Bobby Fischer: His Approach to Chess (Cadogan Chess Books)

For Fischerologist out there this is a 'must have'. The only other book which I can think of that comes close is David Levy's, 'How Fischer Plays Chess (published 1975, 160 pages) yet this is puny by comparison. ( Levy makes a decent attempt to overview Fischer's development and career but his book is no where near as detailed ).'Fischer: His Approach to Chess',(261 pages) is a labour of love: some 568 diagrammed game positions superbly annotated and analysed in depth along with a Foreword by Gary Kasparov and Introduction by Agur himself. The author goes to great pains to explore and explain the workings of the American Grandmaster's chess thinking, his appraisal of positions and his subsequent choice of move(s) and strategy. The book's 47 chapters each deal with some aspect of decision making and include such topics as: pawn structure; timing; seizing the initiative; active defence & counter attack... plus dozens of other stratagems. There are even chapters on,' Misplaying Won Positions,' and,'Typical Blunders and Oversights'!Agur's prose is excellent and his observations on the nuances of Fischer's play, his sensitivity to such things as pawn structure, piece co-ordination... are fascinating. Especially interesting are the comments of contemporary Grandmasters and chess journalists of the time which the author uses to highlight his own observations concerning what is unfolding on the board and Fischer's decisions to determine the course of the battle in his favour. 'Style is the man', wrote Bufon and no where is this more evident than with Fischer, a player of strict classical profile. Agur's awareness of this point when discussing Fischer's preference in selecting a move(s) is one of the book's most enlightening and enjoyable features.The book's layout appears compact when compared to other publications but is mainly prose rather than dense columns of variations. Still, game analysis is quite detailed when Agur feels it necessary and is certainly worth playing through in order to appreciate Fischer's intent. In common with most modern chess books the notation is figurine algebraic with adequate diagrammed positions and easily recognizable sub-text. There's a player index at rear with diagram position number for quick reference. I should add that the games themselves are not given in full, the format being critical diagrammed moments along with comments and enough analysis to make clear the point being discussed.Even if you are not searching for Bobby Fischer but still want to understand the chess genius' mind and marvel at how this process translated onto the chess board, I wholeheartedly recommend that you buy this book.

This is a remarkable book. It is not so much a games collection as it is an analysis primarily of the middlegame, and how Fischer approached a wide variety of chess positions. Also, some attention is paid to his meticulous endgame technique. This is a book that has been widely praised for the quality of its material. Agur looks at a wide variety of chess positions and concepts. For example, he looks at Fischer's handling of the King's Indian Center, various types of pawn chains that Fischer gravitated toward, his artful exchanges, how he switched from one advantage to another, his seizing of the initiative, and the clarity and straightforwardness of his play. Even some of his oversights and blunders are reviewed. The verbal explanations of Fischer's play are copious, and very clearly and expertly written. As Fischer's play was very complex, there is a fair amount of long analysis given, but it never degenerates into pages and pages of bare chess moves. This is a real classic of the literature, and as far as I know, the only book written by this mysterious author. (According to my ChessBase database, he was Israeli, played his last serious game in 1976, and had a modest rating well below 2400). One can only wish he had written more, but then again, it has been said that most authors have only one really worthwhile book in them, so we can be grateful that Agur did write his. Highly recommended as both a lucid exposition of many aspects of middlegame play and as an appreciation of one the greatest (if not the greatest) chess geniuses in history.

Nice

It presents a very nice study on Fischer contribution to chess development.

Great book. Thank you!

I love anything related to Fischer, and I found this book to be interesting and well thought out.

Shallow interpretations of Fischer

While reading Endgame (a recent book on the life of Bobby Fischer), I wanted to learn more about the genius of Fischer. I was not particularly interested about going through his every games as I am not one of those people that can follow 10-move variations in your head. I basically wanted to swoop into the middle of some game at the critical juncture and understand the spark of creativity that led Fischer to embark upon a line of play. Till I actually stumbled upon this book yesterday at the bookstore, I didn't think I could find anything. This book is perfect. Not only does it show you Fischer's line of thinking. It also compares the thoughts of other grandmasters. And, this is where you the reader is able to see the true genius of Fischer. Time and again, the author shows how grandmasters would play, and then contrast that of Fischer's. There are many positions where Fischer plays differently and the author explains why.The author doesn't belabor the entire game, just enough to show you the critical thought process. The book is organized as sets of positions organized under several themes. This makes it easy for you to simply open the book at random and read about any position for a page or two. You don't have to sit on a chessboard for hours at an end playing through an entire game when only a few positions are really of interest. So, you can enjoy the material in bite sized chunks, or longer if you have more time. But, whatever time you read it for, that time would be well worth it.As I mentioned earlier, I picked up the book yesterday, and I have been so impressed with it, that I was motivated to write this review even though I have not completed the book. In fact, I am in the middle of Endgame, but I find myself reading this one more.

O livro começa com analise de posicoes que nao sao faceis, a ideia, é ver como o grande Fischer, consegue encontrar, de maneira facail o caminho para a vitoria, a gente olha, e ve uma coisa, e quando vai ver qual o lance do GM, é realmente surpriendente, a maneira clara e suscinta que ele econtra os lances, e resolve os problemas de maneira simples, um livro tanto para ler eventualmente, quanto para um estudo mais serio, vale a pena ler o livro, é um maneira clare de treinar tanto a estrategia, como a tatica.

This is the thickest thin book I have ever read. This isn't a book you read. This is a book you work your way through - that you study and reference. A keeper. I expect I'll be working my way through Bobby Fischer's head for some time.

Originalissimo libro basato sulle partite di Bobby Fischer. Sono veramente pochi i libri che offrano un punto di vista originakle sulgioco di Bobby Fischer. Qui si prendono le più interessanti posizioni di mediogioco con analisi interessanti e rivelatrici dello stile di Fisher. Su Fischer a parte il suo famoso libro sulle 60 partite i sono pochi libri ben fatti , questo è tra i migliori secondo me ( candidato maestro di vecchia data!).