An abomination on every level

When I first heard about this movie being made, I - as a chessplayer - was excited. The story of Fischer - warts and all - was worth telling. I mean, the true, accurate story was fascinating and would have garnered interest from those with even a cursory knowledge of chess, history, and Fischer.

When I saw the trailer, I lost all interest. It was clear from the snippets that this was going to be a completely fictitious representation of history, on par with the movie JFK. As it turns out, my expectations were generous. This is an abomination of everything upon which the movie touches.

I saw the movie was free on my Prime membership and so I figured the only loss I would take would be that of time spent. Even that was too costly.

My complaints (and I know they are tedious to those who do not know this part of chess history) -

Fischer was an imposing physical presence at 6'2" and with the frame of a model. This film projects him like some squirt upstart.

Fischer was demanding and manipulative but he was not a lunatic until much, much later in life. During his rise in chess, he was articulate, well dressed, and knew the rules of civility. It was behind the scenes where he acted like the spoiled brat he truly was.

His accusation of collusion among the Soviets (an accusation later proved true)was made in the form of an article he wrote in Sports Illustrated and was cogent enough to cause FIDE (the governing chess authority) to change the match system that chose the world championship contender. It was not in the form of a raging diatribe before the media.

Spassky was not the World Champion at the time of the 2nd Piatigorsky tournament which took place in 1966. He had just lost his challenge to Tigran Petrosian, though he would win this, the 2nd Piatigorsky Cup.

Spassky was not Fischer's true nemesis until after the 2nd Piatigorsky Cup - not before. They had only played 1 game before this tournament.

There was no Ivanovich at the 2nd Piatigorsky Cup tournament. The first player Fischer played was Spassky and Fischer lost. In fact, at the halfway point of the tournament, Fischer was second from last.

Fischer did partake in the closing ceremonies at the 2nd Piatagorsky Cup and the picture I have shows him smiling.

In the movie, Lombardy talks about 1800s chess genius Paul Morphy committing suicide. Morphy died of heat stroke.

The California beach scene where Fischer is yelling at Spassky never happened. If it did, there's never been any mention of it by Fischer's friends or enemies.

Lombardy - who looked nothing like Sarsgaard - had known Fischer since the mid 50s. They were contemporaries, if not friends. They didn't just meet in 1966. Also, Lombardy usually wore a suit and tie, not the Catholic garb of a priest.

Spassky was the consummate gentleman and a humble man who could have justifiably walked away from 1972 with a victory but chose to play on, despite Fischer's constant complaining.

The abject paranoia with which Fischer is painted in this movie didn't occur until much later in life. Yes, Fischer certainly was paranoid, manipulative, and demanding but not to the extent of immobilizing him until after the 1972 match.

Regarding the first game of the 1972 match, Fischer's 'blunder' on move 29 was not the losing move of the game and he did not resign at that point (nor did Spassky make any comment, as that would have been impolite). Fischer could have salvaged a draw several moves later according to the best analysts.

I was a teen during the 1972 match and watched everything I could that was presented on the news. Though Fischer later complained about the cameras and noise, he didn't do so during game 1 as portrayed. Again, it makes him look like his mental issues were out of control and that was not the case. The implication is that the noise in the theater caused Fischer's blunder in game 1. That is laughable. Fischer had been dealing with such noise his entire professional career, as has every chess player. Additionally, Spassky was at the table when Fischer blundered.

The chess games of this match were not televised in the United States.

Spassky never turned his chair over and examined it at any time during the match. In fact, it was Fischer who demanded that his chair be x-rayed and the 2 dead flies were found in it.

While it is true that Spassky applauded Fischer after game 6, he did so after he tipped his king (the way an opponent signals defeat), after he shook Fischer's hand, and after the audience began clapping. And he stood off to the side when he did it.

The producers of this film make a note near the end that game 6 is still considered the greatest game ever played. That, too, is laughable. Game 6 was a brilliant game but it is one of a large number of games that could be considered the best ever played.

The movie gives no mention to Fischer's victory over Taimanov (6-0), over Larsen (6-0), and over Petrosian (6 1/2- 2 1/2) (which could be considered the greatest feat in chess history) in the candidate matches leading up to Spassky.

The list goes on but I suspect my detractions have become tiresome. Sorry.

But for me, this is a movie that could have been something and ended up being a round zero. The real story is much more interesting.