Review on a few books

Sort:
rivuchess

I would be very grateful if someone gives me a detailed review of the books 'Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess' and 'Emanuel Lasker's Manual of Chess' (how many puzzles are there, are the games analysed, are they for intermediates, are the solutions to the puzzles correct etc).

justbefair

Both of those books have been extensively discussed in previous threads.

Here is one:

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/bobby-fischer-teaches-chessa-review

Reviews of Lasker's Manual were harder to find. There were a few threads but most of the responses came from people who hadn't read it.

There are several versions out.  Corrections have been made. There is one with an introduction by Mark Dvoretsky that looks very good.

binomine
rivuchess wrote:

I would be very grateful if someone gives me a detailed review of the books 'Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess'

I can tell you right now Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess is not an intermediate book. 

It is very much for someone who doesn't know what a pin, fork or back rank mate is, because at the end of the book, you will know what a back rank mate is.  

Bob-W

I guess Bobby Fischer teaches chess is not written by him. It's the work of the Co-authors, this not necessarily a bad thing but Fischer is used for marketing purposes mainly. For beginner that know the basics my top recommendation are the works of Artur Yusupov. Boost your chess - the fundamentals.

Knights_of_Doom

Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess is a marvelous book for beginners - it teaches basic checkmating patterns and will help a novice start to coordinate their pieces.  It is fun to read and every beginner I've given a copy to has said they read the whole thing and enjoyed it.  It has never been entirely clear how much Bobby contributed to the book - probably at least some.

Lasker's Manual of Chess is a more general book that covers various aspects of the game.  It's a classic, but I don't remember it making much of an impression on me.

The books that helped me the most when I was improving, were Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess, Logical Chess Move by Move, Winning Chess (Chernev), and How to Win in the Chess Endings (Horowitz).

RussBell

@rivuchess -

I don't believe you need to study "Bobby Fisher Teaches Chess" as it is a book targeted specifically to the complete beginner in chess, which you evidently are not.  But since you requested some info on this book, here you go...

Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess...a book review...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/bobby-fischer-teaches-chessa-book-review

I also recommend that you forego the book "Lasker's Manual of Chess" by Emanuel Lasker.  There are many reasons for this, most of which are hard to briefly describe. 

First, I should say that Lasker was a remarkable man.  Not only was he the longest tenured World Chess Champion (for 27 years, 1894-1921), but he was a Doctor of Mathematics and a philosopher, among many other accomplishments and interests.  There is much to admire about Lasker, the person as well as the chess player.

However his book, "Lasker's Manual of Chess", is essentially a personal statement, exposition of his thoughts, ideas and interests on a variety of randomly presented, mostly disjoint chess topics. If this sounds confusing, that's because it (the book) is.  To get a sense of this, check out the book's table of contents in the following pdf excerpt.....

Lasker's Manual of Chess by Emanuel Lasker.....

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Lasker_s_Manual_of_Chess/XcvDAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=lasker%27s+manual+of+chess&printsec=frontcover

While the book contains much that is instructive, it is obvious from inspection of the table of contents that it was not written as a general, i.e., traditional, instructional manual, especially for beginning and lower rated players.  It is simply Lasker's perspective on a hodgepodge of diverse topics, many of which, in the decades since the book's publication, have tended to be of minor interest to the majority of chess players, regardless of skill level. 

Unless you have an interest in Lasker per se and/or some of the esoteric topics he expounds on, I submit that there are simply too many other excellent, instructive (and more recent) chess books to choose from which would be more beneficial to your immediate chess improvement than Lasker's Manual.  

Here are some suggestions for books which I believe would be more suitable...

Good Chess Books for Beginners and Beyond...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/good-chess-books-for-beginners-and-beyond

For more helpful, instructive resources, appropriate for every improving chess amateur, see my blog...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell

BlackKaweah
Ladder’s Manual is excellent. I would not consider his chapters on strategic thought to be of minor interest. His game annotations are excellent and educational. There is a reason he is the greatest of the champions.