Review: 'Pawn Sacrifice' Starring Tobey Maguire, Is A Satisfying And Engaging Chess Drama

As Bobby Fischer (Tobey Maguire) says in "Pawn Sacrifice," chess is a game of unlimited options, but there's "only one right move." To call it merely a game diminishes something that is beyond such a description. Intellectually rigorous and emotionally taxing, it may not boast obvious gymnastics or grueling physicality, but chess demands total concentration, and strategy that involves knowing both your own moves and anticipating your opponent's, while the consequences of a mistake are swift, ruthless, and immediate. It's enough to drive anyone crazy, and indeed, chess is littered with great players who spiraled into mental decline, Fischer included. Conveying of all that cinematically, along with a game that is played in hushed tones, with more time spent thinking than actually moving pieces, is a challenge to say the least, but Ed Zwick takes it on to mostly satisfactory results.

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