Emanuel Lasker (December 24, 1868 – January 11, 1941) was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher and was World Chess Champion for 27 years. In his prime Lasker was one of the most dominant champions, and he is still generally regarded as one of the strongest players ever. It is often said that Lasker used a "psychological" approach to the game, and even that he sometimes deliberately played inferior moves to confuse opponents. However recent analysis indicates that he was ahead of his time and used a more flexible approach than his contemporaries, which mystified many of them.Source: Emanuel Lasker's Chess Biography on Wikipedia.