Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess

"Learn to think the same way Bobby does. This is the secret. You will be put in increasingly complex situations where you will be required to think and move the way Fischer does. You'll be a better player after you take Bobby Fischer's Chess Course. It works." (from the back cover)

A little bland, to the point, light on the poetic and accurate. As the back cover notes, this is a "Chess Course". It contains no lists of openings or moves, no analysis or deep tactics, nothing of any real color and in comparison to other books on the market, very little text. And yet, "It works". Xerox published in January of 1966, today it is the best-selling chess book of all time¹. As Bobby Fischer notes in the preface, it is useful both for beginning players, unfamiliar with chess notation, and experienced tournament players.

How "It Works"

This book was a collaborative effort on the part of two organizations and many individuals, the goal of which was to write a book of programmed chess instruction (writing credits and collaborator's input listed below). In Bobby Fischer's preface he compares the difference between their book and other's as the difference between a tutor guiding you step-by-step and a reference of materials you are expected to memorize². There is an active role designed for the reader, that of solving progressively more difficult puzzles (samples of which are also provided below) which in turn are based upon intermittent lessons.

Puzzles and lessons are organized by chapter with various lessons on the theme in each. They are further organized into 275 frames. The reader progresses through the book reading only the right hand pages. The top of each is page is the answer to the puzzle on the previous page, the bottom is the next puzzle. At the end of the book, the reader flips it over and does the other half, up to now upside down on the left hand side.

When you finish with the last frame sample, and considering the content briefly described in the chapter divisions - imagine going from How to Play Chess to solving the third frame with ease, in an afternoon or two.

Chapter Divisions

Introduction: How to Play Chess: Covers notation used within the book, how the pieces move and capture, special moves and relative piece value.
1. Elements of Checkmate: Frames 1-79; Introduce check and checkmate, pins and how to use pieces in combination. Introduce move, interpose or capture for evading/verifying checkmate.
2. The Back-Rank Mates: Frames 80-124; Move, interpose or capture theme expanded for back-rank checks. Example 1 Below.
3. Back-Rank Defenses and Variations: Frames 125-158; Begins with removing a defender, proceeds through defensive variations on the theme and finishes with several puzzles incorporating all of the preceding elements.
4. Displacing Defenders: Frames 158-194; Remove defenders with a sack, use zwischenzug or the intermediate check to force away a defender, reintroduces combinatorial attacks and gives numerous puzzles to solve incorporating all of the preceding elements. Example 2 Below.
5. Attacks on the Enemy Pawn Cover: Frames 195-239; Opens with piece sack into pawn cover and continues exploring the theme using each of the mating combinations learned thus far. The rest of the frames reinforce the lessons with several different styles of question.
6. Final Review: Frames 240-275; Opens with a review of the 16 different introduced elements for mate and several examples of the elements of defense and closes with several difficult puzzles. Example 3 Below.

Bobby Fischer	Advanced chess tactics	Tempo in chess	root log: November 2004
Improving your chess game	Alapin-Diemer Gambit	Endgames in Chess	Chess notation
Chess Tactics for Students	Fischer random chess	Zwischenzug	A Bust to the King's Gambit
Checkmate	Tournament chess	My 60 Memorable Games	Najdorf variation
Chess Openings	Chess Records	chess	yiff
August 29, 2005	Between the hurricanes	United States Chess Champions	Loser's chess

Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess

How "It Works"

Chapter Divisions

Frame Samples

Info