Every Chess Documentary

Following my chess films post, I finally separated the list into Documentary and Drama. These are the documentaries followed by a separate list with details of each one I've seen (I’m trying to see them all). Both lists are in alphabetical order. If you think I've missed any films then let me know either in the comments or as a DM ...or share thoughts and ideas at the Movie Fan's Chess Club

"Algorithms" (2014, India)

“Barbaric Genius” (2011, UK)

“Bobby Fischer Against the World” (2011, US)

“Brooklyn Castle” (2013)

“Chess Kids” (1996)*

“Closing Gambit: Korchnoi versus Karpov and the Kremlin” (2018)

“Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine” (UK/Canada, 2003)

"Magnus" (2016, Norway, English)

“Me and Bobby Fischer” (2009, Iceland)

"The Prince of Chess" (2005, Norway)*

Barbaric Genius (2011, UK) I thought this would have been more about chess given the branding but its an interesting film. It's documentary about an author who wrote an autobiography so I felt there would be better ways to learn about John Healy. It's an interesting story and one which opens up questions of how someone can simply just be good at chess without even having been exposed to it until his 30s. It's a worthwhile watch but more as a discussion about class rather than chess.

See also “The Grass Arena” which is the film of the book that Healy wrote.

Chess Play – 3, Education - 5, Engagement - 6

Bobby Fischer Against the World. (2011, US) If you can handle the style of documentary (I’m not a huge fan of soundbites repeated by different people) then this is a very comprehensive insight into Fischer's life and holds interest throughout. Resourcing lots of footage of interviews with Fischer, it is a good film to recommend to someone who just wants to watch one film about Bobby Fischer and doesn’t know much but for many, there will be much here that we already know or have seen elsewhere. All in all though, its a good watch and there's a fair amount of how Fischer's chess mind works.

Chess Play – 4, Education - 7, Engagement – 8

Brooklyn Castle (2013, US) This was better than I thought it would be. It was very uplifting despite the depressing budget cuts the school, IS318 were facing. The schools chess club prepares and wins the 2009 tournament but the future is uncertain as the recession strikes. The fact that the children in the film are such a lovable group of positive young adults gives the film a really uplifting feeling. See also Knights of the South Bronx Chess Play – 7, Education - 7, Engagement - 6

Closing Gambit: Korchnoi versus Karpov and the Kremlin (2018). Lots of famous players add their angles on the 1978 World Chess Championship played between Anatoly Karpov, a stalwart of the USSR government and Viktor Korchnoi, a defector of the state. The documentary focuses on the tactics employed by the USSR to ensure a win for Karpov through threats, intimidation and paranormal mind control. Chess Play – 4, Education - 8, Engagement - 5

Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine (2003). Drawing (and milking) comparisons with "The Turk". Game Over follows Kasparov round the places he's played chess, while describing what was happening behind the scenes as well as in front of the cameras at the time (1996 and 1997). I'd always though Kasparov was a sore loser but it would seem he had a point and maybe there was something more sinister going on at IBM.  Chess Play - 4, Education 8, Engagement - 7

Magnus (2016, Norway, English). Using home video footage of Magnus as a child and more recent interviews, we follow Magnus’ rise in the chess world culminating in his fight for the 2013 world title against Viswanathan Anand. It gives an insight into the mind of Magnus and is as tense as it can be given that we all know how the story ends. Chess Play – 7, Education - 4, Engagement - 6

Me and Bobby Fischer (2009, US, Iceland). This is an Icelandic documentary by Fridrik Gudmundsson about the later life of Bobby Fischer and the campaign by his friend Saemundur Palsson to get him released from a Japanese detention centre and to become resident in Reykjavik. It is an insight into those close to Bobby in the later part of his life.  The style and quality of the filming is, by necessity, basic, taken using a camcorder but it is an interesting story of a very interesting life. Interesting also that it is an Icelandic production where, I suspect a US production would have a different slant.   Chess Play – 4, Education - 7, Engagement - 8Chess Dramas are here.