An algebraic notation version in 1995 caused some controversy in the chess world because of the many other changes made to the text, with Fischer himself denouncing the edition.

[4]) At that point the collection ended at the Piatigorsky Cup in 1966; however, Fischer then had an abrupt change of heart and decided not to publish the book at all, and asked to be released from his contract.

[7] Among the wins are his first defeat of a Soviet grandmaster, Paul Keres at Zurich 1959, and his 21-move victory as Black over Robert Byrne at the 1963/64 US Championship.

[6] A review in British Chess Magazine in December 1969 called it "a great book without a doubt, and [it] can go straight on the shelf alongside Alekhine and Tarrasch and fear no comparisons."

A Russian edition of the book appeared in 1972, without Fischer's permission and without regard for copyright laws, a standard Soviet practice at the time.

[9] At the second of nine press conferences at the 1992 rematch with Boris Spassky, Fischer said that Physical Culture and Sport reported in the book that 50,000 copies had been printed.

He answered speculation about a match with the then World Champion Garry Kasparov by saying nothing could take place until the Russian authorities had paid him all the royalties he felt he was owed.

[10] In 1995, Fischer accepted payment of $100,000 from Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the (then) newly elected president of FIDE, as financial settlement.

At a press conference in Buenos Aires in June 1996, Fischer denounced the new edition, accusing Batsford of "changing everything in my book, the notation, the format, the pages, the analysis ... and without paying royalties.

"[8][14] Grandmaster Hans Ree stated that "[i]n the Netherlands such changes constitute a criminal offense that could theoretically lead to a prison sentence. ...

[8] In December 2007 copies of an apparently updated edition entitled My 61 Memorable Games appeared for sale on eBay.

Gardar Sverrisson and Einar Einarsson, who were very close to Fischer during his final days in Iceland, state that My 61 Memorable Games "is neither his work nor done with his approval".

[19] In 2012 Edward Winter acquired a copy of the book and presented a number of pages and other documentary information in his article My 61 Memorable Games (Bobby Fischer).