Movie, 2014

Account of Billy Fischer’s world championship chess match against Boris Spassky in Reykjavik and how he got there. An entertaining, thoughtful film which tries to cover maybe a few too many bases. In part, biography, in part Cold War intrigue, in part history, in part sports movie. In the end, it all feels a little breathless, particularly as the wobbly mental health and paranoia-stricken Fischer after Reykjavik is arguably a more fertile field to furrow; here, it’s given short shrift, with a few flashes of real life footage. Still, fans of the period and of Bobby Fischer will enjoy the film. It’s got a good pace and there’s enough in the madness of Fischer that’s human to help us connect; just.