Lasker and Nimzovich

Dr. Emmanual Lasker a mathematician by training was the chess champion of the world from 1894-1921.

His most famous saying about chess was that, "A threat is more powerful than its execution." The idea is that if you are threatening to do something on a chessboard, then your opponent has to worry constantly about that threat and devote attention to it.

His doctorate was in mathematics which he was encouraged into by David Hilbert. His main contribution to mathematics was a theorem in algebra which was later generalized by Emmy Noether.

Aron Nimzovich was a nervous excitable chess player who was at the top rank of the chess theoreticians and close to the top rank of the players. His book My System should be in the library of every aspiring chess player.

In those days smoking was generally allowed in chess tournaments which was always a problem for Nimzovich who found it very irritable. Lasker, in particular, smoked large black cigars, but Lasker was a great gentleman and agreed not to smoke during a game that he and Nimzovitch were about to play.

Before six moves had been made Lasker pulled out a big cigar, bit off the end and put it in his mouth.
Nimzovich jumped out of his chair and protested to the umpire: "Lasker agreed not to smoke and now look what he is doing!"
The umpire said: "He is not smoking, the cigar is not lit."
Nimozovich replied, "But he THREATENS to smoke, and everybody knows that he considers a threat stronger its execution!"
You saw that coming, didn't you?