15 Movies About Chess You Should Watch Next

Another "based on a true story" chess film, "Searching for Bobby Fischer," tells the story of Joshua Waitzkin (Max Pomeranc), who became an American chess prodigy. The film adapts the book written by Fred Waitzkin (who appears in the film as played by Joe Mantegna) but shifts the focus to Joshua more specifically.

Interpersonal dynamics are where the film gains its energy. Watching Joshua manage his relationship with his father, who becomes far more into the boy's success than Joshua himself, is heartbreaking. However, the highlights come from the child's interactions with his teachers, the brutal and cold Bruce Pandolfini (Ben Kingsley), and the loose improvisational street hustler Vince (Laurence Fishburne). Kingsley is especially arresting in a performance that easily could have gone over into cartoony but instead is a study of intensity.

"Searching for Bobby Fischer" ends on a note so simple and sweet it would do little to describe it in print. However, in practice, the grace of it is wonderfully startling. After two hours of watching a boy repeatedly come close to being broken by adult agendas, his single message to a younger player is a surprisingly effective salve.