In the fifth game of the Lasker-Capablanca World Championship match
(1921), the same position[1] occurs after Black's 34th, 36th and 38th
moves but the draw was not claimed and Black went on to lose. Does
anyone know why?

Winter says that the threefold repetition rule dates back to London
1883[2] so it seems likely that it applied to this match.
Chessgames.com[3] quotes Capablanca's notes on the game and he doesn't
mention the repetition; nor does Kasparov in volume I of _On My Great
Predecessors_.


Dave.

[1] 5k2/p4p2/1p2q3/5RQp/6n1/4P3/PP6/6K1 w - - 0 39
[2] http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/w...61._Repetition
[3] http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1241495


[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "Havana CUB"]
[Date "1921.??.??"]
[Round "5"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Capablanca, Jose Raul"]
[Black "Lasker, Emanuel"]
[ECO "D63"]

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Bg5 Nbd7 5.e3 Be7 6.Nc3 O-O 7.Rc1 b6
8.cxd5 exd5 9.Qa4 c5 10.Qc6 Rb8 11.Nxd5 Bb7 12.Nxe7+ Qxe7 13.Qa4 Rbc8
14.Qa3 Qe6 15.Bxf6 Qxf6 16.Ba6 Bxf3 17.Bxc8 Rxc8 18.gxf3 Qxf3 19.Rg1
Re8 20.Qd3 g6 21.Kf1 Re4 22.Qd1 Qh3+ 23.Rg2 Nf6 24.Kg1 cxd4 25.Rc4
dxe3 26.Rxe4 Nxe4 27.Qd8+ Kg7 28.Qd4+ Nf6 29.fxe3 Qe6 30.Rf2 g5 31.h4
gxh4 32.Qxh4 Ng4 33.Qg5+ Kf8 34.Rf5 h5 35.Qd8+ Kg7 36.Qg5+ Kf8 37.Qd8+
Kg7 38.Qg5+ Kf8 39.b3 Qd6 40.Qf4 Qd1+ 41.Qf1 Qd7 42.Rxh5 Nxe3 43.Qf3
Qd4 44.Qa8+ Ke7 45.Qb7+ Kf8 46.Qb8+ 1-0


--
David Richerby Hilarious Unholy Postman (TM): it's
www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~davidr/ like a man who delivers the mail but
it's also a crime against nature and
a bundle of laughs!