Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess: The Bestselling Chess Book of All Time

Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess has sold well over a million copies since its publication in 1966, making it one of the bestselling chess books in history. Its appeal is straightforward: it promises to teach you chess the Bobby Fischer way, and it delivers — within carefully defined limits — on that promise. But the book is frequently misunderstood. Buyers expecting Fischer's strategic insights or annotated master games will be disappointed. What they will find instead is a focused, effective workbook on basic checkmate patterns that remains one of the best introductions to chess tactics ever published.

What the Book Actually Is

Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess is a programmed learning textbook. It was co-authored by Stuart Margulies, an educational psychologist who specialized in programmed instruction, and Donn Mosenfelder, with Fischer's name and involvement lending authority to the project.

The format is simple and ingenious. The book presents a chess position and asks the reader a question — typically "Can White checkmate?" or "What is White's best move?" The reader attempts to answer, then turns the page to find the solution. If the answer is correct, the reader moves on. If not, the book explains why and offers another chance.

The positions progress from elementary to moderately complex, all focused on a single theme: recognizing and executing checkmate. Back rank mates receive particular emphasis, along with basic mating patterns involving queens, rooks, and minor pieces. The book begins with a brief explanation of how the pieces move, making it accessible to someone who has never played a game of chess.

The physical format is unusual — the left-hand pages are printed upside down, so the reader works through the right-hand pages from front to back, then flips the book over and works back. This design prevents the reader from accidentally seeing the answer before attempting the problem.

Who It's For

The ideal reader of Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess is a complete beginner or a casual player who knows the rules but struggles to finish games. If you have never played chess before, or if you can play but rarely manage to checkmate your opponent, this book will genuinely improve your game.

The book is not for intermediate or advanced players. If you are rated above approximately 1000–1200 on any online platform, you will likely find the problems too easy. There is no discussion of openings, middlegame strategy, positional play, or endgame technique beyond basic mating patterns. This is by design — the book's strength is its narrow focus — but it means that players looking for deeper instruction should look elsewhere.

Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess is also excellent for children. The puzzle format is engaging for young learners, the problems are visual rather than text-heavy, and the programmed learning approach provides immediate feedback. Many chess coaches use it as a supplementary resource for students under twelve.

How Much of It Is Actually Fischer?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions about the book, and the honest answer is: probably not much.

The programmed learning format was Margulies's specialty, and the pedagogical structure bears his fingerprints far more than Fischer's. Fischer's contribution was likely consultative — reviewing positions, approving the selection of problems, and lending his name and credibility to the project. The book contains nineteen positions adapted from Fischer's actual games (played between 1957 and 1965), but the bulk of the material consists of constructed positions designed to illustrate specific tactical themes.

None of this diminishes the book's effectiveness as a teaching tool. The problems are well-chosen, the progression is well-paced, and the format works. But readers hoping for Fischer's personal voice — the terse, brilliant commentary that makes My 60 Memorable Games so extraordinary — will not find it here.

Publishing History

The book was first published in 1966 by Basic Systems, Inc. (Margulies's company), then republished by Bantam Books in 1972 — perfectly timed to capitalize on the "Fischer Boom" that followed the World Championship match in Reykjavík. The Bantam mass-market paperback, priced affordably and available in every bookstore in America, is what turned the book into a phenomenon.

It has remained continuously in print for nearly sixty years. The current edition is published by Bantam and available in both paperback and hardcover. The content has not changed meaningfully across editions — the problems and format are essentially identical to the original.

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Does It Still Work Today?

In an age of chess apps, online puzzle trainers, and engine-powered courses, is a programmed learning textbook from 1966 still relevant?

Surprisingly, yes — with caveats.

The book's strength is its simplicity. There are no distractions, no notifications, no algorithm deciding what you should study next. You sit down with a physical book and a quiet room and work through problems at your own pace. For many learners — especially children and adults who are not comfortable with technology — this remains the most effective way to build foundational tactical skills.

The book's weakness is its age. Modern online puzzle trainers (like those on Chess.com or Lichess) offer thousands of problems across all difficulty levels, track your progress, and adapt to your skill level in real time. They cover a much wider range of tactical themes. If you are comfortable learning digitally, these tools will take you further faster.

The best approach for most beginners is to use Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess as a starting point — work through it to build confidence and basic pattern recognition — and then graduate to online resources for continued improvement.

Why It Works: The Psychology of Programmed Learning

The reason Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess remains effective after nearly sixty years has less to do with chess than with cognitive science. The programmed learning format — presenting a problem, requiring an active response, providing immediate feedback — engages the reader in what educational psychologists call retrieval practice. You are not passively absorbing information; you are actively testing yourself, which research has consistently shown to be one of the most effective ways to build durable knowledge.

The progression of difficulty is carefully calibrated. Early problems are almost trivially easy — a queen delivering checkmate on an open board — but each subsequent problem adds a layer of complexity. By the time you reach the final sections, you are recognizing back rank mating patterns, coordinating multiple pieces, and spotting tactical ideas that would stump many casual players. The learning feels effortless because the scaffolding is invisible.

This is Margulies's real contribution. He understood how people learn, and he designed a system that works even when the student has no teacher, no coach, and no prior experience. Fischer's name on the cover got people to buy the book. Margulies's method is what made them finish it.

The Cultural Impact

It is worth pausing to appreciate what Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess accomplished commercially. A chess instruction book — published before the 1972 World Championship made Fischer a household name — sold over a million copies. In a country where chess was a niche pursuit, a book about checkmate patterns became a genuine mass-market bestseller.

Part of this was timing. The 1972 Bantam reissue caught the full force of the "Fischer Boom" — the surge of American interest in chess that followed the Reykjavík match. Suddenly, millions of people wanted to learn chess, and Fischer's book was the most accessible entry point available. It was inexpensive, widely distributed, and carried the name of the most famous chess player in the world.

But the book's commercial longevity — it has remained in print for nearly six decades — suggests something more than timing. Generation after generation of beginners have found it useful. Parents buy it for children. Adults buy it for themselves when they decide to learn chess after watching The Queen's Gambit or stumbling into an online chess community. The book endures because it solves a real problem: it takes someone who barely knows the rules and gives them the confidence to finish a game.

What to Read Next

Once you've finished Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess and want to go deeper, here are the natural next steps:

For tactical training aimed at younger or newer players, Fischer Tactics for Kids offers 200 puzzles drawn from Fischer's actual games — a nice bridge between this book and more advanced study.

When you're ready for Fischer's own strategic thinking, My 60 Memorable Games is the essential next book. It is exponentially more demanding than Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess, but the reward is proportionally greater.

For an overview of Fischer's life and why he matters beyond the chessboard, Frank Brady's Endgame is the definitive biography.

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