 18.Kd2#"]

1. d4 e6 2. Nf3 f5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. Bxf6 Bxf6 6. e4 fxe4 7. Nxe4 b6 8. Ne5 O-O 9. Bd3 Bb7 10. Qh5 Qe7 11. Qxh7+ Kxh7 12. Nxf6+ Kh6 13. Neg4+ Kg5 14. h4+ Kf4 15. g3+ Kf3 16. Be2+ Kg2 17. Rh2+ Kg1 18. Kd2# 1-0

Behind the edit

What it took to turn 35 plies into 1:39 of video. Counted from the finished edit.

Effects: 528
Kinds of effect: 77
Sound cues: 81
Moves, each with its own light: 35
Seconds of video: 99

What we checked

Every caption in the video was checked against the sources. Some well-known stories did not survive.

Every move was forced.
Nearly. Of the black king's seven moves after castling, six were the only legal move. The first one, 12...Kh6, had one alternative: 12...Kh8, which is mated at once by 13.Ng6.
Lasker found the fastest mate.
His route was one move slower than the fastest. On move 16, 16.Kf1 mates in two; Lasker's 16.Be2+ needed three. The whole sequence is forced from the queen sacrifice either way.
He castled to give mate.
He played 18.Kd2 mate. Castling long, 18.O-O-O, was also legal and also mate, which is why the story is often told that way.
9.Bd3 was the best move.
A popular video says so. The engine disagrees: after 9.Bd3 Black had 9...Bxe5 with the better game. Thomas missed it, and at move 10 the position was level again.
A tournament game.
It was a casual game. The chess historian Edward Winter gives the place and the date from Lasker's score-sheet.

Credits

Photos: Edward Lasker (Bain News Service, 1924) and George Alan Thomas (1929), both public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Music and voices: original.

Sources

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