The result is a gripping film about a subject almost too good to be true.

If this profile is marred slightly by thematic tidiness and a willingness to overglorify the champion's rise (Fischer didn't even write his best-seller, Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess), it still supplies a cracked, conflicted genius trapped in his ceaseless endgame.

A compelling look at the tragic and bizarre life of an enigmatic champion.

Liz Garbus' documentary tells the compelling and powerful story of the late chess prodigy.

Assembly is brisk and high-grade, allowing for the variable quality of archival materials.