Lasker's Combination: The Tactician's Handbook [Paperback]

Victor Charushin (Author)

Book Description

Series: Tactician's Handbook | Publication Date: November 1998

Lasker's Combination is the sacrifice of both Bishops, a destructive assault upon the enemy King's castled position. Few tactical motifs impress so powerfully as this legacy of the 2nd world champion. Indeed, when Lasker used his Bishops like a wrecking-ball to demolish Bauer's Kingside in their famous encounter, this stunning double sacrifice was thought to be a magical accident, or one-of-a-kind wizardry only gods might perform. Yet here, in volume four of The Tactician's Handbook, we discover that the Aunlucky- Bauer merely succumbed to the iron laws of chess. Here Charushin demonstrates that Lasker's Combination is simply another technique, an element of tactical play - and one that can be mastered! Game after game reveal the inner workings of this remarkable attacking method, classified and richly annotated in Charushin's inimitable style.

The Tactician's Handbook offers a solid foundation of knowledge about the tactics of chess, the basis for a higher understanding of chess combinations. Now players can examine the separate building blocks of combinational play (the mechanics of attack!) in short, focused steps. Each volume is devoted to a single and memorable pattern, illustrated by hundreds of real-world examples. Readers can immediately apply the skills learned here, mixing and matching these A tactical templates into their own games. For example, note how often Alekhine's Block (volume one) is seen as part of Lasker's two-Bishop sacrifice! Lasker's Combination establishes Charushin as an original and thought-provoking teacher, and The Tactician's Handbook as a practical, common sense battle plan for the middlegame in chess.

The Tactician's Handbook Series:

Alekhine's Block, Combination Cross, Mitrofanov's Deflection, Lasker's Combination

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Pickard & Son Pub (November 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1886846138
• ISBN-13: 978-1886846135
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,053,890 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For it's purpose, this book is excellent. But..., February 6, 2006

By 

Andre E. Harding (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lasker's Combination: The Tactician's Handbook (Paperback)

Charushin wrote this book to give examples of, and to analyze, the double-bishop sacrifice which he names Lasker's Combination after this motif's most famous game. IN THIS CONTEXT the book is excellent: he examines "Canonical" Combinations (1.Bxh7+! Kxh7 2.Qh5+ Kg8 3.Bxg7!!, etc.). "Shortened" Combinations (1.Bxh7+! Kxh7 2.Bxg7!!, etc.), "Lengthened" Combinations (1.Bxh7+! Kxh7 2._____ 3._____ 4.Bxg7!!), etc. I think you get the idea.

Clearly, this is not a book for a beginner (I am a Class "A" player). Also, this certainly should not be your one-volume attacking guide! It is a specialized work, and examines a combination that admittedly does not appear very often.

Especially if you play systems such as the Colle-Zukertort with White (with one bishop on the a1-h8 diagonal, and the other on the b1-h7 diagonal) or similar set-ups as Black, this may be quite a good purchase. I recommend it anyway because it adds one more arrow to your attacking quiver.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars When it comes to thinking out of the box, consider Charushin., August 19, 2005

By 

Wendell A. Betton (St. Louis, MO.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lasker's Combination: The Tactician's Handbook (Paperback)

I have studied all five of Charushin's Tactician's Handbooks and this one is my favorite. In the introduction, there's a quote from Saviely Tartakower that alludes to the concept of, "What you've learned is safe is, in fact, not safe, so you still have to keep your guard up" (my words). This book does a wonderful job of teaching Lasker's Combination and you should also look at it as Lasker's Principle. You do have to practice it through actual play over the board. I've noticed that more experienced players tend to fianchetto when they see the King's Bishop getting posted, but you have to remember this is a strong attack being set up. I have won a few games using this tactic (of which you do have to know cold the certain nuances) and have enjoyed watching the expression of my opponent go from consternation to great concern as he tries to buckle down and plan a winning counter. To be honest, I have also lost quite a few games in attempting this tactic; you must practice it. However, losses notwithstanding, the training you undergo as you proceed through this book really gets you to think in such a different way even if your opponent becomes successful in making you do someting else. Lasker's Combination is an attack that, in most cases, has to be set up specifically, but there are very jaw-dropping alternatives that come from seeing Lasker's Principle (my words).

I also just love how Charushin shares with the reader his own story of chess in his life at the beginning of the book. This book has the most "over-the-shoulder" training from Charushin compared to his other books. It is a veritable eye-opener that makes you think outside the box.