Emanuel Lasker: The Life of a Chess Master

Author: Hannak, J

Publisher: Andre Deutsch

Location: London

Year: 1959



320 pages with illustrations. Octavo (8 1/2" x 5 3/4") Issued in red cloth with gilt lettering to spine. Foreword by Albert Einstein. Translated by Heinrich Fraenkel. First British edition.

Emanual Lasker was a German player of Jewish origin. He was born in Berlinchen, a small town in the Prussian province of Brandenburg. He was taught the moves by his elder brother. He finished his mathematical studies at the Universities of Heidelberg and Erlangen gaining his doctorate.

Lasker represented the link between Steinitz and the modern chess world. He ensured that the principles of Steinitz were given maximum reward. Together with Steinitz, positional play in chess was well and truly introduced, elevating the game to a new level.

Lasker's game philosophy from a psychological perspective is extremely interesting because he uniquely put human frailty into the equation for being an effective chess player. He taught players to respect the psychological elements of chess.

Lasker was a chess player, mathematician and philosopher contrasting with the more dedicated Steinitz who restricted his intellectual explorations to chess. The great Albert Einstein opines of Lasker in the forward of the book Emmanuel Lasker: The Life of a chess master. Lasker believed that chess was inherently a worthless pursuit, but it was a perfect model for his profound ideas. Chess was not just opening lines and book knowledge. It represented a battle between two individuals, and therefore the style and psychology of the opponent had to be understood.


Closed tear at title page, notes on page 39, corners gently bumped. Dust jacket soiled, light chips to corners and spine ends, closed edge tears else an about very good copy in a very good dust jacket.

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