Rating: Summary: Nearly worthless Review: This book was intended as an instructional book for the beginning chessplayer, but it fails in almost every respect. After the rules of the game are reviewed, Fischer devotes essentially the entire book to the back rank mate and narrowly related subjects. It completely neglects opening principles, general middlegame themes (e.g., pawn structure, open files, etc.), and basic endgames. A novice, having completed this book, might become somewhat more proficient at seeing and executing certain tactical ideas, but she might also come away with the incorrect idea that back rank checkmates are somehow the core principle of the game. This could furnish enough tools for a casual player to beat other casual players; however, a chess enthusiast with serious aspirations needs a far more balanced approach. Jeremy Silman has written far better instructional books, and so has Yasser Seirawan.
Rating: Summary: CHESS NEVER RECOVERED FROM BOBBY FISCHER'S RETIREMENT!!! Review: Chess never recovered from Bobby Fischer's retirement, but at least he wrote BOBBY FISCHER TEACHES CHESS during his championship era for us to remember him by. I've always been a lot more interested in the psychology of chess and the people who play it instead of the game, and so the cover photo of Bobby Fischer--studying the board and wearing a suit, a picture which shows him as a genius at chess but someone who just couldn't learn the politics that it takes to become a successful celebrity--makes BOBBY FISCHER TEACHES CHESS one of my favorite books. It's a good book for beginners and is better organized than most books. Fischer understood the value of constantly seeing game situations for teaching chess in a book--he was always ahead of his time!--and this book has better drawings than most chess books. TIME TO WRITE ANOTHER BOOK, BOBBY FISCHER!!! Chari Krishnan RESEARCHKING
Rating: Summary: Feet Wet Review: Other beginner books may start off with common and simple opening moves followed by a few simple tactical themes, this book goes straight to checkmate and problem solving. Exposure to the game of chess with this approach is an excellent way to get your "feet wet". It may be hard to appreciate this book at first but what you learn will pay in dividends as you improve.
Rating: Summary: Simply the best written by the best Review: 1) Chess Book 2) written by: Bobby Fischer 3) do I need to say more?
Rating: Summary: Please don't. Review: He is an ugly person and a racist. This is not an opinion. Just listen to what he has said on radio and TV interviews. Buying this book supports him. Please don't.
Rating: Summary: Best Starter Book on Chess... Review: This is the best starter book on chess that I have ever seen in my life... Sure people can argue and say oh this book or that book might help you more... I also think everyone should own The Mammoth Book of Chess starting out... Here is a book that I can give my nephew and he can read and understand it... Basically you do not have to know anything about notation, whether its algebra or out dated descriptive notation... You look at the pictures and pick the moves and see results usually on the next page... This book is great for back rank mates and defending vs. the back rank mate... Also to start thinking in combos, deflection lots of things... Even has a basic chapters on how the pieces move for those really in the dark ages... I really like how the book has an odd setup... Basically when you read it cover to back your not done... You gotta flip it upside down and read it back to cover :)... Ive read the book at least 5 times and I Used to read it every so often to keep myself sorta sharp... This book really helped me climb from around 800-1000 rating up to 1300-1600ish rating... 800ish being blitz and 1000 more standard games... The Mammoth book of chess helped also, but this one really got me into the checkmate KO punch... The price of the book also can not really be beat... Its a cheap book and worth the investment if your starting out in chess... I think everyone should own this book, every so often I still read a chapter... Im higher in standard now, but I find it still helps keep me sharp... Esp if I have not had a chance to play a game in a while... I might not wanna read a heavy book etc, just looking this over gets me thinking in combos and mates etc... So if you do not know much about chess and want an easy start... This is the book to open the door to the game for you... Also this is the only chess book I know that has no notation in it at all to be honest...
Rating: Summary: Beginners should definitely get this book Review: When I first started chess in high school , I was really frazzled at all the technical N-f4, Q-e6 stuff that I'd see in chess books. Then I found this Bobby Fischer book which really saved the day. It teaches you how to play, using simple, straight-forward diagrams that anyone can understand. This book is absolutely unparalleled when it comes to teaching someone the basics of the game. It covers everything, from opening moves, to the middle game, all the way to checkmate situations. If you're already above the novice stage, don't waste your time with this, but if you're a beginner, get this book! I can't recommend it highly enough to people who are starting out.
Rating: Summary: Got rid of it Review: While it does have many positive things to be said about it, such as you can pick it up and open it to any given page and go for it from there, that can also be said about many other puzzle books. While it says "Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess" on the cover, it teaches you how to END a game, not how to GET to the end game. No openings, no middle game, and actually quite a bit limiting on end games. The big focus is on the back-rank mate, yet doesn't tell you #1, how to recognize a few moves out that a back-rank mate is a good possiblity for you to pursue, and #2, doesn't tell you what to DO to avoid the back-rank mate. While not great player by any stretch of the imagination, unless you have low expectations and think Class E is good, I was able to blow through the book in very little time and almost felt cheated feeling that I could have spent my time better on my computer running drills in the same areas. I guess, though, it is good for a beginner, and while my score is LOW, in my own defence I just started the tournament thing less than a year ago, and my rating actually went up from F to E. The best way to put it is I have known the rules of the game for about 20 years and pushed wood around for that long, but never studied until recently. This was nearly a waste of my time, nearly. What good is an end-game book when you can't work a middle game? For an end game book, it was light on tactics, which is what I have been told to work on as that is what gets beginners along until we can work our way up. After some statements made by Mr. Fischer after the terrorist attacks in New York, Washinton, DC and the hijacking in Penn., his membership in the United States Chess Federation was revoked. I decided I didn't need the knowledge from a man that had his membership yanked.
Rating: Summary: Great foundation for Chess knowledge Review: This book is a wonderful start to learning Chess from the ground up. upon completion of the excercises you wil have a solid foundation of chess. the exercises are fun and easy to understand. beginners will find it very informative, intermediate players will know most of the info contained but may lear a few things, and will definitely help you refresh you game. advanced players will be bored.
Rating: Summary: Just starting out? Review: I got this book several months ago and it helped me a lot. I simply could not see back rank checkmate patterns before I got this book. Keep in mind who this book is for: beginners who do not have a teacher but still wish to learn. It is not an in depth chess strat. book and discusses almost nothing about pawn structure or knight vs. bishop tactics; it's all about mating combinations.
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