I was probably about 6 when my father brought home a chess board and couple of books. Like anything I do, it wasn’t long before I was consumed by the game. That’s when I first came to know about Bobby Fischer.
I was too young to appreciate his genius at that time (I still can’t) but was still fascinated by how his mind worked. He regularly made moves that seemed to come out of nowhere but still proved vital in the game. A game he played, and won, at the age of 13 came to be known as the game of the century.
When the movie “Pawn Sacrifice” came out, I debated whether or not to watch it. Semi-biographical movies about recluse geniuses are not new (The Beautiful Mind, The Imitation Game, among the noted ones, in fact there has been a documentary made on Fischer in 2011) but this one was different. This one was made on someone who has been my childhood hero. This was personal.
In spite of being widely considered to be the greatest chess player ever lived, Fischer was also a paranoid who had the fillings in his teeth removed because he thought the Soviet Union was transmitting damaging rays to his brain. He believed in a worldwide Jewish conspiracy and admired Hitler and the Nazis despite being born Jewish. Much like his moves on the board, Fischer was known to make weird, unexpected demands. like playing the world championship in the absence of an audience and cameras, or to stand up his opponents, even if it was the 2nd game of the 1972 chess world championship.
The movie opens with Fischer holed up in a trashed room in Reykjavik, Iceland. He’s forfeited the second game of the 1972 world championship to Boris Spassky and is convinced the Soviets are out to get him. At the moment of his greatest triumph, one he’s worked his entire life to achieve, he’s having a meltdown. From there, Fischer went on to win the championship. Afterward, Fischer’s mental health deteriorated and he became a recluse. He died in 2008 in Iceland.
Tobey Maguire nailed Fischer’s cockiness, his Brooklyn accent, and the way his eyes darted everywhere before locking in on the only thing that interested him, the chess board. He missed by making Fischer’s mental problems too overtly crazy. I couldn’t help but think what Benedict Cumberbatch would have done with this role.
It was truly sad to see the line between brilliance and insane fading fast. But then, who’s to judge? Perhaps Fischer’s paranoia was justified, if only certainly exaggerated. The government never likes one man the mind of which they can’t control. History is full of cases where the church/state/country turned a genius’ life a living hell. Perhaps Fischer’s chess prowess and his mental illness were inextricable, each feeding the other.
All in all, it was nice to meet my childhood hero after such a long time.
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