Chess Strategy

by Edward Lasker

One of a half-dozen great theoretical works in chess, shows principles of action above and beyond moves. Acclaimed by Capablanca, Keres, and other greats.

Genres: Chess, Nonfiction, Games, Reference, How To

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1915

About the author

Edward Lasker (December 3, 1885 – March 25, 1981) was a German-American chess and Go player. He was awarded the title of International Master of chess by FIDE. Lasker was an engineer by profession, and an author of books on Go, chess and checkers. Born in Germany, he emigrated to the United States in 1914. He was distantly related to Chess World Champion Emanuel Lasker.

Wikipedia page

Reviews

[Rhys Pierce]

This book introduced the rules on the beginning with a long list of notable chess games which might be instructive for review. It also has many diagrams in both notation and ascii text to illustrate moves in chess games. For me, the value was in reading clean and simple rules with general strategy in the games.

[Cormac Zoso]

This is the best strategy book in my opinion. It starts at an intermediate level (perhaps a bit below) and as you work through it, you rise up to I'm guessing a 1200-1400 level or so (just a rough guess). Lasker brings the strategy to life and this is a book I have genuinely worn out working through these best-remembered lesson and am nearly due for a new copy.

You'll want this one for yourself or the more advanced player you know.

[Elari]

Vexed note on decipherment:

Lasker was surely well aware of the existence of the algebraic notation, but he still went for the descriptive system, which made me abandon the book.

Why in the world would anyone deliberately trade "1. e4 e5, 2. Nf3 Nc6" for "1. P-K4 P-K4, 2. Kt-KB3 Kt-QB3"?

[Glenn]

This is an oldie, but a goodie, as they say. Or as they used to say. Originally published in 1915, this Dover reprint dates to 1959. Lasker's approach is to deal with general principles first. He goes through the creation of a pawn structure. He illustrates how end games work, and how openings can develop into end games. The 48 illustrative games are marvelous. At various points, Lasker will criticize a particular move, explaining why another move would have been better, and even showing the string of resultant moves.

One definitely must pay attention to what Lasker is presenting. This is a terrific combination of theory and action. For someone, like me, just getting back into chess, this is a great starting point.

[Zachary]

Not terrible. The theory is solid for beginner/intermediate players but the notation he uses ("Descriptive" versus modern Algebraic notation) is cumbersome & outdated, and unless you have a photographic memory, the example problems are hard to visualize from beginning to end (the awkward notation compounds this problem.)

Fortunately, online/video resources exist to supplement the material and help remediate this limitation.

[Jim]

This book presents more advanced chess principles, and it's a little hefty for a beginner (or a 7 year old, as I was the first time I borrowed my Dad's chess books), but for a more experienced player looking to improve their game, it's a pretty good resource - I did start getting more out of it as I got older, although it was never one of my personal favorites.

[Emilio]

Another one that's a bit textbook-ish for me (I get enough of it in school), but the principles laid out are concrete and succint. A good read for the accomplished and dedicated chess players I know.

[George Sr.]

An excellent chess primer. It’s somewhat dated, but that should make little difference to its target audience—beginners. Too bad it’s only available in descriptive notation.