text: At the time when it was common for the reigning world champion to handpick his challengers , Rubinstein was never given a chance to play Lasker for the world chess championship because he was unable to raise enough money to meet Lasker 's financial demands .
simplified: Rubinstein was never given a chance to play Lasker for the world chess championship : he was unable to raise enough money to meet Lasker 's financial demands .