Inside the Mind of Bobby Fischer: Revisiting His Writings and Annotations

Bobby Fischer is considered one of the greatest players in the history of chess, as well as one of its most instructive writers. During his career he authored several books (including his masterpiece, My 60 Memorable Games), wrote two regularly appearing magazine columns, and annotated games and articles for several different publications.

IM Donaldson, who started playing chess after the 1972 Fischer-Spassky world championship match, takes a fresh look at Fischer’s chess writings. The result is a comprehensive analysis of them, enhanced with detailed commentary and historical notes.

Inside the Mind of Bobby Fischer gathers most of Fischer’s articles, annotations, and miscellaneous writings together in one place, drawing heavily on Fischer’s first book, Bobby Fischer’s Games of Chess, and his Boys’ Life and Chess Life columns. This volume includes 116 annotated games (over a dozen of which appear in print for the first time).

Fischer prided himself on the quality of his annotations, and with a few exceptions, his analyses hold up well over half a century later. Fischer’s writings are key to understanding the thinking of this exceptional chess mind and this understanding can’t help but lead to improvement in your own play.

John Donaldson is an International Master who has served as the U.S. team captain in 26 Olympiads and World Team Championships (including Lucerne 1993 and Baku 2016, where his teams finished first). He often lectures at the Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club and the World Chess Hall of Fame, and occasionally at tournaments where he also plays. He makes his home in Berkeley, California, with his partner Holly Lee.

“Chess writing has always been a method of following the author’s growing understanding. Bobby Fischer’s writing was scrupulously honest, lucid, and penetrating. John Donaldson has done a meticulous job of amassing and selecting from Fischer’s body of work, putting it in context, correcting where needed, and providing original analysis of many games.”
—International Master Anthony Saidy

“Inside the Mind of Bobby Fischer is the definitive guide to understanding one of chess history’s most brilliant—and most demanding—voices. John Donaldson brings extraordinary clarity to Fischer’s writings, tracing the evolution of his thought through columns, annotations, and forgotten gems scattered across decades of chess literature. The result is a masterfully curated journey into Fischer’s analytical universe: precise, uncompromising, and endlessly instructive. For players and historians alike, this book is a treasure—both a deep study of Fischer’s chess mind and a rediscovery of his contributions as an author.”
—Davide Nastasio, Chess Book Collectors

“Countless articles and books have been written about the controversial American, and recently John Donaldson published another book about the 11th World Champion: Bobby Fischer and His World. Well researched and well written, it shows the many facets of Fischer’s personality, and is definitely one of the best books, if not the best, ever written about Fischer’s life.”
—Johannes Fischer, ChessBase.com

“I was reading Bobby Fischer and His World by John Donaldson in the days leading up to the 2022 World Rapid and Blitz and it was a massive inspiration for my decisive last round game with Abdusattorov where I played g4-g5. I had a feeling during the game the position was very similar to Fischer-Andersson, Siegen 1970, analyzed in the book.”
—Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, five-time World Champion