THE KING
Author: Jan Hein Donner
NIC (2006)
391 pages (paperback)
$35.00 ($29.95 on my copy of the book not $35)

Reviewed by Joshua Anderson

Johannes Hendrikus Donner's THE KING has been reprinted for the first time in paperback. The reader is doubly fortunate as this version is cheaper and quite a bit longer than the original hardback book. Donner was one of the top players in the Netherlands for many years and for a while was one of the top ten or fifteen players in the world. This collection of articles provides an interesting insight to not only Donner's chess existence, but the larger world in which he lived.

This new edition of THE KING contains articles written from July 1950 to August 1987, but starts off with a very brief biography of the author. For a bit more thorough analysis of Donner's character, see Genna Sosonko's new book, SMART CHIP FROM ST. PETERSBURG and OTHER TALES of a BYGONE CHESS ERA. The articles in THE KING cover almost every aspect of chess imaginable, from joyful odes about passed pawns to sorrowful remembrances of what might have been. There are also thousands of memorable comments. Some are caustic, though somewhat tongue-in-cheek references: "It's remarkable how quickly East and West agree when it comes to disliking krauts." (p.97) While others are more universal, such as his remarks regarding a loss: "After I resigned the game with perfect self-control, I rushed home, where I threw myself onto my bed, howling and screaming, and pulled the blankets over my face." (p. 127)

Though the articles span thirty-seven years, there are a few constants throughout Donner's work. He often referred to the amount of luck involved in chess and he often voiced radical political sentiment. In other issues, the reader can see a definite change over time in Donner's views. Fischer is one such subject, as he evolves from impressionable youth, who is easily defendable, to a person who is generally right in his fights with FIDE, to someone who is behaving badly and wrong in his decisions.

Donner has been most often attacked for being a misogynist in general and especially disapproves of women chess players. As proof of this, his work, "Women and Chess" is cited. Others suggest that this piece is really a tongue-in-cheek article and that calling him a misogynist is unfair. The answer to this question is far from clear and my conclusion is that Donner is not a misogynist, but rather, he treats women just like anyone else. In other words, often he is fair, occasionally he's kind, and sometimes he takes cheap shots at them in an article that has nothing to do with them.

The writing is generally quite readable, at times even luminous: "I know that the pleasure derived from the game bears no relation to the extent to which it is mastered." (p.97) Every once in a while, though, it seems that Donner was being paid by the word, such as when he takes 118 words to say that he is happy to be turning 50! The translator, Richard de Weger, is not to be blamed for this rambling, as his work throughout the book is excellent. He consistently captures Donner's passion, and it is passion that defines this work. Whether one agrees or disagrees with Donner, and there is plenty of opportunities to do both, one must admire the enthusiasm with which he writes.

Other than Donner's occasional rambling, and his need to insert unnecessary belittling comments towards certain people and ideas -- Lodewijk Prins is his favorite target -- there is little wrong with the book. Given the style of THE KING, it is not surprising that context would be an issue, and indeed a lack of context is the largest problem with the work. At times the reader is left wondering what happened, such as when the reader learns Donner had an important four game match with Larsen, but never learns the result. At other times Donner complains about an event that has occurred and the reader doesn't have any idea what happened. Also, numerous comments are made concerning national political activities and will not be understood by most readers. Finally, a subject index would be quite handy, especially as the articles are printed in chronological order. Most readers will consider these problems very minor, but one should be aware of the issues before ordering the book, and indeed one should order the book for it is well worth a read.

Click to buy (or get more information about) THE KING

Click to buy (or get more information about) SMART CHIP FROM ST. PETERSBURG