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."
Autorentext
By J. H. Donner