Seven-year-old Josh Waitzkin becomes fascinated with the chess players in New York City's Washington Square Park. His mother, Bonnie, is initially uncomfortable with his interest, as the games in the park are rife with illegal gambling and homeless players, but eventually allows Josh to play a game with a disheveled player (who charges $5 to play the game). Although Josh loses, Bonnie is amazed that he understands the rules of chess, despite having never been taught them. Another park player, Vinnie Livermore, alerts Bonnie to Josh's advanced talent in the game.
Josh's father, Fred, asks to play a game with his son and swiftly defeats him. It emerges, however, that Josh deliberately lost to spare his father's feelings. When Fred prompts Josh to play a rematch honestly, Josh effortlessly defeats him.
A friendship blooms between Josh and Vinnie, who becomes a mentor. Fred requests the services of Bruce Pandolfini as a formal chess tutor for his son. Bruce takes an immediate liking to Josh, but disapproves of many of Josh's maverick tactics, adopted from Vinnie's tutelage. In particular, Bruce disapproves of Josh's tendency to bring out his queen too early, and warns Fred that such careless tactics will weaken Josh's performance in organized chess tournaments.
Against Bruce's advice, Fred enrolls Josh in a chess tournament. Josh wins; the first in a slew of tournament victories for him. Fred develops an unhealthy obsession with Josh's chess career, causing friction between Fred, Bonnie, and Josh's school teacher. Josh, upset by the changes he has noticed in his father, begins losing tournaments.
As a remedy, Fred dedicates Josh entirely to Bruce's teaching regimen, and at Bruce's request, Josh is forbidden from playing any more games with Vinnie. Bruce's relationship with Josh grows cold and misanthropic as Bruce seeks to harden Josh's competitiveness. When Bruce berates Josh by showering him in "meaningless Xeroxes" of a certificate that Bruce had previously told Josh was a special award, Bonnie kicks Bruce out of the house.
Fred and Josh reconcile, with Fred assuring Josh that he loves his son, even if he is not a chess champion. Josh is allowed to resume playing chess with Vinnie and his enthusiasm for the game returns.
Josh attends the National Chess Championship, where he and Bruce reconcile. In the final tournament game, Josh is paired against Jonathan Poe, another young prodigy whose talent has intimidated Josh. The game is a back-and-forth struggle: Josh's use of Vinnie's reckless tactics causes him to lose his queen early in the game, but he follows up with more tactics to win Jonathan's queen. The game continues into a complex endgame. After an overconfident move from Jonathan, Josh remembers Bruce's disciplined teachings, and uses them to calculate a path to an assured victory. Before executing the sequence, he offers his opponent a draw. Jonathan, insulted, and not realizing his own predicament, refuses. Josh plays out a winning combination and wins the game.
Significance of the movie title
In 1972, young American chess champion Bobby Fischer traveled to Reykjavík, Iceland, for a match with Boris Spassky. Fred Waitzkin was smitten by the game as he was swept up in the temporary nationwide excitement, and inspired by Fischer's charisma, began to study the strategy of chess. He realized he lacked the necessary talent to be a champion and left off, but his interest was revived a decade later when his son showed interest and talent.[2]
The Russian player in the park (played by Vasek Simek) who holds up the sign "Game or Photograf Of Man Who Beet[sic] Tal 1953 • Five Dollars", was based on the real life of Israel Zilber, who would regularly sleep in the park, awakening only for a "five dollar game" that he would demand in a Russian accent (reduced to "two dollar game" during slow times if requested) and which he would invariably win. Zilber also played the Queen's Gambit as White.[3][4] Zilber, Latvian Chess Champion in 1958, defeated the teenage Mikhail Tal in 1952,[5] and during most of the 1980s was homeless and regarded as one of the top players in Washington Square Park.
Waitzkin's main chess foil character in the film, Jonathan Poe (played by Michael Nirenberg), is based on chess prodigyJeff Sarwer. When Sarwer was asked what he felt about his portrayal in the film, he stated:
At the end of the day it was a Hollywood film, a work of fiction, and it helped popularize chess more so that's always a good thing. But I have a lot of distance to the actual book and film, the way I was portrayed was nothing at all like how I was in real life so what's the point in comparing myself to it?[6]
At the end of the film in the final tournament, Josh is seen playing opponent Jonathan Poe. In actual life, Josh's opponent was Jeff Sarwer, who was younger. In September 1985, Josh first played and was defeated by Jeff at the Manhattan Chess Club. In November of the same year, Josh returned to the Manhattan Chess Club and beat him in a rematch.[7] The film depicts their third match in the 1986 US Primary Championship. Near the end of the game, where Josh offers Poe a draw, Poe rejects the offer, the play continues and Poe loses. Sarwer rejected the draw offer in the real-world game as well, but the play continued to a draw due to bare kings. Under tournament tie-breaking rules, Waitzkin was determined to have played more challenging opponents during the overall competition and was awarded first place, but they were declared US Primary School co-champions.[8][9] Sarwer went on to win the 1986 World Championship Under-10 (Boys), with his sister Julia winning the World Championship Under-10 (Girls).
Poe versus Waitzkin endgame
"Poe vs. Waitzkin"
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Black (Waitzkin) to move
The diagram depicts the game position in the film, with Waitzkin playing the black pieces, before Waitzkin offers Poe the draw. This position did not occur in the real Sarwer–Waitzkin game; it was contrived by Waitzkin and Pandolfini for the film. The following moves are executed:
In the October 1995 issue of Chess Life, GrandmasterLarry Evans stated that the position and sequence were unsound : Poe (playing White) could still have drawn the game by playing 7.h5 instead. Furthermore, though not mentioned in the issue:
(i) The rook exchange 3...Rxf6+ is not a brilliancy but instead loses; 3... Nc4., 3...Nd7 and 3...Bxf6 hold the draw.
(ii) the modern Lomonosov 7-piece endgame tablebase shows White has a win after 4...Bxf6 with 5.Re2+, sacrificing White's rook for Black's bishop, and queening safely.[10]
An alternate endgame position had been composed by Pal Benko. It was to have been used in the film, but was rejected the day before the scene was filmed because it did not use the theme that Josh had rashly overused his queen.
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Black to move
In this position, Black should play:
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after which White is in zugzwang; he must play either 2.Bg3, losing the bishop to 2...Nxg3+, or 2.Bg1, allowing 2...Ng3#.[11]
Reception
Both the film and book received positive reviews from critics. Waitzkin's book was praised by grandmaster Nigel Short,[12] and journalist Edward Winter, who called it "a delightful book" in which "the topics [are] treated with an acuity and grace that offer the reviewer something quotable on almost every page."[13] Screenwriter and playwright Tom Stoppard called the book "well written" and "captivating".[14]
The film has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 42 reviews, with an average rating of 8.10/10. The site's consensus reads: "As sensitive as the young man at its center, Searching for Bobby Fischer uses a prodigy's struggle to find personal balance as the background for a powerfully moving drama."[15] On Metacritic the film has a score of 89 based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[16] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore graded the film "A" on scale of A to F.[17]
Roger Ebert gave the film a score of four stars (out of four), calling it "a film of remarkable sensitivity and insight", adding, "by the end of [the film], we have learned […] a great deal about human nature."[18]James Berardinelli gave the film three stars (out of four), calling it "an intensely fascinating movie capable of involving those who are ignorant about chess as well as those who love it."[19]
Bobby Fischer never saw the film and strongly complained that it violated his privacy by using his name without his permission. Fischer never received any compensation from the film, calling it "a monumental swindle".[20]
This glossary of chess explains commonly used terms in chess, in alphabetical order. Some of these terms have their own pages, like fork and pin. For a list of unorthodox chess pieces, see Fairy chess piece; for a list of terms specific to chess problems, see Glossary of chess problems; for a list of named opening lines, see List of chess openings; for a list of chess-related games, see List of chess variants; for a list of terms general to board games, see Glossary of board games.
Joshua Waitzkin is an American former chess player, martial arts world champion, and author. As a child, he was recognized as a prodigy, and won the U.S. Junior Chess championship in 1993 and 1994. The film Searching for Bobby Fischer is based on his early life.
Zugzwang is a situation found in chess and other turn-based games wherein one player is put at a disadvantage because of their obligation to make a move; a player is said to be "in zugzwang" when any legal move will worsen their position.
The World Chess Championship 1972 was a match for the World Chess Championship between challenger Bobby Fischer of the United States and defending champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. The match took place in the Laugardalshöll arena in Reykjavík, Iceland, and has been dubbed the Match of the Century. Fischer became the first American born in the United States to win the world title, and the second American overall. Fischer's win also ended, for a short time, 24 years of Soviet domination of the World Championship.
Max Pomeranc is an American former child actor.
Fred Waitzkin is an American novelist and writer for The New York TimesSunday Magazine, New York, and Esquire. He graduated Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio in 1965, and lives in New York City and Martha's Vineyard.
Bruce Pandolfini is an American chess author, teacher, and coach. A USCF national master, he is generally considered to be America's most experienced chess teacher.
Robert James Fischer was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 11–0 score, the only perfect score in the history of the tournament. Qualifying for the 1972 World Championship, Fischer swept matches with Mark Taimanov and Bent Larsen by 6–0 scores. After winning another qualifying match against Tigran Petrosian, Fischer won the title match against Boris Spassky of the USSR, in Reykjavík, Iceland. Publicized as a Cold War confrontation between the US and USSR, the match attracted more worldwide interest than any chess championship before or since.
The monthly Chess Life and bi-monthly Chess Life Kids are the official magazines published by the United States Chess Federation. Chess Life is advertised as the "most widely read chess magazine in the world", and reaches more than a quarter of a million readers each month. It focuses on American chess players and tournaments, instruction, human interest, and US Chess governance matters. Chess Life Kids is geared towards those under 14. A subscription to Chess Life and Chess Life Kids is currently one benefit of becoming a US Chess member or affiliate. All members are given access to the online versions of Chess Life and Chess Life Kids. Affiliates and some membership categories also receive printed copies of Chess Life and/or Chess Life Kids.
The bishop and knight checkmate in chess is the checkmate of a lone king by a king, a bishop, and a knight. With the stronger side to move and with perfect play, checkmate can be forced in at most thirty-three moves from any starting position where the defender cannot quickly win one of the pieces. The exception is the "stalemate trap". These exceptions constitute about 0.5% of the positions. Checkmates are possible with the defending king on any square at the edge of the board but can be forced only from positions with different material or if the defending king is in a corner controlled by the bishop or on a square on the edge next to a corner; however, mate adjacent to the corners not controlled by the bishop is only two moves deep, so it is not generally encountered unless the defending side plays inaccurately. Although this is classified as one of the four basic or elementary checkmates, it occurs in practice only approximately once in every 6,000 games.
Edmar John Mednis was a Latvian-American chess player and writer of Latvian origin. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1980.
In chess, opposition is a situation in which two kings are two squares apart on the same rank or file. Since kings cannot move adjacent to each other, each king prevents the other's advance, creating a mutual blockade. In this situation, the player not having to move is said to have the opposition. It is a special type of zugzwang and most often occurs in endgames with only kings and pawns. The side with the move may have to move their king away, potentially allowing the opposing king access to important squares. Taking the opposition is a means to an end, normally to force the opponent's king to move to a weaker position, and is not always the best thing to do.
The opposite-colored bishops endgame is a chess endgame in which each side has a single bishop and those bishops operate on opposite-colored squares. Without other pieces besides pawns and the kings, these endings are widely known for their tendency to result in a draw. These are the most difficult endings in which to convert a small material advantage to a win. With additional pieces, the stronger side has more chances to win, but still not as many as when bishops are on the same color.
Deep Blue versus Garry Kasparov was a pair of six-game chess matches between then-world chess champion Garry Kasparov and an IBM supercomputer called Deep Blue. Kasparov won the first match, held in Philadelphia in 1996, by 4–2. Deep Blue won a 1997 rematch held in New York City by 3½–2½. The second match was the first defeat of a reigning world chess champion by a computer under tournament conditions, and was the subject of a documentary film, Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine.
In chess, particularly in endgames, a key square is a square such that if a player's king can occupy it, he can force some gain such as the promotion of a pawn or the capture of an opponent's pawn. Key squares are useful mostly in endgames involving only kings and pawns. In the king and pawn versus king endgame, the key squares depend on the position of the pawn and are easy to determine. Some more complex positions have easily determined key squares while other positions have harder-to-determine key squares. Some positions have key squares for both White and Black.
Below is a list of events in chess in 1993, as well as the top ten FIDE rated chess players of that year.
Jeffrey William Sarwer is a Canadian-Finnish former child chess prodigy whose charismatic personality and chess talent made him a well-known media figure. His chess career and his family's unconventional lifestyle were the subjects of many articles and TV shows.
Josif Israel Zilber is a Latvian chess player who won the Latvian Chess Championship in 1958.
The 1992 Fischer–Spassky match between former world chess champions Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky was billed as a World Chess Championship, though it was an unofficial rematch of their 1972 World Championship match. Fischer won 10–5, with 15 draws.
Several books, films and other works about Bobby Fischer have been created. Bobby Fischer was an American chess prodigy who rose to prominence during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1972, Fischer defeated the Soviet player Boris Spassky to become world champion. Soviet players had dominated chess for several years before Fischer's championship, a trend which continued after 1975 when Fischer refused to defend his title. Fischer's participation in the 1972 championship match increased American interest in chess, in the context of the Cold War.
↑ 5.Re2+ Kd1 6.Kxf6 Kxe2 7.h5 Nd7+ (7...a5? 8.Ke6 and White can win the pawn race safely) 8.Ke7 Ne5 9.h6 Ng6+ 10.Kf7 Ne5+ 11.Kg7 Nd7 12.h7 Nc5 and White queens.
↑ Brady, Frank (2011). Endgame: Bobby Fischer's Remarkable Rise and Fall – from America's Brightest Prodigy to the Edge of Madness (1sted.). Crown. pp.267–68. ISBN978-0-307-46390-6.
Further reading
"20 years of Searching", Chess Life, August 2013, pp.38–41
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