Coaches, teachers, and parents of kids often make one of two errors in competitive activities:
1. They try to convince their kids that winning is the only thing that matters. 2. They instill in their kids a great fear of losing.
Josh Waitzkin is a young 7-year-old boy who enjoys playing the game of chess. He's also a very nice, sweet kid who never feels comfortable or even enjoys "beating" an opponent. He simply loves the game. When he first plays his father in a game of chess, he doesn't try his hardest. He's afraid of beating and hurting his father's feelings. This part of the film lays the foundation for the entire rest of the film. His mother has to tell him, "it's okay if you beat him. You won't hurt his feelings." Only then does Josh play at his best and wins.
Fred Waitzkin (Joe Mantegna) represents the first fear that I listed. He's an extremely supportive father who is very proud of his son. "He's better at this than anything that I will ever do in my whole life," he says of Josh. While his passion and support are strong, he falls into the trap of living vicariously through his son. Winning is the most important thing to him. When Josh loses a match to an "inferior" opponent, Fred is upset and can't understand why Josh lost. He doesn't realize that Josh loves his father and only wants to please him. It isn't until then that Fred realizes his mistake, and he finally encourages Josh to play for fun.
On the other side is Josh's chess teacher, Bruce (Ben Kingsley). He represents the second fear that I listed. He is afraid of Josh losing. Bruce is a man who is so scarred by his own losses that happened long ago, that he more or less "hides out" in an old chess room. At first, Fred Waitzkin has to talk him into taking his son as a student. While Bruce's demeanor is somewhat cold, it's obvious that he truly loves Josh, and can't bear the thought of Josh going through the pain of losing a match. It isn't until the end that he realizes that Josh is really in no danger of this, even if he did lose. Josh isn't greatly affected by either winning or losing. He only likes to play. But, Bruce tries to tell Josh that he needs to hold his opponents in contempt. That type of notion simply doesn't exist in Josh.
"Bobby Fischer held the whole world in contempt," says Bruce. Josh responds, "I'm not him." Josh already knows who he is, and he isn't trying to be the next Bobby Fischer, no matter how much everyone else wants him to be. He only wants to be himself.
There are two characters in this movie that already know Josh's heart, and they give him the positive values and support that Josh needs.
First, his mother (Joan Allen). She is so enamored by Josh's good heart, that at one point, she threatens her husband. "He's not weak. He's decent. And if you or Bruce or anyone else tries to beat that out of him, I swear to God I'll take him away."
Second, is his friend Vinnie (Laurence Fishburne), a man that Josh meets in Washington Square where Vinnie spends his time playing speed chess with other people who are mostly transients. Josh quickly makes friends with him, even though Bruce doesn't like it. But, Vinnie holds the wisdom of competition that Bruce fails to give to Josh. "You're playing not to lose, Josh. You have to risk losing. You have to play on the edge of defeat. That's where you want to be!"
I can't stress the performance of young Max Pomeranc (Josh Waitzkin) enough. He seems to know exactly who Josh is, and he plays him with a gentle sweetness that can't be ignored or overlooked. You see it in his eyes and facial expressions. He looks at his opponents not as enemies, but simply another kid sitting across from him who could easily be his friend. Josh has a well-balanced life. Chess isn't everything to him. He enjoys doing other things. Perhaps this is a testament to why his character is so strong. His opponent at the end, Jonathan Poe, thinks of only chess, and we quickly find that he is a very unhappy and miserable kid. He's the kind of player that Bruce tries to make Josh, and we are thankful that Josh never goes down that road.
Competition is so strong in our culture. Most parents, teachers, and coaches fall into these two fears without realizing it. We push and push, we forget that they are children, and that we need to stress the importance of having fun, being a good sportsman, and being gracious in victory and defeat. It's truly amazing to find that Josh Waitzkin already realized this at the tender age of 7. Hopefully, we can begin to pass these values on to our own kids.
1. They try to convince their kids that winning is the only thing that matters. 2. They instill in their kids a great fear of losing.
Josh Waitzkin is a young 7-year-old boy who enjoys playing the game of chess. He's also a very nice, sweet kid who never feels comfortable or even enjoys "beating" an opponent. He simply loves the game. When he first plays his father in a game of chess, he doesn't try his hardest. He's afraid of beating and hurting his father's feelings. This part of the film lays the foundation for the entire rest of the film. His mother has to tell him, "it's okay if you beat him. You won't hurt his feelings." Only then does Josh play at his best and wins.
Fred Waitzkin (Joe Mantegna) represents the first fear that I listed. He's an extremely supportive father who is very proud of his son. "He's better at this than anything that I will ever do in my whole life," he says of Josh. While his passion and support are strong, he falls into the trap of living vicariously through his son. Winning is the most important thing to him. When Josh loses a match to an "inferior" opponent, Fred is upset and can't understand why Josh lost. He doesn't realize that Josh loves his father and only wants to please him. It isn't until then that Fred realizes his mistake, and he finally encourages Josh to play for fun.
On the other side is Josh's chess teacher, Bruce (Ben Kingsley). He represents the second fear that I listed. He is afraid of Josh losing. Bruce is a man who is so scarred by his own losses that happened long ago, that he more or less "hides out" in an old chess room. At first, Fred Waitzkin has to talk him into taking his son as a student. While Bruce's demeanor is somewhat cold, it's obvious that he truly loves Josh, and can't bear the thought of Josh going through the pain of losing a match. It isn't until the end that he realizes that Josh is really in no danger of this, even if he did lose. Josh isn't greatly affected by either winning or losing. He only likes to play. But, Bruce tries to tell Josh that he needs to hold his opponents in contempt. That type of notion simply doesn't exist in Josh.
"Bobby Fischer held the whole world in contempt," says Bruce. Josh responds, "I'm not him." Josh already knows who he is, and he isn't trying to be the next Bobby Fischer, no matter how much everyone else wants him to be. He only wants to be himself.
There are two characters in this movie that already know Josh's heart, and they give him the positive values and support that Josh needs.
First, his mother (Joan Allen). She is so enamored by Josh's good heart, that at one point, she threatens her husband. "He's not weak. He's decent. And if you or Bruce or anyone else tries to beat that out of him, I swear to God I'll take him away."
Second, is his friend Vinnie (Laurence Fishburne), a man that Josh meets in Washington Square where Vinnie spends his time playing speed chess with other people who are mostly transients. Josh quickly makes friends with him, even though Bruce doesn't like it. But, Vinnie holds the wisdom of competition that Bruce fails to give to Josh. "You're playing not to lose, Josh. You have to risk losing. You have to play on the edge of defeat. That's where you want to be!"
I can't stress the performance of young Max Pomeranc (Josh Waitzkin) enough. He seems to know exactly who Josh is, and he plays him with a gentle sweetness that can't be ignored or overlooked. You see it in his eyes and facial expressions. He looks at his opponents not as enemies, but simply another kid sitting across from him who could easily be his friend. Josh has a well-balanced life. Chess isn't everything to him. He enjoys doing other things. Perhaps this is a testament to why his character is so strong. His opponent at the end, Jonathan Poe, thinks of only chess, and we quickly find that he is a very unhappy and miserable kid. He's the kind of player that Bruce tries to make Josh, and we are thankful that Josh never goes down that road.
Competition is so strong in our culture. Most parents, teachers, and coaches fall into these two fears without realizing it. We push and push, we forget that they are children, and that we need to stress the importance of having fun, being a good sportsman, and being gracious in victory and defeat. It's truly amazing to find that Josh Waitzkin already realized this at the tender age of 7. Hopefully, we can begin to pass these values on to our own kids.