Searching for Bobby Fischer(1993)

Submitted by Tornado Dragon

SHORT VERSION:
After Josh’s mother, Bonnie, gives his father, Fred, a stern talking-to about how he has been pushing their son too hard in competitive chess, Fred accepts that he is indeed hurting his son and eases up on him. He also allows Josh to start playing chess again with Vinnie, a Washington Square Park regular who became one of Josh’s chess teachers (Josh’s other teacher, Bruce, had previously forbade Josh from playing with Vinnie because he thought that he and the other chess players in the park were just a bunch of patzers that were teaching him all the wrong things).

Josh ends up qualifying for the National Championships in Chicago, and both his family and Vinnie come along to support him. Before leaving for the tournament, Fred invites Bruce to come, but Bruce refuses, thinking that Josh will get killed at that tournament because he hasn’t knuckled down and committed himself to learning and playing chess full-time in preparation for it, unlike Jonathan Poe, another child chess prodigy whose talent and skill intimidates Josh.

Josh and Jonathan both reach the finals, but sometime before their match starts, Bruce pays a surprise visit to Josh in his hotel room. He presents Josh with a certificate stating that, in his eyes, he has attained the rank of Grandmaster, and he tells Josh that he is honored to call himself his teacher. He also informs Josh that he will be staying to watch his match against Jonathan.

Josh uses both Bruce’s and Vinnie’s teachings against Jonathan, and he ends up performing a 12-move sequence that checkmates Jonathan and wins him the championship. Before the film ends, title cards state that Josh (at the time of the film’s release) still plays competitive chess and is the highest-ranked player in the U.S. under the age of 18. Also, in September 1992, Bobby Fischer emerged from seclusion to have a rematch with his old rival, Boris Spassky (whom he defeated back in 1972 to become the World Chess Champion), but after he won, he promptly disappeared again.

LONG VERSION:
As Josh Waitzkin (Max Pomeranc) wins over a dozen chess tournament championships, his father, Fred (Joe Mantegna), starts to develop an unhealthy obsession with seeing his son participate and win in every tournament he competes in and treats the game more seriously than he ought to. He also wants Bruce (Ben Kingsley) to be the only person to teach his son about how to play the game, due to his disciplined approach to it, as opposed to letting Josh learn about the game from both him and Vinnie (Laurence Fishburne), a Washington Square Park regular who plays chess using a reckless (though effective) style. Meanwhile, Josh starts to take notice of another child chess prodigy named Jonathan Poe (Michael Nirenberg), a kid who has devoted his life to the game and has no other interests, and he finds his talent and skill to be intimidating.

When Josh competes in another tournament and loses, Fred speaks to him in private and expresses his utter disbelief that he could lose, but he backs off when Josh asks him why he is standing far away from him (like he is ashamed to be his father). When Josh next meets with Bruce for another lesson, Bruce tells him that he can’t play speed chess anymore, nor can he play any more games in Washington Square Park (with Vinnie) because – as he believes – the players there are a bunch of patzers who are teaching him all the wrong things. Some days later, Bruce – in another lesson with Josh – tries to teach Josh to be contemptuous of his opponents, stating that his opponents will hate him and that contempt is a part of winning, but Josh tells him that he has no desire to hate them. Bruce replies that Bobby Fischer held the world in contempt, prompting Josh to tell him that he is not Bobby Fischer, and Bruce rudely replies “you’re telling me.” Josh loses another tournament soon after, and during another lesson that he has with Bruce at his own house, Josh repeatedly asks him how close he is to getting a Chess Master certificate from him. Bruce tries to ignore him, but when Josh says straight out that he wants the certificate, Bruce loses his patience and reaches into his suitcase and starts pulling out and plunking down blank certificates in front of Josh, all the while telling him that they are just blank pieces of paper that mean nothing. Josh’s mother, Bonnie (Joan Allen), walks in on Josh and Bruce to find out what the source of all the noise is, and after seeing what Bruce is doing, she orders him to leave the house. He complies, but in parting, he tells her that to put a child in a position to care about winning and not to prepare him is wrong.

Later on, Bonnie has a serious talk with Fred about how Josh is being treated by him and Bruce, and when Fred tells her that the reason why Josh is in a slump right now is because he is afraid of losing, Bonnie replies that the real reason is because he is afraid of losing his father’s love. She goes on to tell him that Josh knows that he disapproves of him and thinks that he is weak, but he is not weak; he is a decent human being. She then warns him that if he, Bruce, or anyone else tries to beat the decency out of Josh, she will take Josh away. A night or two later, Fred goes into Josh’s bedroom to talk to him, and he tells him that he doesn’t have to participate in competitive chess anymore and actually wants him to stop. Josh replies that he doesn’t want to stop because he feels that he has to win for himself, and though Fred tries to tell him that chess doesn’t really mean anything and that it is just a game, Josh replies that it is more than just a game to him.

The next morning, Fred takes all of Josh’s trophies off the mantlepiece in the living room and puts them in his bedroom, telling him that these belong to him. He also takes him back to Washington Square Park so he can play chess with Vinnie again, after which he watches Josh and Vinnie play a round of speed chess together. One night, Bruce pays Fred a visit at his office at work, and he asks if Josh is going to be competing at the upcoming National Championships in Chicago. After Fred answers that he is, Bruce warns Fred that Josh is going to get destroyed at that tournament because he hasn’t knuckled down and committed himself to learning and playing the game full-time in preparation for it like Jonathan Poe has, but Fred disagrees with him. He then extends an invitation to Bruce to come to Chicago with him and his family to watch Josh play and adds that it would mean a lot to his son to have him there, but Bruce turns him down.

We next see Josh, his parents, and his little sister, Katya (Chelsea Moore) arriving at their hotel in Chicago for the tournament, and we see that the family has brought Vinnie along with them so he can watch and support Josh. Josh defeats all of his opponents on the first day to become one of the two finalists for the tournament championship, but the other finalist winds up being Jonathan Poe. Before the second day of the tournament starts, Josh is paid a surprise visit in his hotel room by Bruce. He asks Josh if he is scared, and Josh answers that he can’t beat Jonathan. Bruce tells him that he might be right, and though he knows that he is not supposed to say that to him, he would think that he was lying if he had said anything else. Moments later, he gives Josh a framed copy of a certificate stating that, in his eyes, Josh has attained the rank of Grandmaster. He then tells Josh that he has never been so proud of anyone in his life, and he is honored to call himself his teacher. Josh gives him a hug and asks him if he will stay for the finals, and Bruce replies that he wouldn’t miss it for the world.

After Josh and Jonathan begin their match, Josh immediately starts out using Vinnie’s reckless playing style. This causes him to lose his queen piece early, but he performs a series of moves after that that enables him to take Jonathan’s queen in return. Josh then starts to make use of Bruce’s disciplined teachings, and he soon comes up with a strategy that will guarantee him victory in 12 moves (which Bruce also notices over the TV set in the area outside the playing hall where the players’ parents and teachers have been watching the games from). When Jonathan gets impatient with him and urges him to make a move, Josh extends his hand out for a handshake and offers to end the game with a draw. He explains to Jonathan that he has lost but doesn’t know it, so he is offering him a chance to take a draw and share the championship with him. Insulted by this and unable to see that Josh is right, Jonathan rejects the offer and again tells him to move. Josh thus executes his 12-move sequence and gets checkmate, and as Jonathan leaves the room without a word, all of the participants and Josh’s teachers and loved ones come into the hall to congratulate Josh on his victory. Josh and Fred end up sharing a big hug.

Afterwards, Josh takes a walk with his friend, Morgan (Hal Scardino), who also competed in the tournament but was eliminated and is feeling pretty low about it. Josh comforts Morgan by telling him that he is a much stronger player than he was at his age, and Morgan thanks him for the compliment.

Title cards then state (at the time of the film’s release) that Joshua Waitzkin still plays chess and is currently the highest-ranked player in the U.S. under the age of 18. He also plays baseball, basketball, football, and soccer, and goes fishing in the summer. In September 1992, Bobby Fischer emerged from seclusion to challenge his old rival, Boris Spassky (whom he defeated back in 1972 to become the World Chess Champion), to another match. However, after he won, he promptly disappeared again.