THE KING spans a writing career of more than thirty years during which Donner slowly developed from chess player-writer into writer-chess player.

Donner's favourite themes are: Bobby Fischer, the blunder, chess as a game of luck, why women can't play chess, madness, and poor Lodewijk Prins, his rival for the Dutch National Championship for many years, who, according to Donner, "couldn't tell a bishop from a knight."

'THE KING' is a book full of insults and ironies, but Donner wouldn't be Donner without a considerable amount of self-mockery.

"After I resigned the last game with perfect self-control

and solemnly shook hands with my opponent in the best

of Anglo-Saxon traditions, I rushed home where I threw

myself onto my bed, howling and screaming, and pulled

the blankets over my face."