Bobby Fischer’s cold-war era victory over Soviet champion Boris Spassky in 1972 capped off his meteoric rise to greatness and brought worldwide fame and renown to both Fischer and the sport of chess. Few could have foreseen that it would also be the beginning of an enigmatic second act as a relative recluse and eventual fugitive and exile from the US justice system. Liz Garbus’ film artfully mixes archival footage of Fischer, alongside new interviews with his friends and rivals, to trace the larger arc of a career that vaulted him to prominence at the age of 15 -when he won his first US championship through two blockbuster matches with Spassky, and on to his eventual decline. 

Presented as part of the Depth of Field 2012-2013 Series: Still Lives

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