The Tortured Genius?

The phenomenon of genius fascinates me. I think of Mozart at the age of 4 entertaining a King with his sonatas. Or, John Forbes Nash Jr., the revolutionary economist and mathematician that Russell Crowe played in the movie A Beautiful Mind (2001). I remember the mentioning of Indian-born mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan in the movie Good Will Hunting (1997) “whose genius was unparalleled”. From here, we can segue into the world of chess.

The intellectual giant in chess who stands out from all the rest is the American chess player and eccentric, the indomitable and genius Bobby Fischer.



I won’t lie. I love the game of chess. The more I play, the more I learn to appreciate gifted players and geniuses. The secret to success is an extremely analytical mind and the uncanny ability to see combinations of moves way down the road: not only to see combinations down one road, but many roads. Another key ingredient in Fischer’s style is the intimidation factor. It is psychological warfare. He gets in his opponent’s heads. If he could complain about the lighting, he did. If he could complain about the temperature, he did. If he could complain about the audience, well, you fill in the blank.

This made him notorious to play against. He also had a dash of charisma. He was loved by the ladies. And he became a symbol for American superiority during the Cold War when he defeated the Russian Boris Spassky to become the World Champion. He was a recluse. As anyone can see on youtube, he was socially awkward, despite the charisma. This is because he would spend countless hours in his room going over moves on a portable chessboard he would carry around in his pocket everywhere. His life was chess.



His style was aggressive and unorthodox. He was known for defying the textbooks and going against the grain. He would bring out his Queen early or make it look like his defenses were underdeveloped. But woe to the opponent who bought into the appearance. Every piece was moved for a reason. Each calculation consider combinations the normal chess player would never dream of.

He spent his last days as a recluse, a bearded eccentric, hating America, lauding 9/11, alienating his fans, and dying alone. He is the poster child for ‘what could have been’. What could he have accomplished if he could have been more whole? But there is no denying his genius. I immediately remember the footage of a young, adolescent Fischer in a room with 15 to 20 tables set up, each with a chessboard, and each with a different chess player. You watch him make his rounds, moving his turn in a matter of seconds, moving to the next table, and in no time, everyone in the room is defeated. As Mozart could just make music, as Nash could just see patterns in chaos, as Ramanujan could formulate theorems “that have baffled mathematicians for years”, Bobby Fischer could play chess.

I must confess that I first learned about Bobby Fischer from the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993), starring Max Pomeranc in the role of child, chess prodigy Josh Waitzkin, based on a real person. Yes, it’s the story of his genius, but it’s also a story about the man Bobby Fischer. Who is he? Where is he? Keep in mind this movie came about in the early 90’s, so his whereabouts were still in question. The movie is interspersed with old news reels of Fischer: in interviews, on the road, in a match, as a child, as an adult.

This is a movie about a contrast of personalities. I got the impression Waitzkin really admired Fischer, imitated his style, and is one of his heroes. But you could always see a melancholy behind Fischer’s eyes. You can’t help but think it was self imposed. You might think it’s a case of bad genes. Either way, he wasn’t a happy man, and the competition in his blood made him hate his opposition. But this story is told from Josh’s perspective. He is an innocent child with a good heart, who is gifted, but loves his opponent, who competes, but doesn’t let the game consume his life.

This is one of my favorite movies. The score is performed by one of my favorite composers James Horner. The music perfectly accompanies not just the genius and the discovery of it, but how genius can be nurtured, how good can win out over evil, and how evil can even be inspired by it.

The child’s eyes are wide with wonder. His first love is baseball. He only recently discovers his gift when he randomly decides to play with the homeless guys in the city’s park. Escorted by his mom, she watches first with a subtle interest at how Josh moves the pieces with no previous training. Josh loses, but the mom-instinct has already sparked. She tells her husband, Fred, who reacts with skepticism. They agree to play a friendly game of chess and Fred comes out the victor. But little does he know, Josh’s good nature doesn’t want to beat his dad. After some heckling from the mom, they agree to play again (so Josh can play with his dad). What ensues is a beautiful scene. Josh dances circles around the dad. The dad is destroyed, but it’s not a destructive competition: just a joyful delight in a gift being delightfully handled by a good-natured and loving prodigy.

I especially liked Lawrence Fishburne’s character, Vinnie, the homeless man Josh meets in the park.



There, they play the frowned-upon speed chess. Moves are rushed, intimidation is preferred to strategy, hands race past the camera from the chess piece to the time-clock, while the camera moves from the hand to the thinking face. But Josh isn’t drawn to the style so much as the authenticity, and more because his good heart attracts him to those broken spirits who need love. Vinnie is a fast-talking hustler but is immediately drawn to Josh: to his innocence and love. Ben Kingsley also does a wonderful job as Josh’s stern but affectionate teacher.

I really recommend this movie. It puts you in touch with Fischer, a hero worthy of a Greek tragedy, the victim of his own nature. But it also unveils the true beauty of what genius can amount to. For Nash in A Beautiful Mind, it was discovered almost too late, as his demons are still with him. And for the orphan Will Hunting in Good Will Hunting, he is already damaged goods. But in this movie, we see it nurtured soon enough so it can grow roots and bloom. As I said, the score from Horner puts the icing on the cake. It’s what moved me the most. It’s the story of the beauty of goodness and simplicity triumphing over everything the cruel world teaches us as we meet its trials and tribulations. It gets behind our defense mechanisms. It gives us a glimmer of how things should be. It is a feel-good movie and some of the sentiment is milked, but the movie is so good and the characters are so engrossing and well-acted, you forget about it almost right away. It’s just really refreshing to see a gift from God put to good use. It puts you in a better position to “give Him glory”, as they say.