Customer Reviews

Lasker's Manual of Chess

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Lasker's Manual of Chess" doesn't mess arround. It is absolutely perfect for someone who needs a brief reminder of the basic rules and then is ready to get quickly into the strategic parts of chess. It is a well written book for an adult reader or older teenage reader; younger kids or someone who is a super beginner should start with "Chess For Jrs" or possibly "Learn chess: A complete Course".
This may be an older book but it is very well written and a largely forgotten about classic.

"Lasker's Manual of Chess" is my favorite chess book. Unlike many chess players, I only own a few.

It begins with the elements of chess: the pieces, how they move, and the essential advantages and disadvantages of positions the player will likely find himself in. Curiously, Lasker discusses the square. All of chess revolves about going from one square to another, and Lasker presumes (rightly so, i believe) that to know the end well, the player must see the very beginning at its core.

He goes on to explain the why and what-fors about openings. He presents the opening concept both as a theory to muse over, and as a practical matter of setting things in such a way as to increase your likelihood of winning. He explains "Sortez les pieces" (Get the pieces out), and other 'rules' of chess.

Like a Mark Twain book review, he feels in complete candor permission to question 'compilers', those players who memorize every variation of boardplay and win by the ability to study. He contrasts these players with those with natural talent, who he apreciates much more.

Lasker walks through each step of the major openings in a clear manner, unlike some of the fuzzy chess primers written by modern masters.

If fencing is played like chess, it could also be said chess is played like fencing. Lasker comments in the next section about the combinations, and suggestion chess is replete with violence, countered effectively by more violence, all brutal and seething with imminent danger. He provides, among others, an example of a check to the queen by a pawn.

In the combinations section, he looks at variation predicaments great players he has encountered have wandered into, and how they pulled out these situations victoriously.

Later, he goes through various positions, even the aesthetics effects of chess.

"Lasker's Manual of Chess" by Emanuel Lasker is a great book for a high school level or above player to explore. I fully recommend it.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

This may be the best chess book ever. I glance over my shoulder at a pile of 50+ chess books that I've purchased over my two year affair with the game of chess. Of these, only a few stand out as being truly worth the time and money. One offers such an exceptional value that I suggest it to everybody: Lasker's Manual of Chess. The prose is stilted and out of date, the section on the openings is wanting, and it starts out with directions for how to play...BUT the sections on combination, positional play, and the model games have few equals. I love endgame studies and this book is full of them. This book never fails to get me out of a rut. BTW, take the positional advantage diagrams and play them out against your chess computer for a fun lesson.

If you love chess, do yourself a favor and pick up this, Tarrasch's Game of Chess, Nunn's Understanding Chess Move by Move, Howell's Essential Chess Endings, and Kotov's Art of the Middlegame. They may be all the chess books you ever need.

This is a review of the new (Russell) edition of Lasker's Manual. Lasker's Manual is justly famous as one of the greatest ever chess books - and the glowing foreword the book receives from Mark Dvoretsky, in this new Russell edition, reiterates the greatness of both Lasker and his Manual. It is an indispensible book for every chess enthusiast's library. But in which edition?
My four star rating (which is, perhaps, a tad harsh) relates specifically to this edition rather than to Lasker's content which, of course, deserves the highest possible rating.
In comparison with the older Dover edition this new Russell edition is a huge improvement. The older Dover edition suffered from having too few diagrams, poor quality diagrams, hard to read print, poor layout, and descriptive notation. All these drawbacks are very well addressed in the Russell edition which is beautifully produced and has an exemplary layout (among the very best I've seen in a chess book). This Russell edition also has lots of wonderful old photographs and numerous anecdotal asides ("Lasker Lore"). In addition all the analysis has been computer checked for the Russell edition - which confirms the high quality and accuracy of Lasker's analysis.
So why four stars? The editor does admit to some editing of Lasker's words and, for me, this is a negative. I want to read what Lasker wrote - not what someone else thinks he should have written. However, in fairness to the editor, it must be admitted (and I do so having compared the two editions) that any such editing is very light. The Dover edition contains two Lasker prefaces - one to the initial German edition and the other to the later English edition - the Russell edition contains only the first of these. Also missing from the Russell edition is the "Lasker Appreciation" by Fred Reinfield in the Dover edition. But these are minor quibbles/omissions in this wonderful edition of Lasker's great book.
In short, the Russell edition of Lasker's "Manual of Chess" is a must buy for chess enthusiasts.

I read this book as a schoolboy back in 1978 and recently went over parts of it. It is a great and profound book from a champion thinker. The exposition of Steinitz's ideas is superb. The English prose is a bit dated, but it is also part of the charm of this book. This book is real chess literature - not like those senseless opening monographs!

The longest reigning World Chess Champion of all time (28 years) Dr. Emanuel Lasker presents numerous ideas and theories on how chess should be played, along with his advice on openings, giving 68 pages out of the 340 on that subject. The book is rather dated (mine has the original published date as 1947) and is done in descriptive notation, but i found it to be entertaining and i can gather that Lasker genuinely adored the game. Lasker expounds on the original ideas of William Steinitz, and displays his own originality, versatility and his abilty to take solid calculated risks. His tournament record from 1889-1936 was 192 wins, 34 losses and 99 draws (73.1 percent). You can't argue with those numbers facing top competition. Beginners and novices should hold off on this book until they gain more expereince.

One of the first chess books I have ever read and it is a gem! Though many of its ideas were a little difficult for me to understand (after all, I was a relative beginner), upon reading and re-reading it I found it to be indispensable. Though the openings are a little out of date, the general advice given, its organisation, and especially sections on tactics and on past and present players are most impressive, as can be expected from a player who was world champion for longer than anyone else (21 years). Recommended for beginner to intermediate players.

The original Lasker's Manual of Chess was recognized in its day as being one of the best chess books ever written. Time has not diminished its significance. What was needed was a "modern" version, using algebraic notation, with more diagrams.

This edition published by Russell Enterprises hits the nail on the head. Not only is the original text preserved, the notation has been converted from the antiquated English Descriptive to English Figurine Algebraic and lots of new diagrams added.

In addition, there are photographs (not in the original edition) as well as segments called "Lasker Lore" - a bit of history about the author and his times.

An absolute must for all chessplayers. Well done!

Parker Rose

This book is a bargain at any price for serious and intermediate chess players.

Lasker provides lots of examples, plenty of explanation, and great introductions to every chapter of this book. Lasker clearly explains his theories by guiding the reader from basic principles, like "get knights into action before bishops," to advanced concepts of time, distance, and proportion.

Lasker's "Common Sense in Chess" is a great compliment to this book.

Emanuel Lasker was world chess champion for 27 years but chess was not his only calling. He was also a philosopher and a mathematician. But this book is about chess from beginning to end. Literally taking you from the blank 64 squares of the chess board, all the way to the original minds full of creative chess ideas. And Lasker does it one sure step at a time and in a gentle and genial manner. On the one hand, this book is for beginners who want to learn the game. On the other hand, this book is an interesting tome on the history of chess ideas up until Lasker's time, so even an advanced player would be fascinated by this book. There you have it, chess top to bottom