It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Compulsive doco. Still leaves you wishing they had delved more into his obvious mental condition instead of explaining it as part of his chess genius. And also, where exactly was he before he was tracked down and enticed to play again in '92? There may not be much to explain besides the fact he was part of the Church and then became converted to wacky hateful ideologies and then the Hungarian girl Zita appeared. It's all still a bit sketchy but fascinating. And that neurologist in Iceland, how did he get into the picture and why? Maybe as the film more or less concludes these questions are all distractions and Bobby's legacy is his games and what he achieved, mostly alone. Will he inspire others? We are certainly left with the understanding that his childhood (or lack of one) caused his troubled life.

Great documentary on a tortured genius.The story of Bobby Fischer, arguably the greatest chess player who ever lived. Examines his growing up, his emergence as chess genius at a very young age, his ascendancy to being World Chess Champion (at the age of 29), he's decline, disappearance, re-emergence, becoming a fugitive from US justice and his later years. The highlight is the famous showdown against Boris Spassky for the World Championship, in Reykjavik in 1972. Demonstrates well his genius, neuroses and general personality.Also particularly interesting is that there are very good attempts to explain his personality problems and mental issues. Sadly, genius and insanity often go hand in hand...

Things were very different during the days of the Cold War. The Soviet Union dominated their sphere of the world and they used chess as a propaganda tool to demonstrate the superiority of communism for all to see. As a result they pooled a substantial portion of their resources into cultivating and maintaining the best chess players the world had ever seen. And they weren't hesitant to stack the deck against anybody who dared to oppose them. Accordingly, for over 30 years they were successful in keeping any non-Soviet from challenging their World Champion. But everything changed when a young chess genius named Bobby Fischer came onto the scene from humble beginnings and with only one desire—to be the best chess player in the world. Unfortunately, although he was an expert in chess, he was a novice in personal and public relations and it was this flaw which would come to haunt him in later life. To that end, this documentary is similar to watching a train wreck in slow motion. You can see it coming but you're still hoping that it will somehow end differently. Anyway, this is a good film that doesn't require anybody to know anything about the game in order to understand it. And while I wish it had dealt a bit more on some of his earlier triumphs and featured more from some of his heavyweight opponents like Tigran Petrosian and Bent Larsen, it was sufficient for the most part in showcasing the rise and fall of an American star. Slightly above average.

Bobby Fischer Against the World (2010) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Another very good documentary from HBO, this one taking a look at the life and career of Bobby Fischer, the chess genius who rose to fame at an early age and really put the sport on the U.S. map when he defeated the Russian Spassky in 1972. Fischer's rise was quickly put out when he refused to defend his championship and the genius spent the rest of his life trying to hide from the public and apparently driving closer to madness. David Edmonds, Dr. Anthony Saidy, Susan Polgar, Henry Kissinger, David Shenk, Malcolm Gladwell and Larry Evans are among the many people interviewed here as they try to explain what made Fischer a genius but also what eventually got him kick out of America. This is a very fascinating documentary because it really seems to be trying to tell the truth and not just sugar-coat some rather troubled moments in this man's life. It's clear that he was a genius at the game of chess and the documentary makes an interesting choice showing other great minds of the game who ended their lives in a mental breakdown. The majority of the running time is devoted to the Spassky match as we get a game-to-game breakdown of events, shown the important matches and also the various controversies that Fischer stirred up at the time. So, in reality, even in his greatest moments Fischer was still delivering controversy and upsetting people. Fans of chess, Fischer or those just interesting in great documentaries should really be entertained by this thing. The documentary doesn't really explain the rules of chess so some might want to read up a bit before going into the film but even if you know nothing the story is just so fascinating where it really doesn't matter.