Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess Paperback – July 1, 1982

Having previously attempted to optimize various aspects of my existence – from the psychological to the biochemical – I decided it was high time to upgrade my strategic processing capabilities. My previous attempts at chess involved a lot of hopeful piece-shoving and bewildered staring, a highly inefficient algorithm for achieving victory. Recognizing the need for a more direct data injection, I acquired Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess. I didn't see it as a book, but rather as a firmware update for my brain's chess module, delivered via a 1982 analog interface.From a purely functional standpoint, this 352-page volume is a masterclass in efficient knowledge transfer. It bypasses the often-tedious theoretical lectures and gets straight to the core function: achieving checkmate. The programmed learning method feels less like reading and more like interacting with an early, highly effective training program. Each page presents a problem, a challenge to your pattern recognition subroutines, followed by the solution on the next page. The physical design, with left-hand pages printed upside down, is a stroke of genius in user interface design for self-discipline. It's the book's way of saying, "Prove you've processed the data before you get the answer, buddy." It's a physical barrier to premature gratification, a feature I honestly appreciate in a world of instant digital answers. The near-perfect 4.6-star rating from thousands of users is compelling empirical evidence of its efficacy in upgrading human chess-playing units.The inherent humor in this artifact lies in its earnest, almost relentless focus on checkmate. It's like buying a comprehensive guide to automotive repair and finding that 90% of it is just detailed instructions on how to install lug nuts. Essential? Absolutely. But the singular dedication to this one critical task is delightfully intense. One can almost hear Bobby's voice echoing from the pages, demanding, "Did you find the checkmate? No? Flip the page (and the book!) and try again." It's a no-nonsense approach that borders on the comically rigid, yet it undeniably works.Positively speaking, this book delivers precisely what it promises. It doesn't clutter your mental RAM with obscure opening variations. It focuses on the critical end-game sequence, the digital handshake of victory. Working through the problems felt like debugging a complex system, identifying the faulty moves and correcting them based on the provided optimal path. It built my confidence not by explaining why a move was good in abstract terms, but by showing me, repeatedly, how to achieve the desired outcome. It's like getting a cheat code for the final boss, but you still have to earn it by solving the puzzle yourself.In conclusion, if you're looking for a unique, highly effective, and humorously direct method to hardwire checkmate patterns into your strategic thinking, Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess is an exceptional tool. It provides the structured training environment and the built-in anti-cheat mechanism; the resulting ability to confidently deliver checkmate is the highly satisfying system upgrade. I highly recommend it for anyone ready to move beyond random piece-pushing and start finishing chess games with purpose.

Book looks brand new, like it's never been touched before. I received it the next day from when I ordered it. Flawless transaction. A+++

Just kidding. But this really helped my chess skills improve. I bought this book after learning chess, and after about a month, I went to a real life tournament. Keep in mind, I had NO chess skills, I had only been playing for about a month or so. I didn't plan on playing, only spectating, but my chess teacher told me I had to play since we were missing players (I'm in HS). After playing, I completed the game with an official elo of 768. Before this book, I was probably a 200 or 300. I'm not saying you'll get a 400+ elo boost, but this definitely changed the way I play games, and I am really good at chess now. I can easily compete with a 1500 elo player (might not win but I'll give them a hard time!), and I can also feel very confident when playing against 1000 elo or less players.I feel like to get the most out of this book, you really need to practice. I read this book while also implementing the things I learned into real life practice games with other players. I love this book so much, it is the only chess book I ever needed. I recommend you purchase this if you want to become better at chess, or challenge your brain for a little while. After reading this book, I didn't need advice from others; I began giving it.Good luck nerds.

I thought there would be more theory, but this is just puzzles.But this is much better than online puzzles. They are organized into topic chapters, and involve specific questions about the scenarios.Small book. Could be fun for long car trips and waiting rooms, as well as general study.

I played a lot of chess in college and in my 20's and the stopped. I coming back to the game after almost 40 years. This is the best book I've found for my situation -- I know how the pieces move but I've forgotten the elements of strategy that will lead to a win. This book leads you there! It uses a "programmed learning" format that was popular in the 1960's and 70's that I think is very effective but has fallen out of vogue. Each concept or problem is presented on the right-hand-side page. The answer is printed on the right-hand-side after you turn the page. At the end you just turn the book over and continue. No paging through to find the answer page disrupting your progress.The only other negative comment I found in the reviews was that the book was too focused on checkmating! Duh...! Chess is about checkmating! It's the object of the game! Learning how to set up moves that get you to checkmate is where it's at. If your less that a 1200 player I believe it's what you should focus on. You need to be playing against over 1200 rated players to worry about openings and memorizing defenses. Most under 1200 rated players lose because they don't recognize checkmate situations or make stupid moves they should have seen because they didn't understand basic tactics leading to checkmate. Playing the right variation of an opening isn't their biggest problem. If your under 1200 start with this book and then move on to a puzzle book. Save the tristes on openings for later.The only thing I wish the book had that it doesn't is a table of contents. After you finish the book you'll want to come back to certain sections to review them. Here's my contribution...Chapter 1 -- Elements of Checkmate -- pg 15Chapter 2 -- The back-row mates -- pg 103Chapter 3 -- Back-Rock Defenses and Variations -- pg 155Chapter 4 -- Displacing Defenders -- pg 193Chapter 5 -- Attacks on the Enemy Pawn Cover -- pg 236Chapter 6 -- Final Review -- pg 292Buy this book! It can't help but to improve your game.