Pawn Sacrifice Movie Night with the Club!
September 27, 2015 - Chess club members had a great time at Cinemapolis Friday night, watching Pawn Sacrifice! Thanks to everyone who came!
Movie Review:
Tobey Maguire plays the eccentric role of Bobby Fischer in “Pawn Sacrifice,” a film about Fischer’s chess match against the Soviet grandmaster Boris Spassky. His character is infuriating — I wanted to shout, “Just play the game, already,” countless times as Fischer’s real and imaginary demons cause him to disrupt the match.
The Fischer-Spassky match in 1972 took place during the Cold War, with the title of world champion at stake. Chess was a game the Soviets owned, but the American-born Fischer was determined to undermine their control.
The film outlines Fischer’s youth, hitting just enough of it to link his future paranoia to parental drama. This sets the stage for the coming political dynamics since his mom had been under the FBI’s watchful eye for suspected Communist sympathies.
The match, which was played in Iceland, was a classic pre-Internet media circus, and the film captures the chess mania it inspired in the United States. Fischer put all sorts of demands on the organizers of the match and skipped one game entirely. The film doesn’t delve into his life after the match, in which he forfeited his title; became known for incendiary remarks, especially about Judaism and Israel; and ultimately faded into obscurity before his death in 2008.
Fischer, while a great chess player, was poorly suited to become the central figure in a Cold War carnival. He was clearly beginning to melt down during this high-profile moment in time, with his coach, a chess-playing priest named Bill Lombardy, shouldering much of the burden of keeping him sane.
Final Thoughts:
Pawn Sacrifice was a thoroughly enjoyable movie with fast paced action and dialogue intertwined with much unpredictability. It was exciting to uncover the background of one of the world’s most renowned and strongest chess Grandmaster of all time.
“Pawn Sacrifice” is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned) for a hint of sexuality and a smattering of strong language. Oh, and cigarette smoke.