Why Lasker Matters

Emanuel Lasker was the longest-reigning world champion (1894-1921) and remained one of the world's top 10 players for nearly four decades. He competed against top players such as Capablanca, Rubinstein and Alekhine at the height of their game, and was consistently successful, yet almost no one studies his games today. Lasker is often overlooked by the modern chess player, and the secrets of his success remain a mystery. Chess journalist Andy Soltis reveals for the first time the winning formula behind Lasker's phenonemal achievements. With over 100 annotated games, Soltis analyses the tricks, traps and techniques behind the winning moves, and makes Lasker's methods accessible to today's players.

Great chess master shares his secrets, including basic methods of gaining advantages, exchange value of pieces, openings, combinations, position play, aesthetics, and other important maneuvers. More than 300 diagrams.

Many club players think that studying chess is all about cramming as much information in their brain as they can. Most textbooks support that notion by stressing the importance of always trying to find the objectively best move. As a result amateur players are spending way too much time worrying about subtleties that are really only relevant for grandmasters. Emanuel Lasker, the second and longest reigning World Chess Champion (27 years!), understood that what a club player needs most of all is common sense: understanding a set of timeless principles. Amateurs shouldn’t waste energy on rote learning but just strive for a good grasp of the basic essentials of attack and defence, tactics, positional play and endgame play endgame play. Chess instruction needs to be efficient because of the limited amount of time that amateur players have available. Superfluous knowledge is often a pitfall. Lasker himself, for that matter, also studied chess considerably less than his contemporary rivals. Gerard Welling and Steve Giddins have created a complete but compact manual based on Lasker’s general approach to chess. It enables the average amateur player to adopt trustworthy openings, reach a sound middlegame and have a basic grasp of endgame technique. Welling and Giddins explain the principles with very carefully selected examples from players of varying levels, some of them from Lasker’s own games. The Lasker Method to Improve in Chess is an efficient toolkit as well as an entertaining guide. After working with it, players will dramatically boost their skills – without carrying the excess baggage that many of their opponents will be struggling with.

From the day when he won the World's Chess Championship from Steinitz in 1894 to his defeat by Capablanca in 1921, Emanuel Lasker reigned as the undisputed chess genius of the world. Though surely his unique talent cannot be transmitted, the basic principles upon which his chess mastery was based are outlined clearly and succinctly for the benefit of all chess enthusiasts in his "Common Sense in Chess."

Many club players think that studying chess is all about cramming as much information in their brain as they can. Emanuel Lasker, the 2nd World Chess Champion, understood that what a club player needs most of all is common sense: understanding a set of timeless principles. Amateurs shouldn't waste energy on rote learning but just strive for a good grasp of the basic essentials. Gerard Welling and Steve Giddins have created a complete but compact manual based on Lasker's general approach to chess. It enables the average amateur to play trustworthy openings, reach a sound middlegame and have a basic grasp of endgame technique. Welling and Giddins explain the principles with very carefully selected examples, some of them from Lasker's own games. The Lasker Method to Improve in Chess is an efficient toolkit as well as an entertaining guide. After working with it, players will dramatically boost their skills - without carrying the excess baggage that many of their opponents will be struggling with.

Chess as art and recreation; checkmating combinations, endgame play, strategic principles, more. Full details and analysis of author's famous game with Emanuel Lasker. 94 diagrams; other illustrations. "Very enjoyable." — Cleveland Chess Bulletin.

Following on from his successful books Understanding Chess Endgames and Understanding Chess Middlegames, John Nunn fleshes out the theory by showing how World Champion Emanuel Lasker handled a wide variety of practical situations. We see how Lasker's play, which his opponents found so unfathomable, was based on logic, extreme pragmatism and a deep understanding of how chess-players think. - Covers topics not usually considered, such as queenless middlegames and manoeuvring - Dissects strategic issues including piece activity, pawn-structure and bishop vs knight - Looks at psychological aspects of chess, such as choosing lines which are most uncomfortable for the opponent - Discusses how to handle inferior positions - Explanations focus on general ideas rather than detailed analysis - Features more than 100 of the most instructive examples from Lasker's career - Concludes with a selection of exercises, with full commentary and explanation Emanuel Lasker from Germany - chess player, mathematician and philosopher - held the world title for 27 years, longer than any other champion. His victories against many of the all-time greats were based on an ahead-of-his-time understanding and had a subtle but profound influence on modern chess thinking.

Standard biography brings legendary master to vivid life: childhood, education, decision to become a professional player, great exploits against Marshall, Tarrasch, Schlechter and other masters, happy marriage, flight from Nazi Germany and much more. 100 annotated games. Foreword by Albert Einstein. 101 black-and-white illustrations.