Summer Doc Series: Bobby Fischer Against The World

On one hand, it makes complete sense to create a documentary about Bobby Fischer; he was a child prodigy, the world chess champion, and an insane person. All of those elements can add up to remarkably compelling storytelling. On the other, Fischer is undoubtedly a relic of another time whose 15 minutes of fame seemed artificially stretched beyond their breaking point by a people as obsessed with him as he was with chess.
In Bobby Fischer Against the World, director Liz Garbus pieces together a monumentally beautiful documentary that’s only slightly uninteresting.
The doc does a fantastic job of telling Fischer’s life story inasmuch as it consists mainly of childhood fame, an iconic match to become world champion, and a pathetic downhill slide into paranoia and death. Yes, he is an incendiary figure that helped launch a giant chess craze in the United States during a time where any fight between the Soviets and the Red, White and Blue would have caused a sensation. It’s also true that he was infuriating (and that’s might make him interesting for some). Unfortunately, Fischer isn’t very compelling past his achievements; he’s a cultural marker that maintained a spotlight because he refused to play by the rules, not because he had anything profound to say.
Garbus seems to anticipate this and loads the film with fascinating figures discussing their rocky friendships with the champ in attempt to give his life true context.
One of the triumphs of the narrative comes in delivering a sports movie where the tension ratchets up almost immediately. Imagine if Miracle placed its mesmerizing final match at the start of the second act instead of minutes before the credits. The effect is a familiar yet jarring one that portends a story beyond what Fischer is most known for.
That story never comes to pass, and even though much of the championship game is described by figures who were there (instead of showing whole segments of the games), it’s a thrilling section that buoys the film and delivers some of its best moments.
After all, the game against chess titan Boris Spassky itself seems so much more important than Fischer. It’s more of a legend than he is because it was a moment where the hard work and natural ability of an American was pitted against the chess machine of the Soviets. It’s Rocky IV except no one got close enough to Fischer to wrap him in a giant flag.