BOBBY FISCHER AGAINST THE WORLD played Saturday at Enzian at 9:00 PM and will screen again at Regal Winter Park Village B on Wednesday, April 13 at 3:15 PM during the Florida Film Festival where the producer will be in attendance. [details]
By Sultana F. Ali
Contributing writer
This documentary of the iconic world chess champion Bobby Fischer, directed by Liz Garbus, left its audience with a sympathetic feeling for Fischer and a sour impression for the taste of fame and the disease it can inflict upon a young person who had already endured a challenging childhood. “Bobby Fischer Against the World” takes on a dramatic biography, providing a harrowing glimpse into the young man who launched into the American chess scene as national champion at the tender age of 15.
Fischer’s friends and colleagues provide their own impressions of the days leading up to the World Chess Championship in 1972 Iceland. The Cold War standoff was more present in the matchup between Chess World Champion Boris Spassky, a Russian, and the American Bobby Fischer than most history books could attempt to explain. Unfortunately, the only thing more apparent than Fischer’s obsession with chess was his loose grip on reality. Fischer disappeared not long after winning the World Chess Championship, disappointing chess fans around the world.
When he reappeared in the 1990s for a rematch against Spassky, it appeared like more of a snub to the American government which had voted for UN sanctions against Yugoslavia, where the match was held. He was never able to return to his home country, one for which he held a negative disregard, vehemently spewing Anti-American statements. He became increasingly paranoid over this period. In the end, it was the same Iceland which had served as the epicenter for the 1972 World Chess Championship match, that took Fischer in and the place where he eventually passed away at the age of 64 after refusing treatment for a psychological illness; game, set, match for the most famous and arguably greatest chess player of all time. Capturing the nuances of a haunted character of chess fame, Bobby Fischer Against the World is a not-to-miss documentary.
By Sultana F. Ali
Contributing writer
This documentary of the iconic world chess champion Bobby Fischer, directed by Liz Garbus, left its audience with a sympathetic feeling for Fischer and a sour impression for the taste of fame and the disease it can inflict upon a young person who had already endured a challenging childhood. “Bobby Fischer Against the World” takes on a dramatic biography, providing a harrowing glimpse into the young man who launched into the American chess scene as national champion at the tender age of 15.
Fischer’s friends and colleagues provide their own impressions of the days leading up to the World Chess Championship in 1972 Iceland. The Cold War standoff was more present in the matchup between Chess World Champion Boris Spassky, a Russian, and the American Bobby Fischer than most history books could attempt to explain. Unfortunately, the only thing more apparent than Fischer’s obsession with chess was his loose grip on reality. Fischer disappeared not long after winning the World Chess Championship, disappointing chess fans around the world.
When he reappeared in the 1990s for a rematch against Spassky, it appeared like more of a snub to the American government which had voted for UN sanctions against Yugoslavia, where the match was held. He was never able to return to his home country, one for which he held a negative disregard, vehemently spewing Anti-American statements. He became increasingly paranoid over this period. In the end, it was the same Iceland which had served as the epicenter for the 1972 World Chess Championship match, that took Fischer in and the place where he eventually passed away at the age of 64 after refusing treatment for a psychological illness; game, set, match for the most famous and arguably greatest chess player of all time. Capturing the nuances of a haunted character of chess fame, Bobby Fischer Against the World is a not-to-miss documentary.