What is Lasker Morris?
Lasker Morris is played on the Nine Men's board with ten men each instead of nine. White moves first.
The big change is that the two phases run together. From the very first turn, a player may either place a man from hand on any empty point or slide one of their men on the board to a neighbouring empty point. You can hold men back in hand and bring them in where they are needed later.
Mills, removals and the protection of men in a mill work as in Nine Men's Morris. Flying, when it is on, needs three men on the board and none left in hand. A player loses when the men they have on the board and in hand together come to fewer than three, or when they have no men in hand and no legal move.
Rule changes
| Rule | Standard Nine Men's Morris | Lasker Morris |
|---|---|---|
| Men per player | Standard Nine Men's MorrisNine. | Lasker MorrisTen. |
| Placing and moving | Standard Nine Men's MorrisAll men are placed first. Only then do men slide along the lines. | Lasker MorrisFrom the first turn, each turn a player either places a man from hand or slides a man on the board. |
| Flying | Standard Nine Men's MorrisA player with three men left may move a man to any empty point. It is on by default and can be switched off in the table setup. | Lasker MorrisThe same option, but only a player with three men on the board and none left in hand may fly. |
| How to win | Standard Nine Men's MorrisReduce the opponent to two men after placement, or leave them with no legal move. | Lasker MorrisLeave the opponent with fewer than three men on the board and in hand together, or with no men in hand and no legal move. |
History
Lasker Morris, also called Ten Men's Morris, is credited to Emanuel Lasker, world chess champion from 1894 to 1921. Lasker was a keen player of other board games too: he invented the draughts-like game Lasca in 1911, kept up his interest in Go for the rest of his life, and wrote Brettspiele der Völker (Board Games of the Nations, 1931).
The extra man and the freedom to place or move make the opening less fixed than in Nine Men's Morris. Like Nine Men's Morris, which Ralph Gasser showed in 1996 to be a draw with perfect play, Lasker Morris has been solved by computer. Peter Stahlhacke computed a full solution in 2003, and its starting position is also a draw.