|
|
Article: Searching for Bobby Fischer.
- Article from:
- National Review
- Article date:
- October 4, 1993
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 National Review, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
AMONG the many jejune genres of Hollywood movies, not the least paltry is the problemless problem film, of which Searching for Bobby Fischer is a prime example. Based on a book by the sportswriter Fred Waitzkin, it is the story of Waitzkin, his wife, Bonnie, and their son, Josh, the chess prodigy. What should be done when a seven-year-old evinces, seemingly out of nowhere, a spectacular talent for chess, which may make him a champion, but also deprive him of the needed normal childhood? Perhaps even a normal adulthood; do I not read in the New York Times that Nigel Short "possesses a rare and almost spiritual gift for a chess player: he is well-adjusted enough not to be ...