Pawn Sacrifice is the story of Bobby Fischer the U.S. Chess champion who went against Boris Spassky from Russia. I knew a little about Bobby Fischer before watching this movie, so I knew the man was incredibly bright but also a bit strange in his personal life. I wasn't sure exactly how this movie would keep the plot moving and the viewers engaged but it did manage to be a good movie with enough interesting things going to keep a movie about a chess eccentric stimulating enough to watch the whole thing through. I'm not positive this is extremely accurate in all areas of Bobby's life, but if it was it really showed the tiny line between chess brilliance and insanity. I play chess myself so the subject matter was pretty interesting to me, but at the same time seeing Bobby Fischer's life spiral out of control was also a warning to me about the danger of taking chess (or any hobby or game for that matter) so seriously that you lose sight of who you are or what is really important in your life. Bobby Fischer was bright but this movie portrays him as extremely difficult to socialize with and kind of a man-child who wasn't happy with anything in his life. Two of the characters in the movie have the job of keeping Mr. Fischer happy enough to show up to agreed tournaments and it seems they almost failed at the job due to how unreasonable Bobby Fischer could act. It was basically like babysitting a 2 year old in a man's body. Overall you watch Bobby's life play out like a train wreck. It isn't all fun to watch, but you have to continue to watch his demise into insanity to see how it ends up.
Takeaways From The Movie
1. Chess is my favorite game, but anytime a game becomes an idol in your life - your life will lose balance and take a bad turn. Bobby Fischer became obsessed with the game so much he didn't live for much else besides playing great chess.
2. Never put a hobby, game, or career above your family and friends. To quote the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" - "No man is poor who has friends". This movie portrait of Bobby Fischer made him out to be a very poor man because he was hostile to just about everyone in his life. Family and friends hold more value than any position, title, or money can ever enrich your life.
Conclusion: Not a lot of chess movies are made, so I'm glad they made Pawn Sacrifice and I think they made it as interesting as possible detailing the eccentric player Bobby Fischer. This movie doesn't leave me wanting to re-watch it nor did I find it as good as the movie "Searching For Bobby Fischer" (which isn't really about Bobby Fischer), so therefore I would give it 3 stars out of 5. If you have any interest in the biography of Bobby Fischer, definitely give this movie a try.
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