Pawn Sacrifice

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Pawn Sacrifice

PG-13

2015

1h 54m

History

Drama

Biography

Mystery & Thriller

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Popcornmeter

73%

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119 Reviews

66%

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10,000+ Ratings

American chess legend Bobby Fischer and Soviet Grandmaster Boris Spassky enthrall the world with their intense battle of wills and strategy during the 1972 World Chess Championship.

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Critics Consensus

Anchored by a sensitive performance from Tobey Maguire, Pawn Sacrifice adds another solidly gripping drama to the list of films inspired by chess wiz Bobby Fischer.

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Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

05/03/2016

'Pawn Sacrifice' takes all of those tropes and cranks them up to 11, far past the barometers of either believable human behavior or credible filmmaking.

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David Sims

The Atlantic

10/14/2015

Like all of Zwick's works, it's perfectly watchable fare, but it's often infuriating for its refusal to dig deeper into its incredibly compelling subject.

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Brad Wheeler

Globe and Mail

09/25/2015

2.5/4

Fine-looking but safe ...

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Edward Porter

Sunday Times (UK)

11/22/2022

The film’s approach lacks bold gambits, but the story is still a rewarding exhibition.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

05/27/2022

3/4

Pawn Sacrifice paints a portrait that shows us how, when true genius of this kind is discovered, it must be supported to its fullest potential, leaving everyone else to follow in awe of its rare whirlwind.

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Richard Crouse

Richard Crouse

02/03/2021

3/5

Kicks into gear in its final third as Fischer and Spassky go mano e mano over a chess board as the world watches.

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Bert D

@LordBort92 Feb 1

Another reminder to myself to never start playing chess.

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Gregory S

@Gregory566 Nov 26

I thought that is was pretty great. Whats truly incredible is that almost everything that happened during the matches actually did happen. The absolute obsession and absurdity of the Cold War is captured beautifully.

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Pongo K

@RT48921889 Sep 11

A beautiful movie. It shows how complex chess is, and how important it was during the cold war.

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John V

@RT03600135 Sep 10

Maguire reduces Fischer to brooding intensity, overlooking the man's well-documented awkward humor and mercurial charm. Just watch the famous Bob Hope and Dick Cavett interviews to glimpse the real Bobby Fischer.

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Thales T

@sirthales 05/16/2025

Uma guerra psicológica!

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Yash B

@yashbansal 03/01/2025

"Pawn Sacrifice" is interesting enough but it left me curious to learn more about the people it portrays. I think Tobey Maguire is excellent in this and his performance largely carries the movie. I feel the pacing is pretty slow and it starts to drag a bit before the big chess showdown at the end. I actually wish the movie showed glimpses of more chess matches and think it could have been a better use of its runtime. Nonetheless, this is a fascinating movie that studies the fine line between crazy and genius and I thought it was an engaging enough watch, primarily because of Maguire's great lead performance.

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Edward Zwick

Director

Tobey Maguire

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Pawn Sacrifice: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

American chess legend Bobby Fischer and Soviet Grandmaster Boris Spassky enthrall the world with their intense battle of wills and strategy during the 1972 World Chess Championship.

Director: Edward Zwick
Producer: Tobey Maguire, Gail Katz, Edward Zwick
Screenwriter: Steven Knight
Distributor: Bleecker Street Media
Production Co: Material Pictures, Gail Katz
Rating: PG-13 (Historical Smoking|Brief Strong Language|Some Sexual Content)
Genre: History, Drama, Biography, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 16, 2015, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 27, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.4M
Runtime: 1h 54m