by John Donaldson & Nikolay Minev, 402pp. (Second Edition, 2006 Russell Enterprises)
 
Akiva Rubinstein occupies a unique position in chess history. One of the greatest artists ever to sit down at a chessboard, Rubinstein was also the strongest player never to get a shot at the title of World Champion.
 
The Life & Games of Akiva Rubinstein, Volume 1: Uncrowned King focuses on the years 1882-1920, covering Rubinstein’s rise from a modest upbringing to his emergence as Emanuel Lasker’s chief challenger in the last years leading up to World War I. It also examines the effects this conflict had on his sensitive psyche and the way it influenced his play in the post-War years.
 
The most definitive work ever done on the first part of Rubinstein’s career, this revised and expanded edition of The Life & Games of Akiva Rubinstein, Volume 1: Uncrowned King offers almost 500 games, many of them deeply annotated with notes translated from top players of the pre-World War I era, including Lasker, Tarrasch, Schlechter and Rubinstein. The authors have also made many new annotations to the games and uncovered quite a bit of interesting material, including recent discoveries on Rubinstein’s stay in Sweden after World War I.
 
The second edition of The Life & Games of Akiva Rubinstein, Volume 1: Uncrowned King is 20 percent larger than its predecessor and with its wealth of crosstables, archival photos, multiple indexes and through bibliography it offers a treasure trove for the Rubinstein fan.
 
International Master Nikolay Minev was three times champion of his native Bulgaria and represented his country six times in Chess Olympiads, several times on top board. An expert on endings, Minev was one of the principal contributors to Chess Informant’s mammoth Encyclopedia of Chess Endings series. He served for many years as editor of the Bulgarian national chess magazine Shakhmatna misl and was a regular columnist for Inside Chess for over ten years. Since 1983 Minev has made his home in Seattle.
 
International Master John Donaldson has served nine times as Captain for the US national chess team, most recently at the Olympiad in Turin 2006 where the Americans placed third. The author of more than thirty books covering all aspects of the game, Donaldson also has two Grandmaster norms. He has served since 1998 as the Director of the Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club in San Francisco and makes his home across the Bay in Berkeley.