PAWN SACRIFICE is, on the face of it, a film about the famous chess match between American and Russian rivals Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky in the 1970s. However, it's not so much about chess, and rather a psychological portrait of a mentally ill man. Fischer was a real character who was adversely affected by the pressure of the international chess scene, and this movie gets inside his head in a very clever and intense way. That's no surprise given that it was directed by the excellent Edward Zwick, who has directed such superlative fare as GLORY and THE LAST SAMURAI in the past. Tobey Maguire gives a very good performance as the nervy protagonist and Liev Schreiber is perfect as his rival; the constantly underrated Michael Stuhlbarg also excels in support. Overall this is a very well made movie, one which kept my interest throughout.

Bobby Fischer (Tobey Maguire) is a chess master and Russian Boris Spassky (Liev Schreiber) is his nemesis. His mother is a Russian immigrant who instilled a fear of spying in him. They don't get along and become estranged. As he rises in chess rankings, he is confronted by the Russian chess players playing as a team. He quits calling them cheaters. Lawyer Paul Marshall (Michael Stuhlbarg) recruits Bobby to continue playing as a way to fight the Cold War. Father Bill Lombardy (Peter Sarsgaard) is his constant companion and the only friend who understands since he beat both Bobby and Boris when they were young. Bobby's mind deteriorates and he gets more paranoid. His sister Joan Fischer (Lily Rabe) fears for his mental health.

Tobey Maguire delivers an intriguing performance of obsession and growing madness. The chess is more compelling than expected. The big match between Fischer and Spassky turns into psychological warfare. It touches on the specific era of the Cold War. It's a maddening character study and a surprisingly effective thriller.

This is a look at a complex man who was both a genius and mental case. Bobby Fischer dominated the news during the sixties as he faced off with Boris Spassky, the world chess champion. Toby Maguire is excellent as the cracked talent, filled with paranoia and Cold War craziness. He believed he was the greatest chess player in the world, but is his own demons constantly got in his way. Somewhere along the line, at a very early age, he became obsessed with the red threat. His own mother rubbed elbows with communists and the whole country was in fear of the Soviet Union. Fischer, when left alone, assumed he was being bugged, and went to dramatic lengths to find these bugs. He was also highly sensitive to sound. When he met Spassky for the first match of the world championship, he began to react to even the slightest sounds. Probably about as autistic as one could be, he made the people managing him go to great lengths to appease his ridiculous demands, including holding one match in a storage room. Spassky is portrayed as a bit of a paranoic himself. This is a movie about a man who is hard to like, but the portrayal is well crafted. This is the best thing Maguire has done, in my opinion.