Searching for Bobby Fischer

Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993) is a drama by Steven Zaillian you can watch online on iFILM. Seven-year-old Josh Waitzkin sits down at a chessboard in a New York park for the first time and reads the whole game at a glance.

His parents hire a strict tutor, Bruce Pandolfini (Ben Kingsley), who tries to shape the boy into a champion modeled on the cold, brilliant Bobby Fischer. The park teaches the opposite lesson: speed-chess hustler Vinnie (Laurence Fishburne) plays on instinct and nerve. Josh is pulled between two styles while his father (Joe Mantegna) starts confusing love for his son with hunger for his wins. The real question is whether a kid can win without going hard inside.

This was the directing debut of the screenwriter behind Schindler's List, and it stays quiet where other sports films shout. Cinematographer Conrad Hall shot the matches like duels of nerves. Stream Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993) online on iFILM.