Searching for Better Parents

I’m not a big chess player.  Oh, I can play, and sometimes win, but my downfall is that I am not patient enough to sit and think through moves that are 4, 5, 14 steps away.  I am too impetuous to be really good.

While reading the news I stumbled upon a little article that mentioned that September 1st was the date of the “Match of the Century”. Back in 1972, I was almost 11 years-old, and I still remember the media hype surrounding this chess match.  Yes, you read that correctly – media hype.  It was front page news – and the prize was $250,000 – for a chess match.

The competitors were Borris Spassky from the Evil Empire of Russia, and the young American chess prodigy Bobby Fischer. The match was portrayed as an extension of the Cold War: US vs. Russia.  Like Rocky IV, but instead of 15 rounds, the match took over 2 months, and there was much less blood.

Fischer had a strange life, which ended a few years back. I have no fondness for the man, nor do I follow chess.  Then why am I writing about it?  Because I have a fondness for a movie that came out back in 1993 called “Searching For Bobby Fischer”.  It is high in my Top 10, and, in my humble opinion, an important movie.

The movie is based on the life of another chess prodigy named Joshua Waltzkin, and the story of how his chess abilities were recognized, and how he entered and fared in competition as a child.  The actors are fabulous.  Joshua is played by a great young actor named Max Pomeranc. Also in the cast: Joe Mantegna, Joan Allen, Ben Kingsley, Laurence Fishburn, William H. Macy & Laura Linney.  Yeah – big hitters.

Yes I did. I think it should be mandatory viewing for anyone who has children. I also think it should be used as homework for the “Marriage and Family Relations” class.

Why? Because it is not just about chess. Or football, or baseball, or orchestra, or dance, or any of the other things that can take over our kid’s lives. It made me think. How does “competition” fit in with raising righteous, kind children? Does it? Sometimes Mom thinks one thing, and Dad thinks another – who is right? Is it better to be “the best” in one thing, or to be well-rounded? How hard do we push?

Those are the themes this movie touches on. Watch closely. This movie made me a better father.

—

(An interesting side note about Joshua Waltzkin: Not only is he heavily involved in charity work, he has won 2 Tai Chi martial arts World Championships – not bad for a chess geek.)