Editing Searching for Bobby Fischer

{{short description|1993 film by Steven Zaillian}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Searching for Bobby Fischer
| image          = Searching for bobby fischer.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| alt            =
| director       = [[Steven Zaillian]]
| producer       = [[William Horberg]]
| screenplay     = Steven Zaillian
| based_on       = {{Based on|''Searching for Bobby Fischer: The Father of a Prodigy Observes the World of Chess''|[[Fred Waitzkin]]}}
| starring       = {{Plain list|
* <!-- Per poster billing block -->[[Joe Mantegna]]
* [[Laurence Fishburne]]
* [[Joan Allen]]
* [[Max Pomeranc]]
* [[Ben Kingsley]]
}}
| music          = [[James Horner]]
| cinematography = [[Conrad Hall|Conrad L. Hall]]
| editing        = Wayne Wahrman
| distributor    = [[Paramount Pictures]]
| released       = {{Film date|1993|8|11}}
| runtime        = 109 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $12 million<ref>{{cite web|url=http://textfiles.com/media/film93.ans|title=1993–94 Film Releases|year=1993|author=Eric G. Carter|access-date=January 12, 2018|archive-date=July 29, 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010729031425/http://textfiles.com/media/film93.ans|url-status=live}}</ref>
| gross          = $7,266,383
}}

'''''Searching for Bobby Fischer''''', released in the United Kingdom as '''''Innocent Moves''''', is a 1993 American [[Drama (film and television)|drama film]] written and directed by [[Steven Zaillian]] in his [[List of directorial debuts|directorial debut]]. Starring [[Max Pomeranc]] in his film debut, [[Joe Mantegna]], [[Joan Allen]], [[Ben Kingsley]], and [[Laurence Fishburne]], it is based on the life of [[prodigy (chess)|prodigy]] [[chess]] player [[Joshua Waitzkin]], played by Pomeranc, and adapted from the book of the same name by Joshua's father, [[Fred Waitzkin]]. The film was nominated for [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]] in the [[66th Academy Awards]].

==Plot==
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 (chess)|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 [[Misanthropy|misanthropic]] as Bruce seeks to harden Josh's competitiveness. When Bruce berates Josh by showering him in "[[Xerox|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. And when Josh is allowed to resume playing chess with Vinnie, 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 [[chess endgame|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 (chess)|combination]] and wins the game.

==Development==
In 1972, American chess champion [[Bobby Fischer]] traveled to Reykjavík, Iceland, for a match in the [[World Chess Championship 1972]] with [[Boris Spassky]]. Fred Waitzkin was smitten by the game as he was swept up in the nationwide excitement at the time, 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fredwaitzkin.com/searchingforbobbyfischer/|title=Searching For Bobby Fischer – A Memoir|author=Fred Waitzkin|date=20 October 2018 |access-date=7 May 2023}}</ref>{{bcn|date=March 2025}}

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Max Pomeranc]] as [[Josh Waitzkin]]
* [[Ben Kingsley]] as [[Bruce Pandolfini]]
* [[Joe Mantegna]] as [[Fred Waitzkin]], Josh's father
* [[Laurence Fishburne]] as "Vinnie" Vincent Livermore
* [[Joan Allen]] as Bonnie Waitzkin, Josh's mother
* [[Robert Stephens]] as Jonathan's teacher
* [[David Paymer]] as Kalev
* [[William H. Macy]] as Tunafish father
* [[Austin Pendleton]] as [[Asa Hoffmann]]
* [[Tony Shalhoub]] as Chess club player
* [[Josh Mostel]] as Chess club regular
* [[Dan Hedaya]] as Tournament director
* [[Laura Linney]] as Josh's school teacher
* [[Anthony Heald]] as Fighting parent
* Michael Nirenberg as Jonathan Poe
* [[Hal Scardino]] as [[Morgan Pehme]]
* Vasek Simek as Russian player
}}
Some famous chess players have cameos in the film: [[Anjelina Belakovskaia]], [[Joel Benjamin]], [[Roman Dzindzichashvili]], [[Kamran Shirazi]], along with the real [[Joshua Waitzkin]], [[Bruce Pandolfini]], Vincent Livermore, and Russell Garber. [[Chess master]] [[Asa Hoffmann]] is played by [[Austin Pendleton]]; the real Hoffmann was disappointed with his portrayal by Pendleton. Chess expert Poe McClinton, still a park regular, is seen throughout the film. [[Pal Benko]] was supposed to be in the film but his part was cut out. Waitzkin's real mother and sister also have cameos. [[Bobby Fischer]] appears in newsreel footage.

The Russian player in the park (played by Vasek Simek) who holds up the sign "{{smallcaps|Game or Photograf Of Man Who {{sic|Beet}} 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.<ref>{{Cite web|date=11 March 2006
| last = Wall | first= Bill
|title=Searching for Bobby Fischer (Josh Waitzkin) Trivia
| website= geocities.com
 |url=http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lab/7378/searching.htm|access-date=8 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080105124423/http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lab/7378/searching.htm |archive-date=January 5, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001031717/http://www.chessgames.com/player/israel_zilber.html
| archive-date= 1 October 2007
|title=The chess games of Israel Zilber|url=https://www.chessgames.com/player/israel_zilber.html|access-date=8 January 2023|website=www.chessgames.com}}</ref> Zilber, [[Latvian Chess Championship|Latvian Chess Champion]] in 1958, defeated the teenage [[Mikhail Tal]] in 1952,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1139182|title=Mikhail Tal vs. Josif Israel Zilber, LAT-ch (1952)|website=[[Chessgames.com]]|access-date=May 26, 2007|archive-date=October 1, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001031616/http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1139182|url-status=live}}</ref> 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 (literature)|foil character]] in the film, Jonathan Poe (played by Michael Nirenberg), is based on [[chess prodigy]] [[Jeff Sarwer]]. When Sarwer was asked what he felt about his portrayal in the film, he stated: <blockquote>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?<ref>{{cite news|last=Shahade|first=Jennifer|title=The United States Chess Federation – Lost and Found: An Interview with Jeff Sarwer|url=http://www.uschess.org/content/view/10007/571/|access-date=28 July 2017|work=[[United States Chess Federation]]|date=8 January 2010|archive-date=January 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119234204/http://www.uschess.org/content/view/10007/571|url-status=live}}</ref></blockquote>

==Sarwer versus Waitzkin match==
{{algebraic notation|pos=secright}}
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.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wall|first=Bill
| date = 7 August 2007
| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210614164048/https://www.chess.com/article/view/searching-for-bobby-fischer-the-movie-trivia
| archive-date= 14 June 2021
|title=Searching for Bobby Fischer (the movie) Trivia|url=https://www.chess.com/article/view/searching-for-bobby-fischer-the-movie-trivia|access-date=8 January 2023|website=Chess.com}}</ref> The film depicts their third match in the 1986 [[Scholastic chess in the United States|US Primary Championship]]. Near the end of the game, where Josh offers Poe a [[draw (chess)|draw]], Poe rejects the [[draw by agreement|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 king]]s. Under [[Tie-breaking in Swiss-system tournaments|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.<ref>pp. 214–22 of the book</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1473029|title=Jeff Sarwer vs. Joshua Waitzkin, US Primary Championship (1986)|website=Chessgames.com|access-date=August 17, 2011|archive-date=November 5, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071105182800/http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1473029|url-status=live}}</ref> Sarwer went on to win the 1986 [[World Youth Chess Championship#Under-10 winners|World Championship Under-10 (Boys)]], with his sister Julia winning the [[World Youth Chess Championship#Under-10 winners|World Championship Under-10 (Girls)]].

===Poe versus Waitzkin endgame===
{{Chess diagram
 |tright
 |"Poe vs. Waitzkin"
 |  |  |rd|bd|  |  |  |
 |pd|  |  |  |  |  |pd|
 |  |nd|  |  |kl|pl|  |
 |  |  |  |  |rl|  |bl|
 |  |  |  |  |nl|  |  |pl
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |kd|  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |Black (Waitzkin) to move
}}
The diagram depicts the game position in the film, with Waitzkin playing the [[White and Black in chess|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:

:'''1... gxf6 2. Bxf6 Rc6+ 3. Kf5 Rxf6+{{chesspunc|??}} 4. Nxf6 Bxf6 5. Kxf6[[Chess annotation symbols#??|??]] Nd7+ 6. Kf5 Nxe5 7. Kxe5{{chesspunc|??}}'''
In the October 1995 issue of ''[[Chess Life]]'', [[Grandmaster (chess)|Grandmaster]] [[Larry Evans (chess grandmaster)|Larry Evans]] stated that the position and sequence were {{chessgloss|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 [[Promotion (chess)|queening]] safely.<ref>5.Re2+ Kd1 6.Kxf6 Kxe2 7.h5 Nd7+ (7...a5? 8.Ke6 and White can win the {{chessgloss|pawn race}} safely) 8.Ke7 Ne5 9.h6 Ng6+ 10.Kf7 Ne5+ 11.Kg7 Nd7 12.h7 Nc5 and White queens.</ref>

:'''7... a5 8. h5 a4 9. h6 a3 10. h7 a2 11. h8=Q a1=Q+ 12. Kf5 Qxh8 {{chessAN|0–1}}'''
White [[Rules of chess#Resigning|resigned]].
{{clear}}

===Alternate endgame===
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.
{{Chess diagram small
|tleft
|
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |  |pd|  |
|  |  |  |  |  |pl|  |
|  |  |nd|  |  |  |  |kd
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |bl
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |kl
|Black to move
}}
<br>In this position, Black should play:
:{{pad}}'''1... Ne2'''
after which White is in [[zugzwang]]; he must play either 2.Bg3, losing the bishop to 2...Nxg3+, or 2.Bg1, allowing 2...Ng3{{chessAN|#}}.<ref>[[Bruce Pandolfini]], ''Endgame Workshop: Principles for the Practical Player'', 2009, p. 64, Russell Enterprises, {{ISBN|978-1-888690-53-8}}</ref>
{{clear}}

==Reception==
Both the film and book received positive reviews from critics. Waitzkin's book was praised by grandmaster [[Nigel Short]],<ref>''The Spectator'', April 8, 1989, pp. 30–31</ref> and journalist [[Edward Winter (chess historian)|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."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Searching for Bobby Fischer (Josh Waitzkin)
| author= Edward Winter
| year = 1989
| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201125050308/https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/waitzkin.html
| archive-date= 25 November 2020
|url=https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/waitzkin.html|access-date=8 January 2023|website=www.chesshistory.com}}</ref> Screenwriter and playwright [[Tom Stoppard]] called the book "well written" and "captivating".<ref>''The Observer'', April 2, 1989, p. 45</ref>

The film has a 98% rating on [[Rotten Tomatoes]] based on 45 reviews, with an average rating of 8.00/10. 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."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/searching_for_bobby_fischer/|title=Searching for Bobby Fischer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416210709/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/searching_for_bobby_fischer|archive-date=April 16, 2021|url-status=live|work=Rotten Tomatoes}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]] the film has a score of 89 based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref>{{cite web|title=Searching for Bobby Fischer|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/searching-for-bobby-fischer|website=Metacritic}}</ref> Audiences surveyed by [[CinemaScore]] graded the film "A" on scale of A to F.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/|title=Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993)|work=CinemaScore|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220122629/https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/|archive-date=20 December 2018}}</ref>

[[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."<ref>{{cite web|date=August 11, 1993|last1=Ebert|first1=Roger|author1-link=Roger Ebert|title=Searching for Bobby Fischer|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/searching-for-bobby-fischer-1993|website=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|publisher=RogerEbert.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130311222354/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F19930811%2FREVIEWS%2F308110301%2F1023|archive-date=11 March 2013}}</ref> [[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."<ref>{{Cite web
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203184917/http://preview.reelviews.net/movies/s/searching.html
| archive-date= 3 February 2019
| last = Berardinelli | first = James
| year = 1993
|title=Review: Searching for Bobby Fischer|url=https://preview.reelviews.net/movies/s/searching.html|access-date=8 January 2023|website=ReelViews}}</ref>

Bobby Fischer himself never saw the film and claimed 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".<ref>{{cite book|last=Brady|first=Frank|author-link=Frank Brady (writer)|title=Endgame: Bobby Fischer's Remarkable Rise and Fall – from America's Brightest Prodigy to the Edge of Madness|publisher=[[Crown Publishing Group|Crown]]|year=2011|edition=1st|pages=267–68|isbn=978-0-307-46390-6}}</ref>

{{Anchor|Awards|Accolades}}
The film was nominated for Best Cinematography ([[Conrad Hall|Conrad L. Hall]]) at the [[66th Academy Awards]] for 1993 but lost to [[Janusz Kaminski]] who won for ''[[Schindler's List]]'', which was also written by Steven Zaillian. It won the category at the [[American Society of Cinematographers]] the same year. The film also ranked No. 96 in [[AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers]].

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* "20 years of Searching", ''[[Chess Life]]'', August 2013, pp.&nbsp;38–41

== External links ==
* {{IMDb title|id=0108065|title=Searching for Bobby Fischer}}
* {{Mojo title|searchingforbobbyfischer|Searching for Bobby Fischer}}
* {{TCMDb title}}
* {{AFI film}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060426004836/http://www.eamonnoneill.net/articles/Josh%20Waitzkins.PDF Updated article from 2006 by Eamonn O'Neill]

{{Steven Zaillian}}
{{Bobby Fischer}}

[[Category:1993 films]]
[[Category:1993 children's films]]
[[Category:American biographical drama films]]
[[Category:American children's drama films]]
[[Category:Chess in the United States]]
[[Category:Films about chess]]
[[Category:Films set in New York City]]
[[Category:Films shot in Toronto]]
[[Category:1990s biographical drama films]]
[[Category:1993 in chess]]
[[Category:Bobby Fischer]]
[[Category:Paramount Pictures films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Steven Zaillian]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Steven Zaillian]]
[[Category:Films scored by James Horner]]
[[Category:Films produced by Scott Rudin]]
[[Category:Biographical films about sportspeople]]
[[Category:Biographical films about educators]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of chess players]]
[[Category:1993 directorial debut films]]
[[Category:1993 drama films]]
[[Category:1990s English-language films]]
[[Category:1990s American films]]
[[Category:English-language biographical drama films]]