Bobby Fischer Against the World

2011 American documentary film

January 2011 (2011-01) (Sundance)
June 6, 2011 (2011-06-06) (United States)

Running time

94 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish

Bobby Fischer Against the World is a documentary feature film that explores the life of chess Grandmaster and 11th World Champion Bobby Fischer.^[1] It incorporates interviews with chess players Anthony Saidy, Larry Evans, Sam Sloan, Susan Polgar, Garry Kasparov, Asa Hoffmann, Friðrik Ólafsson, Lothar Schmid and others. It includes rare archive footage from the World Chess Championship 1972.^[2]^[3]

Director Liz Garbus began her work on the film after Fischer's death in 2008 at the age of 64.^[4] She said of Fischer: "It's hard to imagine that in 1972, all eyes were on a chess match, but it does, in fact, seem to be the case. Bobby Fischer was this self-taught Brooklyn boy who took the New York chess scene and then the national chess scene by storm. And the Russians had been dominating the sport for decades. ... So for an American to have a real chance at beating that [Soviet] machine, this was big stuff. ... The symbolism of the match was enormous."^[5]

The documentary has an 88% rating and an average rating of 7.1/10 on Rotten Tomatoes.^[6]

The film is dedicated to editor Karen Schmeer, who was killed in a hit-and-run accident while they were already a few months into the editing process.^[7]

References

^ "Review: Bobby Fischer Against The World". Chess Vibes. July 5, 2011. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
^ "Bobby Fischer Against the World". Sundance Institute. Archived from the original on August 12, 2015.
^ "Bobby Fischer Against the World". Doogwoof. Archived from the original on August 12, 2015. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
^ Hank Stuever (June 5, 2011). "TV review: In HBO's 'Bobby Fischer,' a brilliance brought down by madness and spite". Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
^ "Bobby Fischer Biopic: A Chess Champ 'Against The World'". NPR.org. May 25, 2011. Archived from the original on June 26, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
^ "Bobby Fischer Against the World (2011)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on September 2, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
^ Moss, Stephen (July 3, 2011). "Bobby Fischer: Black and white magic | Film | the Guardian". TheGuardian.com. Archived from the original on December 4, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2016.