Originally over a series of five brochures from 1925 to 1927, the book—one of the early works on hypermodernism—introduced many new concepts to followers of the modern school of thought.

It is generally considered to be one of the most important books in the history of chess.

[1] The book is divided into three parts: "The Elements", "Positional Play", and "Illustrative Games".

He regards the following as the elements of chess strategy: The next part, "Positional Play" (German: Das Positionsspiel), is based largely on the elements taught in the first part.

In particular, he argues that the center can be effectively controlled using pieces instead of pawns.