Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #373051 in Books
• Published on: 2009-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 350 pages

Customer Reviews

A great classic from a great champion.
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 Though the openings are a little out of date, the general advice given, its organisation, and especially sections on tactics and on past and present players are most impressive, as can be expected from a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.

Much improved edition of a great chess book
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.

Warning: This book uses English notation
Unaware, I bought this book - to find that it has English notation
instead of the international notation. I find that shocking, knowing
that Lasker wrote the original in German (using the German notation
no doubt). So when he translated it, he switched notation?
I think that it should be made utterly clear what notation is used
for chess books sold over the internet :/