About this game
Lasker vs Thomas: the king walk, explained
Edward Lasker vs George Alan Thomas · London, 1912 · Dutch Defense structure
Played casually at the City of London Chess Club in 1912, Edward Lasker's win over Sir George Thomas is the most famous king hunt in chess: a queen sacrifice on move 11 forces the Black king to march, check by check, from h7 all the way to g1 — into White's own back rank — where it is mated by a quiet king move.
The game before the storm is ordinary. Thomas plays a Dutch-style setup, castles, and appears safe; his mistake, 10...Qe7, ignores how many White pieces point at his kingside. Lasker's 11.Qxh7+!! removes the shelter, and 12.Nxf6+ is a double check — king moves only. From there every move is forced or nearly so: 13.Neg4+ Kg5 14.h4+ Kf4 15.g3+ Kf3 16.Be2+ Kg2 17.Rh2+ Kg1.
The Black king now stands on g1, deep inside White's position, and 18.Kd2# ends the game: the White king steps aside and discovers the a1-rook's control of the back rank — mate by a king move. (Lasker could equally have castled: 18.O-O-O# would have been checkmate by castling, one of the rarest finishes in chess.) Thomas lost no material at all before the sacrifice — only king safety.
The key moments
- 10...Qe7?
- The losing move, though it looks natural. Black's kingside has too few defenders for how many White pieces aim at it — the engine already prefers White decisively.
- 11.Qxh7+!!
- The queen goes first. 11...Kxh7 is forced, and the king's shelter is gone for the price of the strongest piece on the board.
- 12.Nxf6+
- Double check — the answer to any double check is a king move, so the march begins. Black's extra queen never gets a say.
- 14.h4+ / 15.g3+
- Pawns join the hunt. Each check is the quietest move that keeps the king walking forward — into White's camp, away from any defender.
- 18.Kd2#
- Mate by a king move: stepping aside discovers the a1-rook's control of the first rank. 18.O-O-O# — mate by castling — was also available.
What to take from it
This game is the standard demonstration that king safety is a count, not a feeling. Thomas was fully castled and materially fine; what he missed at 10...Qe7 was arithmetic — five White pieces aimed at a king defended by two. Before a quiet move in a sharp position, count the attackers pointing at your king.
The board above is a full interactive review of this game: every move is engine-checked, and you can ask the coach why any move works — or test your own idea and have it graded. When you’re done with the classics, review your own games the same way.
The full game
Queen's Pawn Game (A40) · 1912
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