Faber and Faber LTD, London, 1953, first edition, brown cloth with gilt lettering in color printed dustjacket, 303 pp, 460 grams, good condition, mild wear to dustjacket.

Seven men have been acknowledged world champions in the centuries old history of the game. Fred Reinfeld, internationally known chess authority, tells the story of these world champions in a dramatic and profound book. He delves into their triumphs, their achievements, and their failures to find what was in their play in their play and in their characters that made them outstanding. Every chess player can derive valuable knowledge about his own games from these studies. Here are Adolf Anderssen (The Romantic), Paul Morphy (The Gentleman), Wilhelm Steinitz (The Law Giver), Emanuel Lasker (The Philosopher), Jose Raul Capablanca (The Machine), Alexander Alekhine (The Fighter). and the only still living ex-world champion, Max Euwe (The Logician). Here too, are the lifetime tournament and match records of these giants of chess. Here are some of their finest games, engrossingly annotated and lavishly illustrated with diagrams.