Handbuch des Schachspiels (
Handbook of Chess, often simply called the
Handbuch) is a
chess book, first published in 1843 by
Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa. It was one of the most important opening references for many decades. The
Handbuch had been the project of
Paul Rudolf von Bilguer, who was with von der Lasa a member of the
Berlin Chess Club and the influential group of
chess masters later called the
Berlin Pleiades. Bilguer died in 1840, with the work still in the early stages. Von der Lasa completed the project and saw it published, with his friend von Bilguer alone named as author. It contained comprehensive analyses of all
opening variations then known, plus a section on the history and literature of chess.