The Bottom Line
This new version of Emanuel Lasker's classic tournament book provides the second World Champion's commentary on all 175 games of St. Petersburg 1909, one of the strongest tournaments of the era. Lasker's analysis is clear and straightforward, providing valuable insight on both the games themselves and Lasker's thoughts on chess.
The analysis isn't perfect; of course, Lasker never had the option of using computer assistance, which inevitably leads to some errors in a work of this size. But this takes nothing away from the value of Lasker's notes, which provide insight into the mind of a champion.
Pros
- Clear style of analysis provides easy to understand insights
- Updated with algebraic notation
- Games organized by round makes it easy to follow tournament progression
Cons
- Some may wish for updated analysis with computer assistance
Description
- Includes 175 games analyzed by Emanuel Lasker from the 1909 St. Petersburg tournament.
- Forward by Tim Harding gives background on Lasker, the tournament, and the tournament book.
- Extras include a copy of the tournament program, the tournament crosstable, and a full index.
Guide Review - St. Petersburg 1909 by Emanuel Lasker (21st Century Edition)
St. Petersburg 1909 was held as a memorial tournament for the great Russian master Mikhail Chigorin. The strong, international field featured many top masters: chief among them the second World Champion Emanuel Lasker and Grandmaster Akiba Rubinstein. The tournament quickly became a race between the two chess titans, who finished in a tie for first at 14.5/18 -- though Rubinstein won their individual game in the third round.
Soon after the event, Lasker wrote a tournament book that provided annotations on every game played at St. Petersburg 1909. Russell Enterprises has recently released a "21st Century Edition" of this classic, updated with algebraic notation. The book retains all of Lasker's original analysis, translated to English by Richard Teichmann in 1910.
Lasker's analytical style is clear and concise, relying more on short notes than the longer, computer-aided variations seen in most modern works. While this inevitably leads to occasional errors in analysis (Lasker's statement that "this is a book in which analysis is correct" could not have foreseen the computer era), it preserves Lasker's original thoughts and provides insight into the mind of a champion.
The book is well organized. Flowing from round to round, the reader can play through the tournament and follow the progress of the Lasker/Rubinstein race from start to finish. A complete index by player and opening is provided.
Lasker's wonderful analysis will aid the progress of any improving player, and the historic value of the tournament should not be underestimated. St. Petersburg 1909 makes a worthy addition to any chess library.
