Review of Pawn Sacrifice (2015) by Joseo — 25 Sep 2015

This is an enjoyable about the life and times of the Chess Genius, Bobby Fischer. It tries to portray his life growing in Brooklyn and his obsession with the game of chess. It tries to explain where some of his paranoia might have started as a child as a result of his mother being a communist. I thought Tobey McGuire did an excellent job of playing him. There were some minor inaccuracies in that while Fischer did capture the rook's pawn in game 1 against Spassky, he did not immediately resign. He kept playing the game even after Spassky trapped Fischer's bishop until Spassky got an advantage that could not be stopped.

There is also the matter of the room used for game 3. While game 3 was played in the room that was normally used for table tennis, the movie made it seem like several games were played there. I think only game 3 was played in that room before returning to the main playing area.

I also did not care for the lady that he met and had a physical relationship with since I don't think it needed to be included in the movie. Otherwise a very enjoyable movie about his life and the tragedy that fell him with his mental state upon his accomplishment of becoming the world chess champion.