This is the official tournament book of the International Chess Congress of 1909 – available for the first time in algebraic notation. In it Lasker annotates all 175 games of the tournament with the goal of showing “the working of the mind of the master.” He writes that “the commentary has been intended to guide the thought of him who plays over these games so that he may perceive weakness and merit. Notes have been made solely for that purpose.”
The list of competitors included many of the greats of that era, including Rubinstein, Schlechter, Spielmann, Teichmann (who translated the book from German), and Tartakower, to name only a few. Lasker and Rubinstein vied for first place throughout the tournament, in the end each scoring 14.5 points. As noted by Tim Harding in the foreword, “this is the first chance for most modern readers to appreciate a classic.”