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Lasker's Manual of Chess
Emanuel Lasker was probably the greatest chess player of modern times. Certainly no man has ever held the world championship longer — 28 years — or kept his powers so long. In his sixties, Lasker began what amounted to a fresh career in chess by playing his first serious game in ten years, and defeating Max Euwe, the man who was the following year to become world champion. The secret behind his extraordinary abilities may perhaps be found in Lasker’s wide knowledge of every phase of the game, and his ability to be independent of schools or fashions.
This knowledge is reflected in the Manual of Chess, making it one of the great studies of the game, acclaimed by the chess world almost from the day it appeared. The book is one of the most thorough studies ever written, and though its main appeal is to the intermediate to skilled player, it begins its explanations at a level that can be understood by the beginner. Lasker analyzes basic methods of gaining advantages, exchange value of pieces, combinations, position play, the aesthetics of chess, and almost every other important aspect of the game. He examines dozens of different openings, including the Petroff Defense, the Hungarian Defense, King’s Bishop, Ponziani, Giuoco Piano, and Four Knights’ Game. He constantly illustrates his discussions with games played by the great modern masters. Lasker is always delightful reading, revealing a mind as quick to entertain and philosophize as it is to explain.
One of the most rewarding features of the book is Lasker’s illumination and elaboration of the theories of William Steinitz. An interesting sidelight is that although Lasker always thought of himself as a disciple of Steinitz, he was actually an original, more versatile player, inclined to take calculated risks. His exposition of Steinitz’s thought and maxims, his principles of attack and evaluation, however, cannot help but be profitable to any chess player.
This knowledge is reflected in the Manual of Chess, making it one of the great studies of the game, acclaimed by the chess world almost from the day it appeared. The book is one of the most thorough studies ever written, and though its main appeal is to the intermediate to skilled player, it begins its explanations at a level that can be understood by the beginner. Lasker analyzes basic methods of gaining advantages, exchange value of pieces, combinations, position play, the aesthetics of chess, and almost every other important aspect of the game. He examines dozens of different openings, including the Petroff Defense, the Hungarian Defense, King’s Bishop, Ponziani, Giuoco Piano, and Four Knights’ Game. He constantly illustrates his discussions with games played by the great modern masters. Lasker is always delightful reading, revealing a mind as quick to entertain and philosophize as it is to explain.
One of the most rewarding features of the book is Lasker’s illumination and elaboration of the theories of William Steinitz. An interesting sidelight is that although Lasker always thought of himself as a disciple of Steinitz, he was actually an original, more versatile player, inclined to take calculated risks. His exposition of Steinitz’s thought and maxims, his principles of attack and evaluation, however, cannot help but be profitable to any chess player.
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1925
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 2, 2011
I guess he was amazing. But, let's face it, he was a complete wanker too. The sort of person who, if starting up a magazine, would first think of purchasing a paper mill in order to have a better price available on paper. Dead set. We aren't talking Time magazine here. We are talking ponderous chess mag in which he attempts to aggrandize the game. Another money making venture was breeding pidgeons. Better, it is generally agreed, however, if one has both genders in play.
If I sound irritated, I am. I lived with somebody for 11 years who was not only like Lasker, but deliberately modelled himself on the great chess player. I have an idea that if Lasker hadn't been a complete prat neither would my ex-partner.
The trouble with Lasker is that he thought chess was life. But it isn't.
If I sound irritated, I am. I lived with somebody for 11 years who was not only like Lasker, but deliberately modelled himself on the great chess player. I have an idea that if Lasker hadn't been a complete prat neither would my ex-partner.
The trouble with Lasker is that he thought chess was life. But it isn't.
September 10, 2020
Want to know why a knight or bishop is worth 3 pawns, a rook is worth 5, a queen is worth 9? Emanuel Lasker shows you.
1925 in German. 1932 English translation by the author. pp. 1-13 algebraic notation; pp. 13-335 English Descriptive Notation.
This may be the first--may be the only--attempt to teach everything you need to know about chess in one volume. An excellent stab at it.
From the "we see the world not as it is but as we are" department:
Lasker expresses the opinion that to master the game of chess requires 200 hours of study. Period. Once, ever.
5h rules of play and exercises
5h elementary endings
10h openings
20h combination
40h position play
120h play and analysis. [p. 337 of 349, "Final Reflections on Education in Chess]
For a second opinion, here's how GM Mesgen Amanov coached three of his pupils to win the World Under-Age-8 championship (Awonder Liang in 2011, Aren Emrikian in 2017, Raj Chennareddy in 2018):
"dedicate 4 hours of chess every day at the age of six"
"spend one hour analyzing grandmaster games, one hour solving tactical puzzles, one hour watching online video lessons, one hour playing chess online, one hour solving endgame studies, and one hour watching online opening lessons. This is just independent work at home. Then you have a one and half hour private lesson each week and about four hours a week of group lessons."
"we show them important theoretical positions, build their opening repertoire, sharpen their tactical vision, teach them endgame fundamentals, improve their positional understanding and work on their middlegame planning"
"Play about 20 tournaments per year."
"two years of training for an average 4-5 hours a day."
"he/she has to have a Warrior Mind Set."
"kids must develop bravery and a desire to win."
"One extra hour of training seems to make a difference. I see an improvement in move quality and overall play."
"Student, parents, and coach must all perform at the highest level."
"It is impossible to imagine any kid succeeding in chess without strong support from their parents."
"We didn’t want him to think that he is the highest-rated seven-year-old player in the world and encourage overconfidence."
For the five-year-old, the regimen is somewhat less:
For the past two years, Aren would spend at least 2-3 hours a day studying chess. This is a how a typical week would look:
4 hours of analyzing grandmaster games from classical books.
3 hours of solving chess puzzles.
3 hours working on endgame studies.
2 hours working on improvemychess.com, the online training program I developed
2-3 hours playing correspondence chess online.
1.5 hours weekly private lessons.
Bi-weekly group lessons at my chess academy; in my opinion, it is vital to collaborate with other kids.
Finally, Aren would play in an average of two rated tournaments per month.
These under-age-8 world champions are all well below master level at that age. They are all immensely talented and hardworking. What they aren't--apparently--is Emanuel Lasker!!
Sources:
"A Perfect Triangle," article by GM Mesgen Amanov, 2018:
https://new.uschess.org/news/triangle...
"Path to the Podium," article by Amanov, 2017:
https://new.uschess.org/news/path-pod...
Here is a brief list of the chess books Amanov recommends for chess players who are seeking to improve their game ["I" is Amanov]:
Understanding Chess Move by Move by John Nunn (I recommend for rating 1000-1700.)
The Mammoth Book of the World’s Greatest Chess Games by Graham Burgess, John Emms, John Nunn (I recommend for rating 1200-2300)
Quality Chess Puzzles by John K. Shaw (I recommend for rating 1000-2300)
Chess Evolution - all series by Arthur Yusupov (I recommend for rating 1500-2500)
1925 in German. 1932 English translation by the author. pp. 1-13 algebraic notation; pp. 13-335 English Descriptive Notation.
This may be the first--may be the only--attempt to teach everything you need to know about chess in one volume. An excellent stab at it.
From the "we see the world not as it is but as we are" department:
Lasker expresses the opinion that to master the game of chess requires 200 hours of study. Period. Once, ever.
5h rules of play and exercises
5h elementary endings
10h openings
20h combination
40h position play
120h play and analysis. [p. 337 of 349, "Final Reflections on Education in Chess]
For a second opinion, here's how GM Mesgen Amanov coached three of his pupils to win the World Under-Age-8 championship (Awonder Liang in 2011, Aren Emrikian in 2017, Raj Chennareddy in 2018):
"dedicate 4 hours of chess every day at the age of six"
"spend one hour analyzing grandmaster games, one hour solving tactical puzzles, one hour watching online video lessons, one hour playing chess online, one hour solving endgame studies, and one hour watching online opening lessons. This is just independent work at home. Then you have a one and half hour private lesson each week and about four hours a week of group lessons."
"we show them important theoretical positions, build their opening repertoire, sharpen their tactical vision, teach them endgame fundamentals, improve their positional understanding and work on their middlegame planning"
"Play about 20 tournaments per year."
"two years of training for an average 4-5 hours a day."
"he/she has to have a Warrior Mind Set."
"kids must develop bravery and a desire to win."
"One extra hour of training seems to make a difference. I see an improvement in move quality and overall play."
"Student, parents, and coach must all perform at the highest level."
"It is impossible to imagine any kid succeeding in chess without strong support from their parents."
"We didn’t want him to think that he is the highest-rated seven-year-old player in the world and encourage overconfidence."
For the five-year-old, the regimen is somewhat less:
For the past two years, Aren would spend at least 2-3 hours a day studying chess. This is a how a typical week would look:
4 hours of analyzing grandmaster games from classical books.
3 hours of solving chess puzzles.
3 hours working on endgame studies.
2 hours working on improvemychess.com, the online training program I developed
2-3 hours playing correspondence chess online.
1.5 hours weekly private lessons.
Bi-weekly group lessons at my chess academy; in my opinion, it is vital to collaborate with other kids.
Finally, Aren would play in an average of two rated tournaments per month.
These under-age-8 world champions are all well below master level at that age. They are all immensely talented and hardworking. What they aren't--apparently--is Emanuel Lasker!!
Sources:
"A Perfect Triangle," article by GM Mesgen Amanov, 2018:
https://new.uschess.org/news/triangle...
"Path to the Podium," article by Amanov, 2017:
https://new.uschess.org/news/path-pod...
Here is a brief list of the chess books Amanov recommends for chess players who are seeking to improve their game ["I" is Amanov]:
Understanding Chess Move by Move by John Nunn (I recommend for rating 1000-1700.)
The Mammoth Book of the World’s Greatest Chess Games by Graham Burgess, John Emms, John Nunn (I recommend for rating 1200-2300)
Quality Chess Puzzles by John K. Shaw (I recommend for rating 1000-2300)
Chess Evolution - all series by Arthur Yusupov (I recommend for rating 1500-2500)
September 4, 2013
Lasker writes in his Manual of Chess that the game "would be laughable, were it not so serious." After decades of studying philosophy, he came to believe that truth could be found only in mathematics and chess. Of the contest of wills between two players manipulating 32 wooden pieces on 64 squares, he wrote: "Lies and hypocrisy do not survive long. The creative combination lays bare the presumption of a lie; the merciless fact, culminating in a checkmate, contradicts the hypocrite." Lasker, a close friend of Albert Einstein's, won the world championship in 1894 and held the title for 27 years, the longest reign so far.
June 25, 2024
Did this manual turn me into a grandmaster? Of course not. Do I still suck at chess? You bet. Did it at least marginally improve my game? Perhaps.
The most important thing I gained from reading it was probably chess philosophy. Understanding all the examples would require me to first git gud. That day may never truly come, but I will surely revisit the examples for inspiration nonetheless.
The most important thing I gained from reading it was probably chess philosophy. Understanding all the examples would require me to first git gud. That day may never truly come, but I will surely revisit the examples for inspiration nonetheless.
December 19, 2014
Emmanuel Lasker wrote an earlier work called struggle in 1907 he had a theory that all life war politics chess is the result of struggle if you read that and the book by his biographer Dr.J Hannack you'll have a good picture of how his mind works when you open up his manual on Chess and study that.
There are three editions of this book the first one came out in 1925 but it got revised in the 1930's mistakes were corrected with Emmanuel Laskers full approval that edition remained unchanged up to 2008.
The Newer edition edited by Taylor Kingston has a different cover without Lasker on it more diagrams, photos inside and Lasker lore, remaining mistakes were corrected interesting enough he said they didn't find that many I think 60 which isn't bad for an older book.
Philospher, Mathematician, Chess Master, Fighter all fused in one combined with an unbreakable will to win and survive.
Greatest defender of the Royal Game there ever lived!
June 8, 2015
I like his discussion of the openings very much. So far, so good. If you don't play chess, don't bother.
Later note: do you ever really 'read' a chess book? You study them. This book is justly famous. Lasker may be the best ever. He certainly held the title longer than any have. My teacher pointed out that some of the information is dated (opening theory is constantly evolving). Plenty of info for a newer player like me though. The update to algebraic notation and the transfer to Kindle is quite good, and that can sometimes be a problem.
Later note: do you ever really 'read' a chess book? You study them. This book is justly famous. Lasker may be the best ever. He certainly held the title longer than any have. My teacher pointed out that some of the information is dated (opening theory is constantly evolving). Plenty of info for a newer player like me though. The update to algebraic notation and the transfer to Kindle is quite good, and that can sometimes be a problem.
January 10, 2018
I've never seriously played or studied Chess before and I picked Lasker's Manual of Chess as my first introduction to the game. As a complete beginner this book is helpful, it explains the basic rules of chess along with diagrams. The later parts of the book analyses opening or closing games which rely more on notation than diagrams, as well as a study guide on becoming more proficient at chess. I think there may be different book that is better suited for complete beginners but I think this one is suitable.
August 25, 2008
The moves and positions on the board are explained in an older notation other than today's standard algebraic so i found it hard to follow.
April 7, 2024
Lasker may have been a chess Grand Master but for sure he was not a good chess coach. The book contains the most important aspects of chess but it is written in prose, describing the brilliance of the game of chess, its most important aspects and some historical events from the time the author was in life. It is not thought as a chess learning book but rather a jack of all trades that fails in the end to excel in what the title suggests: learning chess.
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November 8, 2021És el primer llibre d'escacs que vaig tenir i li tinc apreci. Sempre el tenia a mà quan jugava online, pensant que em serviria d'alguna cosa fullejar ràpidament el capítol d'obertures mentre tenia partides en marxa.
December 30, 2024
His writing and way of looking at chess and "Life" is amusing and makes for a different kind of chess book, and there is solid chess advice in here, but I found this to be a bit of a trudge to get through by the end. Lacking in diagrams of positions and the prose can be pretty dense.
July 2, 2021
A very good primer, but scattered typographical errors (in the Dover edition) mar its efficacy as a chess manual. E.g., the Rubinstein-Spielmann match (pp. 149-50) has the moves 6. ...QxKRPch 7. K-Kt4 Q-R4ch. (directly adjacent on the row) 8. K-B4 - and the King apparently avoids check, despite being on the same row as the Queen. This isn't an isolated instance, and it's a repeatedly vexing issue in an otherwise strong book.
November 29, 2013
Does anybody now it's rate
May 20, 2014
If you haven't you should've.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews