SEARCHING FOR BOBBY FISCHER: The Child King

  I always get a kick out of how society celebrates the talent of an individual and completely ignores the character.   Think of the biggest jerks you’ve ever heard of in sport:  Barry Bonds?  Terrell Owens?  Jose Canseco?  Roger Clemens?  As bad as these guys were, Bobby Fischer topped all of them in the category of “Biggest Jerk”. 
  When we first meet Josh Waitzkin, he’s like any normal young kid.  Except he has a talent for chess.  Adults, as they often do, get carried away with how good their kids can be, and pretty soon young Josh is being pushed to be the best.  There’s a perfect line in the film, where Ben Kingsley’s character tells Josh what Bobby Fischer was like and that Josh had to be like him.  Contempt for an opponent was paramount if Josh wanted to win.  “Bobby Fischer held the world in contempt, ” says coach Bruce.  Josh replies simply, but powerfully:  “I’m not him.”  The child could see very clearly, the kind of person he wanted to be. The adults were concerned only with the kind of PLAYER Josh would be….not the kind of PERSON he would become.  The script is a powerful lesson in two main areas.  First, it’s something ALL people who coach kids should see.  Second, it bluntly asks the question of what is important in teaching and coaching young kids, and is it right to develop the talent at the expense of the character. 
  The movie is a good story….a TRUE story.  The scenes with Laurence Fishburne in the park are well shot and give the atmosphere of true, raw chess.  Speed chess is not for the faint of heart, as Fishburne’s character so eloquently proves!

6.5 out of 10