Product Description
This book is essentially a teaching machine. The way a teaching machine works is: It asks you a question. If you give the right answer, it goes on to the next question. If you give the wrong answer, it tells you why the answer is wrong and tells you to go back and try again.This is called "programmed learning". The real authors were experts and authorities in the field of programmed learning. Bobby Fischer lent his name to the project. Stuart Margulies is a chess master and also a recognized authority on programmed learning. He is a widely published author of more than 40 books, all in the field of programmed learning, especially in learning how to read. For example, one of his books is "Critical reading for proficiency 1 : introductory level". Donn Mosenfelder is not a known or recognized chess player, but he was the owner of the company that developed and designed this book. He has written more than 25 books, almost all on basic reading, writing and math. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (266)

Ultimate Instruction Guide
This is a great book for learning the game of chess.My father gave me this book when I was learning and I got it for my 9 year old son.Like the game of chess this book withstands the test of time.My son was having difficulty picking up on the nuances of the pieces and he needed a better understanding of the strategy involved.After reading this book his game has improved.This book will teach you to look over the whole board and how to maximize the strengths of your pieces.Now, if you're an experienced player this book is not meant for you. If you are looking for Mr. Fischer's opening moves or endgame to study then keep looking.This book is a simple yet engaging collection of exercises that will strengthen and tone your chess.

Good for beginners
I haven't seen this book for many years - you can tell from the picture on the cover that it's an oldie since Bobby would be in his late sixties if he were still alive. While an ideal instructional 'book' today would have to be a computer program, books have their advantages - you can stick them in your back pocket, read them in the tub, and throw them at things. Also, they tend to be lighter than a computer.
The first few reviews I saw trashed the book. I don't remember it as being as bad as all that. The positions aren't meant to challenge a tournament player, but to exercise the wits of beginners. While most chess books start with openings and strategy, I think that's not a good way to learn. Ruben Fine and Capablanca thought you should learn chess backwards: first learn the endgame and how to mate the lone king, then the middle game, and only last learn the openings. I think that's right. How can you work towards a goal if you don't know what the goal looks like? Also, computers have taught us that positional maxims are overrated. If you learn your tactics the positional rules will come easily, while the positional rules are wasted if you don't know how to make your pieces combine. With that in mind, a book like this is a good way to learn.
I don't recall thinking the positions were all that easy, certainly not for a beginner. This book is meant to be outgrown. It is not a manual you will turn to again and again when preparing for tournaments. It's a no-nonsense drill in fundamentals, and, as such, is worth getting as a first book. A good follow up would be a book on chess traps and tricks, which will give you some opening theory along the way. If you want to beat your friends and relations, there's nothing like a good bag of tricks. And chess should be fun, after all.

Truly for beginners!
I really disagree with the most helpful reviews on the main amazon page criticizing this book. As a teacher of chess, I think that it is outstanding. It is truly for beginners. In chess, beginners have two meanings. On the one hand, they refer to serious chess players who have only recently become serious about chess. On the other hand, they refer to people who are beginning to play chess. This book is for the latter.

I used to have this book and am going to purchase it for my fiancee as a surprise gift because she is motivated to learn chess. What I remember from the book are its outstanding diagrams and the way that Fischer takes a very simple idea such as a bank rank checkmate and then brings the reader along to more complex setups that capitalize on the back rank checkmate strategy. I learned some new things looking at the more complicated diagrams myself.

Its lack of notation is yet another asset. The last thing a beginner wants is to look at a book with chess notation. They want to look at diagrams and figure out the best move. They also want to look at diagrams that they can solve in a few minutes instead of a few hours. But if my memory serves me correctly, there is minimal notation in the book that will actually be helpful for someone who has never been exposed to it before.

Finally, I think there is something thrilling about learning from arguably the greatest chess player of all-time. I have not reviewed many chess books, so I can't comment on how Fischer rates as a teacher compared to others. But it is a treat for beginners to learn from one of the greatest minds of all-time. I hope the film that they are working on does him justice!

A thorough review of some basic ideas
If anyone else had written it, I would have given this 1-2 stars, as a dull and elementary book. However, it is interesting to see what Bobby Fischer thinks is important for a beginner -- a thorough understanding of basic tactics.

I much prefer his 60 memorable games ( isbn 190638830X), though of course it is at a much higher level.

2 books: B. Fischer teaches chess
I bought 2 of these.One to replace my lost one...and one as a present for my friend who usually beats me!Totally satisfied with both. Excellent service and correspondance. THANKS! ... Read more

Product Description
This book that belonged to Richard W. King (a chess player) is signed by Bobby Fischer (as far as I can tell). The inscription states: Dear Richard, I shall be forever indebted to you for all the hellp you gave me in preparing for the world chess championship. Bobby" ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

This is a neat book.
The author collected about a hundred (I didn't really count them) of Fischer's games, together with some chess problems and some GM and master games to draw the parallel between Fischer's play and chess great players'. The author grouped the games in endgames, middle-games and openings. Fischer had many outstanding endgames, but also there were a few games he was lucky to draw it because his opponents missed the wins. There too were some games Fischer couldn't win because of lack of experience (the next time around he would win convincingly after reviewing the theory). The part of middle-games showed how much better and stronger-will he was compared to his opponents. About the openings we all know Fischer had a narrow repertoire, however his is deeper than anyone before and after his time. There had been some systems he was not lucky with, but he stuck to them throughout to prove his points. Then by his most important match, the championship match with Spassky, he sprung out the Queen Pawn opening, the Alekhine and some he seldom employed. And he won! There were not many drawn or lost games of Fischer's in this book, but they are instructive. (And it's good for us to know.)
The games in the book were not deeply analyzed but there are many of them. With a computer programs it is easy to improve the analyses. As the title said, "The chess of Bobby Fischer." It's all about the chess skills or the psychology that Fischer experienced during the games. For more of the personal aspect, the book by Gufeld is a good complement to this book.

Thorough
This book is well written. It has fascinating positions where Fischer may or may not be winning material wise. The downside is that the notation is quite antiquate. You have to remember K for King and Kn for Knight. I prefer N for the latter. The algebraic system is better.

Notation aside, this is a big book with lots of great games. I think you'll be surprised by the authors work.

"The chess of bobby fischer " is the excillent chess book.
The book shows the tactics of playing chess by Bobby Fischer . So one can easily improve the ways of playing chess by readtng this book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Very Entertaining
I really enjoy this book very much. I like the relatively large chess diagrams and the format of the book. I play chess for fun but I am always trying to improve my game and this book has helped me to see a little more deeply into some positions. This book is an excellent example of the use of different tactics such as decoys, deflection, sacrifices etc. Besides the use of tactics what I also learned from this book is that Bobby Fischer had a very keen ability to detect even the most subtle weakness in an opponents position and how he exploited it. Very entertaining.

Good puzzle book, but not especially useful
"Let's learn to think like Bobby Fischer."

The above is the premise of this book by chess legend Bruce Pandolfini (Josh Waitzkin's teacher): you solve puzzles created from positions in the late, great Bobby Fischer's games. Each position is graded in terms of difficulty. 1 = easy; 2 = fairly easy, and so on, up to 5, which is the hardest.

To solve each position, you must look at everything that's going on across the board. The correct move will most likely allow you to checkmate the enemy king, gain material, or achieve some significant positional gain. All in all, a fun book, and good for players who like a good puzzle.

However, the "organization" of this book (if I can be kind enough to call it that) is poorly done. Easy, difficult, and positions of intermediate difficulty are strewn around the book, mixed with one another. As far as the eye can see, neither Pandolfini nor his editors made any effort whatsoever to organize this book. To look on the bright side, the arrangement isn't a serious flaw - unless you're actually looking for a particular position, in which case you're going to do some serious bookmarking here.

However, this book's primary flaw is that despite presenting some interesting tactical positions from arguably the greatest chess player of all time, this book isn't a cohesive, comprehensive way to improve your chess; it's more of a fun puzzle book. If you want a good, instructional book about chess that addresses everything from the opening to the endgame, try "How to Reassess Your Chess" (great book) by Jeremy Silman.

Good, but not all the moves are so outrageous
I like this little book.It's a good one in that you don't even need a chess set handy to work through all the possibilities in your head, as there are very few 10-move or so combinations and variations to try to keep track of like in many combination books, so this ends up being a good a "mobile" chess book in that it can be read and enjoyed anywhere, like Reinfeld's 1001 combinations/1001 checkmates books can.I'm no great chess player, so it's hard for me to just go through so much in my mind without setting a position up on a board and playing through it.

Some of the things Fischer did were of such sublime tactical genius that they show a level of creativity in planning that approaches aesthetic art, rather than being reduced to pure technique or sterile computer reasoning.The move in game 65 is one such example, even if a computer would indeed see it.

That said, some of the combinations in this book are less than thrilling and certainly not "outrageous," but examples of good play - some of which are so obvious that beginning players with knowledge of simple tactics (forks, pins, discoveries, etcetera) will spot them instantly and probably not be too bowled over by them.I've seen 2-move chess problems that have had me much more perplexed, many from real games.

To be fair, as other reviewers have pointed out, these easy ones rate a "1" on Pandolfini's difficulty scale, but as an example, what's so outrageous about Fischer's capitalizing on Taimanov's blunder in game 21 with Qd4, setting up a rook and king fork? Answer:Nothing outrageous. Any run-of-the mill pub player with enough talent to think for a moment before making the next move would spot this one almost reflexively, despite Taimanov missing it - that's why they call it a blunder - and everyone makes them from time to time, including grandmasters.It's still not genius to see it, and this problem is filler to make the 101 number, as far as I'm concerned.There are a few other examples.

Again, it's not my place to nitpick this book apart or to be some arbiter of genius versus not genius or outrageous versus pedestrian.The book does show a wealth of things that are truly surprising and inspiring to those who wish to improve their tactical play, and it reinforces the axiom time and again that we should "see the whole board."

Great 'game' in itself!
I found this a refreshing change from the usual chess problem or instructional book. Here you can play through the book and score yourself to see how well you do. Then you go back through them again to see how you can improve with better understanding. It's also good for returning to after a good time has passed, and see if you do better or worse.

The difficulty levels are randomized so you will find problems of varying difficulties throughout the book. I think this is good as you don't know what will be coming on the next move until you get there. If someone wants to do them in order of difficulty, it could be done simply by going through and doing all the ones first, then the twos, etc. Also while it might not be most helpful to one's own game to experience only what occurs at those critical moments, one can practice through how Fischer actually developed the opportunities for these outrageous moves by checking the entire games out in the back of the book.

While the other more standard problem and instructional books remain important, I wish more like this one were published.

Such a Jaw-dropping Mind! And he helps get you to be the same way!
This is an excellent book! It really exceeded my expectations tremendously! Keep in mind what is meant by "Outrageous Moves"... many of the indicated moves in this book (though not all of them) are FORCING MOVES, which you have to learn to discern when to make such a move. Studying Fischer sets you on that path and Pandolfini guides the reader, assisting in gleaning Fischer's didactic ways. I think it can strike some people with less of an effect, though, if you just go through the book the way it's presented. The diagrams, clues and solutions are actually presented as best as they can be (except for the diagram to game 25, the White Queen should be on h3 instead of h4), it's just that you, the reader, would do well to take a folded rectangular slice of paper with tape at the top of it and cover the bottom part of each page as you go so you won't see the answers. That way you can set up the diagrammed position on your own chessboard, read Pandolfini's clue, and take a certain amount of time to try to figure out what Fischer figured out. To take it a step further, I suggest you don't even read Pandolfini's clue until you find that you can't figure out the solution in 10 minutes (then go back to trying to figure out the position for another 10 to 25 minutes. [Keep score as you go through the whole book])... I suggest that last part because I found that some of Pandolfini's clues were too revealing, but such clues are kept to a minimum. The level-of-difficulty indicators (1 through 5) were a big help too... but when you're looking at a position in a real-life, over-the-board game, you don't get to see a 1 or a 5 in the corner of the table.As if all of that weren't enough, when you finally do finish studying a position after you've read the answer, STUDY THE ENTIRE GAME SCRUPULOUSLY via the full notation in the back of the book (which has no commentary, but through filling in your own notes (get a 3-ring notebook)!, you'll force yourself to see even more than you thought you could)!! I think it was a sad oversight for Pandolfini to neglect to mention that the full notations for all the games are given in the back of the book; just imagine someone getting through a major portion of the book and then they discover that they could have been studying the entire games via the notation in the back of the book...! (by the way, Game 76 has another Outrageous Move [19....Bg4!] found only in the full notation).All of the aforementioned is a major shortcoming of the way this book is presented... Pandolfini doesn't instruct you TO MAKE A STUDY COURSE out of this book; maybe, he just expected every readerto have been familiar already with his "Solitaire Chess" section of "Chess Life" Magazine and to take it upon themselves to do the aforementioned anyway. I got SO MUCH out of doing it that way (on Fritz 8 Deluxe, by the way. I saved the games with my own notes [on my external hard drive] and now I have 101, little "CHESS MOVIES")! By the way, many of these games are on the Fritz 8 Deluxe(and the new Fritz 9, too, I'm sure) Compact Disc (in the "Database" folder). As for those people who lambasted this book as a cheap attempt to get paid off of Bobby Fischer's name, just realize that there will always be critics of you when you try to do something to help people tremendously. When you study Bobby Fischer's "out-of-the-box" way of thinking over a period of at least 90 days (about what it took me) you, yourself improve to an immense degree! You just have to make up your mind to do what you're going to do and address the criticism when it comes your way (the same way you do your opponent's attack in chess). You don't have to take that crap from people! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excelent book for beginners
There is a small paperback version of this book, but the printing is bad and the diagrams are too small, so I decided to buy an used hardcover edition. I read it with my 9-year old daughter.

The book is very interactive and teaches using questions and problems. In some cases, it takes examples from real Bobby Fischer games. The book focus on check and end of the game situations. It has very few openning and middle game examples.

It is not a complete book, but the way it is structured is really intersting. I surely recommend it for beginners at the "only-know-how-to-move-the-pieces" level. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the only book ever written entirely by Bobby Fischer. It is not to be confused with other books with similar names that were written by other authors.Here is the blurb on the original dust jacket, as published in 1959:THERE ARE 34 games in this book. The 13 from the U.S. Championship Tournament of 1957-58 and the prize-winning "Game of the Century" from the Third Rosenwald Trophy Tournament are penetratingly analyzed by Bobby Fischer, whose annotations provide invaluable instructions to the chess player of either average or advanced ability. In addition, this book includes the scores of Bobby Fischer's 20 games from the 1958 Portoroz Interzonal Tournament in which he played against the world's elite in chess, among them Tal, Gligorich, Petrosyan, and Bronstein.The games in this book reveal Bobby Fischer's brilliance in middle and end-game strategy, and also the latest and soundest treatments of popular openings-in particular, the Sicilian and King's Indian defenses. By playing these games over, the reader will become familiar with the patterns of the latest and soundest lines in chess, and will automatically begin to make stronger moves in his own games.At the age of fifteen, Bobby Fischer is the youngest international grandmaster of all time. He lives in Brooklyn, is a junior at Erasmus Hall High School, and is looking forward to the 1959 Candidates' Tournament, the winner of which challenges Mikhail Botvinnik for the world championship. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Out of Print Since Fischer was a Kid
Sam Sloan may be the sleaziest chess writer of all time. He would probably take that as a compliment, since he has boasted in print about having sex with child prostitutes in Thailand.

Nevertheless, nobody else has gone to the trouble of reprinting this little book. Fischer's analysis is hardly in-depth, but it does give some insight into the development of a young chess genius.

The book is pretty outrageously priced, considering the minimal content. Nothing in it is likely to make you a better player. Maybe if it goes out of print, it'll become a collectors' item.

For a few dollars more you can get Karsten Mueller's book that has all of Fischer's games. That way you'll be supporting a real chess player, not just some pervert.

Bobby Fischer's First Book
This book contains 34 games, 15 won by Fischer, 17 draws, and two losses. All of the games are presented in English Descriptive Notation. The first 13 games are Fischer's games from the 1957-58 US Championship. Fischer won this tournament with eight wins, five draws, and no losses, and thus became chess champion of the United States when he was only 14 years old. All of these games are presented with notes by Fischer.

The 14th game in the book is the Gruenfeld Defense that Fischer won as Black against Donald Byrne in the Rosenwald Tournament of 1956. This is the best game ever won by a 13-year-old chessplayer. It is presented here with notes by Fischer and John Collins.

The last 20 games in the book are Fischer's 20 games from the Portoroz Interzonal of 1958. Fischer scored six wins, 12 draws, and two losses in this tournament, and thus gained the title of International Grandmaster when he was only 15 years old. These 20 games are presented without notes.

Fischer acknowledged having help from John Collins in writing this book. (The only book ever written entirely by Bobby Fischer is _I Was Tortured In The Pasadena Jailhouse_)

Reprint of Bobby's first book
I looked for several years on ebay to get a copy. This was impossible mainly because of high prices. Now I am happy to get this reprint.
But the book is only valuable for collectors, because the 15 year old Bobby was not able to write an outstanding book so far. ... Read more

Product Description
A collection of stories, told first-hand, by people who have known Bobby Fischer in the past. There are 7 authors in all, making for a book with many different views on America’s greatest chess player of all time. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Good, but beware!
There is no doubt that the sections written by Purdy (i.e. the annotated games) make this book a worthy purchase.But later sections of the book are not written by Purdy-they are by Ralph Tykodi-and they are useless.For instance the chapter with the intriguing title "The road to 2000" is basically an advertisement for the other books in the series-very very little practical advice.It seems that if Purdy had written a chapter on how to get to 2000 rating, it would be practical and useful:he was one of the greatest chess teachers of all time.But again-the sections written by Purdy (over a hundred games!) make the book worth it.

Great Book
Contrary to some of the "experts" that panned this book (eg Randy Bauer), this book is a gold mine of information about Fischer's chess philosophy and style. The many included games are annotated and related to specific aspects of his play.Included are discussions of: open positions, prophylaxis, tension, piece placement, playing dynamic positions etc. .Tweny aspects of his style are listed.This is the clearest explanation of the various aspects of his play that I've seen.
Obviously, there is some gossipy stuff, but the attention to his games is what counts.Highly recommended.

one of most interesting book about Fischer.
I have 4 or 5 books about Fischer, but this one is different. It shows Fischer, the person. Seven contributors recalled their personal contacts with Fischer. Their encounters were first-hand, so their stories are truer. There are no deep chess analyses in this book, however they are the important games during Fischer's career. This is no problem, because I can find the analyses in other books or magazines, or even from chess programs. The interviews, stories, experience, observation that the authors shared enlighten me many points about Fischer. He is incredible, demanding bunch of money to play the championship with Spassky; then rejecting more money when having to defend his title. He turned down large sum of money when asked to write a book about the match. How could he rack up long strings of wins without allowing a single draw along? And these games were against the GMs. This book also has many good pictures along his exciting career. A nice article written by Unzicker near the end showed how fairly Fischer treated chess-fellows. This book could a short historical document illustrating the rise and fall of a chess titan. ... Read more

Product Description
Three Days with Bobby Fischer and Other Chess Essays: How to Meet Champions & Choose Your Openings is a chess book you can sit back comfortably in your armchair and just read. Or, when you feel like getting the pieces out of the box and learning from some great games, tactics and strategies—that's all here as well.

Nearly everyone with an interest in chess shares the same two questions:

• What were the great champions like?
• How can I choose opening moves that give me a good game?

Chess Hall-of-Famer and three-time US Champion Lev Alburt teams up with World Chess Hall of Fame Executive Director and Chess Journalist of the Year Award winner Al Lawrence to answer these questions— and tell the intriguing, inspiring and sometimes downright bizarre behind-the-scenes stories of the chess greats and near-greats, and how, above all else, they were men of their times.

• Steinitz, who codified the rules of good play—before going berserk
• Lasker, the chessboard Freudian who wielded psychological weapons
• Capablanca, dashingly handsome and to whom everything came easy
• Alekhine, a dsiplaced person who gave up drink to win
• Under-rated Euwe, the last amateur to become world champion
• Botvinnik, who refrained from sex to preserve his phosphorus
• Smyslov, an amateur opera singer who brought chess and artist' touch
• Tal, whose gaze and red-hot sacrifices wilted even the toughest wills
• Petrosian, who through chess became a paradox—a Soviet bourgeois
• Spassky, irreverent attacker who bowed to enigmatic Bobby Fischer
• Karpov, the positional boa constrictor of the board
• Kasparov, the char8smatic boxer-chess-player who's still at the top.

And many more great players of the past and present who never made it to the very top, but nevertheless left their indelible mark on the game. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Why are Alburt's books so hard to follow?
I read three of his, including this one.The Pirc, for the benefit of the doubt, is so advanced that I could not understand.The Rules of Thumb, so general that I could find from other books.This book, only the first thin section is about Fischer, the rest is like a condensed version of chess magazines.It takes only 10 minutes to read all about Fischer in this book. I recommend the Gufeld's book about Fischer, deeper, more stories and games of Fischer's. ... Read more

Product Description
Along with millions of other Americans, Fred Waitzkin was smitten by chess during the historic Fisher-Spassky championship match in 1972. Inspired by Bobby Fischer's charisma, he began to study the game, but quickly gave it up when he discovered he had little talent for it. His interest was revived a decade later when his young son began coaxing him to play and, to the author's astonishment, was beating him. This is the story of three years in the lives of father and son, from the moment when Josh first sits at a board at the age of six until he wins the national primary championship three years later. ... Read more

Product Description
Xix, 97 pages Octavo, grey cloth/red&black lettering on spine, chess pcs on cover/Pictorial jacket with photograph of Fischer on front. Introduction by Fischer, an account of his chess career May'55-May'58, 14 annotated games; also 21 games from '58 Portoroz Interzonal Tournament, without notes. With diagrams and crosstable. Jacket design by Frank Pagnato/Photo by Lawrence Shustak. ... Read more

Product Description
Bobby Fischer emerged from his reclusive privacy justlong enough to defy the U.S. government and give the interviewreferenced by the title of this collection of interviews from 10 yearsof NEW IN CHESS MAGAZINE. Other subjects includ Garry Kasparov,Viswanathan Anand, Anatoly Karpov, Judit Polgar and a host of otherchess luminaries. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

another exploitation of fischer s name
i am very disappointed from this book. Its title seemed to me very promising but nothing matched my expectations. This book contains a lot of chess interviews some interesting some not..But nothing more, it is just a collection of interviews that the author- a known chess journalist- has taken through out his career. Moreover he uses the very marketable name of bobby fischer inspite that only a brief part of the book is refering to him. Save your money for something else.... ... Read more