Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess

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For the chess program based on the book, see Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess (video game).
Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess
AuthorBobby Fischer
Stuart Margulies
Donn Mosenfelder
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SubjectChess
PublisherBasic Systems Inc, Bantam Books
Publication date
1966
Pages352
ISBN978-0553263152

Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess is a chess puzzle book written by Bobby Fischer and co-authored by Stuart Margulies and Donn Mosenfelder, originally published in 1966. It is one of the best-selling chess books of all time, with over one million copies sold.[1]

Overview[edit]

The book is intended for beginners and uses a programmed learning approach,[2] permitting readers to go back and retry each question if they give a wrong answer. Unusually for a modern chess book, it requires no knowledge of chess notation, using only diagrams with arrows and verbal descriptions of chess moves such as "rook-takes-pawn-check".[3] The book begins with an explanation of the rules of chess. The puzzles focus largely on finding checkmate; combinations involving back rank mates are particularly emphasized.

The text includes 19 examples adapted from Fischer's real games, played between 1957 and 1965.[4][5][6] The examples are variously presented as chapter-ending lessons, problems involving board positions which actually occurred in the cited games, or else as close variations which could have occurred (but didn't) in the real games, to illustrate simple themes. Problem No. 22 was adapted from Fischer vs. Larsen, Yugoslavia, 1958, with White to move and mate.[7] The real game's closest and penultimate position was 30... Rd8, a matching position except for White's queen at d2 and Black's bishop at f6; the variation [31. Qh6+ Bg7] is an example of arriving at the book's position.[8]

abcdefgh
8
d8 black rook
f8 black king
b7 black queen
d7 white pawn
g7 black bishop
h6 white queen
a5 black pawn
e5 black pawn
h5 black pawn
b4 black pawn
b3 white bishop
f3 white pawn
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
b1 white king
d1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Problem No. 22, with White to move and mate, was adapted from Fischer vs. Larsen, 1958

The cover of the book shows Fischer using his favorite Dubrovnik chess set.[9]

Publishing history[edit]

The book was originally published in 1966 by Basic Systems Inc,[10] a subsidiary of Xerox.[11][12] A paperback edition was published by Bantam Books in 1967 and sold 10,000 copies by early 1972. Due to the interest in the 1972 Fischer–Spassky World Championship match, the book was reprinted eight times that year alone.[13]

In 1994, Interplay Entertainment released a computer chess program of the same name based on the book.[14] The software received mixed reviews, PC Gamer noting the "ugly 2-D board" and Entertainment Weekly describing the lessons as "humorless... dogmatic, and fearsome".[15]

Authorship[edit]

The extent of Fischer's involvement in the book has been questioned. Andrew Soltis writes that Fischer "contributed some ideas, but chiefly his name".[16] Brady says that Fischer concentrated on working on it after the Capablanca Memorial chess tournament in 1965 and that Mosenfelder, Margulies and Leslie Ault, who were all strong players, as well as educational experts, "helped him in outlining and editing the work".[17] According to Margulies, Fischer wanted a high quality work free of any errors, so Michael Valvo and Raymond Weinstein were brought in as proofreaders.[13]

Reception[edit]

Chiefly due to its accessibility for beginners and Fischer's high public profile, the book sold an estimated one million copies. It is difficult to determine chess book sales with certainty, but this figure, based on the royalty payments made to co-author Stuart Margulies, makes it a candidate for best-selling chess book of all time.[1] In October 1972, following Fischer's victory in the World Championship, the Bantam edition appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list at No. 2 on the general paperback list. It remained in this position for four weeks.[18]

Frank Brady, who was hired by Basic Systems as a promotional consultant, later said the book "lacked color or even a fleeting glimpse into the real way Bobby's mental processes work." and that it "was not ... one of the great introductory chess treatises of modern times."[17] The Times Literary Supplement, reviewing a 1973 British edition, criticized Fischer's grammar as well as the lack of content, which they said could have been compressed to fifty pages.[19]

Popular culture[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Winter, Edward. "Chess Book Sales". Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  2. ^ Shelby Lyman on Chess: A World Class Teacher Archived October 26, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess". USCF Sales. Archived from the original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  4. ^ "Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess (game compilation)". chessgames.com.
  5. ^ "Robert James Fischer vs. Arthur Feuerstein, U.S. Championship, 1957/58". chessgames.com. Although missed in the previous list, the game is also cited in the book; see following citation.
  6. ^ Fischer, Bobby; Margulies, Stuart; Mosenfelder, Donn (1972). Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess. Bantam. pp. 285–286. ISBN 9780553263152.
  7. ^ Fischer et al., pp 41-42.
  8. ^ "Robert James Fischer vs. Bent Larsen, Portoroz Interzonal, 1958". chessgames.com.
  9. ^ Bobby Fischer discussing his Dubrovnik chess set
  10. ^ Fischer, Bobby; Margulies, Stuart; Mosenfelder, Donn (1966). Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess. ISBN 9780553263152. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  11. ^ Francis Mechner, Some Historic Roots of Education Reform (pdf)
  12. ^ Winter, Edward (November 14, 2009). "C.N. 6371 – Fischer and Xerox". Chesshistory.com.
  13. ^ a b Donaldson, John; Tangborn, Eric (1999). The Unknown Bobby Fischer. International Chess Enterprises. p. 172. ISBN 9781879479852.
  14. ^ Interplay Entertainment – Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess (Online)
  15. ^ Moby Games,Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess Reviews, 1995
  16. ^ Soltis, Andrew (2003). Bobby Fischer Rediscovered. B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 10. ISBN 0-7134-8846-8.
  17. ^ a b Brady, Frank (1973). Bobby Fischer: Profile of a Prodigy. David McKay/Dover. p. 92. ISBN 0486259250.
  18. ^ Justice, Keith L. (1998). Bestseller index : all books, by author, on the lists of Publishers weekly and the New York times through 1990. McFarland. p. 111. ISBN 0786404221.
  19. ^ Times Literary Supplement, March 30, 1973, p 362
  20. ^ Fitch, Janet (1999). White Oleander. Little, Brown & co. ISBN 0-316-28526-9.

External links[edit]

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