A wayward youth has one hell of a bloody bad day in a still from the movie Rabies.

The sport's golden boy, already kind of an odd duck to begin with, dealt with his newfound superstardom by engaging in ever-stranger behavior. Garbus leaves it open to interpretation whether Fischer's diva tactics (delaying matches, refusing to play in front of a camera) were the result of his flaring neuroses, or an elaborate plan to psych Spassky out. After the match that riveted the world (game six was "a symphony of placid beauty," a chess colleague remembers dreamily), Fischer's inability to function within the world of chess — the only world he'd known since he was six years old — led to him being unable to function at all. Bobby Fischer Against the World's ultimate question is a thorny one: was being so good at chess (and only chess) the thing that drove Bobby Fischer crazy — or was his mental illness the only reason he was so good at chess in the first place? 

SFJFF

July 21–Aug. 8, most shows $12

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