I was a little surprised to find myself enjoying Andy Soltis' BOBBY FISCHER REDISCOVERED so much. After all, I have been exposed to Fischer's games far more than to any other World Champion's. And one can hardly credit the idea expressed by more than one writer that Fischer is a "forgotten" champion with little written about his chess. For starters, this ignores the countless books that use his games and positions as examples, e.g., histories, manuals and world championship collections. And how many books in English alone deal with his games? A look at my shelf and my book index (I don't own some of these) reveals: BOBBY FISCHER - the GREATEST? by Euwe; BOBBY FISCHER: HIS APPROACH by Agur (click to see Silman's review of this book); BOBBY FISCHER by Hays; HOW FISCHER PLAYS CHESS by Levy; BOBBY FISCHER: CHESS GENIUS TO CHESS LEGEND by Gufeld, Kristjansson, and Thorarinsson (click to see Bauer's review of this book); HOW TO BEAT BOBBY FISCHER by Mednis; FISCHER! by Fishbein; THE COMPLETE GAMES OF BOBBY by Wade and O'Connell; THE CHESS OF BOBBY FISCHER by Burger; THE UNKNOWN BOBBY FISCHER by Donaldson and Tangborn; a truckload of books on the first Spassky match, many annotated by well-known grandmasters; several books on the return match; and of course MY 60 MEMORABLE GAMES. And there are doubtless many others I am ignorant of.

What people forget is how much less has been written about some other champions. Are there really many books in English about Steinitz' games and play, for example, or even about the games of giants such as Capablanca, Botvinnik, Smyslov, Spassky, Petrosian or  Karpov?

Thus Soltis' contribution isn't his "rediscovery" as much as a combination of insights into Fischer's play and the original, unintimidating analysis of his games. The latter is aided by computers and by Soltis' obvious enthusiasm. His own thoughts about Fischer's play are noteworthy. Soltis makes the case for the too-rarely stated view that Fischer was a great materialist: he was loathe to sacrifice material and would grab just about anything in sight if he didn't see a refutation. Needless to say, this requires tremendous confidence in oneself and one's judgment. Soltis also points out Fischer's special skill in conversion of one advantage to another, which made his technique in pursuing an advantage unmatched. He speculates that Fischer's development as a player was shaped by one goal: to beat the Soviets, adopting their own weapons. This is a very plausible thesis and Soltis finds support for it in Fischer's games. Soltis also contends that "Fischer played great sacrificial games but almost all of them occurred before he was 21." I think that this might be slightly exaggerated but it is close enough to the truth and reflects another interesting aspect of his play. Arguably, Fischer's only weakness was in complicated double-edged middlegames, as indicated, for example, by his losses to Geller in such positions (and to several others, e.g. the early Tal before his health failed). Even his most famous earlier combinations such as 21.Rf6! versus Benko in the U.S. Championship of 1963-4 tend to be linear and directly calculable (despite the "!!" once again attached to this move, my promising students have found it rather easily); and the justifiably praised Donald Byrne game is almost all forced (and when the forcing moves stopped Fischer played less than optimally).

But the really exceptional thing about Fischer was his play in partially simplified and seemingly clear-cut positions, and his magnificent technique in the late middlegame and endgame. These were in my opinion the clearest marks of his genius. If you get this book, look at the stunning Game 28 versus Portisch. He initially plays extraordinarily accurately in what seems to be a completely equal rook and bishop ending, using simple but subtle moves. Then in a rook ending lasting 37 moves he plays a staggering series of ultra-precise and difficult moves (only one slightly inaccurately). A couple of these moves are ingenious, but even more impressively they are linked with short unexpected sequences that ultimately break down the near-perfect defense by the great Hungarian. Soltis is generous in presenting this kind of less flashy game and in pointing out its uniqueness and subtlety. Other combinations of exquisite technique in simplified middlegames and endings can be seen in Game 42 (Berliner), 35 (Tal), Game 98 (the famous 3rd game of the 1972 Spassky match, flawed but superb), Game 90 (the famous bishop-versus-knight ending versus Taimanov), Game 76 (Ghitescu), Game 61 (Forintos), and Game 60 (Bisguier). From early on, Fischer exhibited this skill that is characteristic of all great players. In a different vein, I might also point out the middlegame in 81 versus Schweber, in which the move 18.Rg3(!!, in my opinion) is a superb example of deep prophylactic play in the middlegame.

The reader should be aware that this is by no means a biographical work and includes almost nothing about Fischer's behavior or the many controversies associated with him. Instead, one finds the points of interest limited to the realm of chess, e.g., the flawed Russian adjournment analysis (in spite of the stereotypes, this was a common phenomenon that one could write a small book about). In all, 100 games are presented. Along with a share of the obvious games from MY 60 MEMORABLE GAMES, Soltis selects lesser-known contests that include examples of Fischer at his best. Soltis' annotations are only dense (perhaps too dense) at some critical moments that he feels are of special interest; so one is not bogged down in analysis and can read for enjoyment. He is not afraid to criticize Fischer's play and has fun with a variety of positions that contain special if not entirely relevant possibilities. On a pickier note, I might point out that Soltis repeats the exaggerated praise that Fischer has received for the move 11...Nh5 in the third match game versus Spassky in 1972 (found by Boleslavsky and a standard idea that in fact I myself had played!). Then there are a few cases in which I think that he gets too excited about some move that just about any strong master might make; since there are plenty of examples of great moves in Fischer's play, it's perhaps misleading to assign both types of move an "!". Most importantly, I believe that he very much underestimates the power of Fischer's opening preparation at the peak of his career, which was far ahead of his contemporaries (one can only compare Botvinnik and Kasparov to him in this respect). Of course, these are not matters that affect the essential quality of the work.

I should emphasize that BOBBY FISCHER REDISCOVERED is a quite readable book, as so many Soltis books are. It has simple, accessible notes for the average player, and includes a nostalgic Introduction about Soltis' personal interactions with Fischer. The short introductions to games contain relevant tidbits that give the feeling that one game connects to the next. This may well be the best book written in English about Fischer's play, and it will remain a good read even after there (inevitably) appears another book that has incredibly dense analysis and approaches the abstract truth about his games. I definitely recommend this book for all fans, and especially for lovers of games collections.

Click to read Donaldson's review of this book.