Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993)
Ben Kingsley: Bruce Pandolfini
Photos
Quotes
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Bruce Pandolfini : Bobby Fischer held the world in contempt.
Josh Waitzkin : Well, I'm not him.
Bruce Pandolfini : You're telling me.
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Bruce : You have no idea what I want. What is chess, do you think? Those who play for fun or not at all dismiss it as a game. The ones who devote their lives to it for the most part insist that it's a science. It's neither. Bobby Fischer got underneath it like no one before and found at its center, art. I spent my life trying to play like him. Most of these guys have. But we're like forgers. We're competent fakes. His successor wasn't here tonight. He wasn't here. He is asleep in his room in your house. Your son creates like Fischer. He sees like him, inside.
Fred : You can tell this by watching him play some drunks in the park?
Bruce : Yes. You want to know what I want. I'll tell you what I want. I want back what Bobby Fischer took with him when he disappeared.
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Bruce Pandolfini : [sets each chess piece up] Now, which one is you?
Josh Waitzkin : What do you mean?
Bruce Pandolfini : Which one is you?
Josh Waitzkin : They're just pieces.
Bruce Pandolfini : [places King in front of Josh] This is you!
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Bruce Pandolfini : It's white's move.
Josh Waitzkin : How many points is it worth?
Bruce Pandolfini : It's just an opening move.
Josh Waitzkin : I want to know how much it's worth.
Bruce Pandolfini : Just do it for its own sake. Do it for the love of the game.
Josh Waitzkin : I want to know how many more points I am away to getting the certificate.
Bruce Pandolfini : Forget the certificate.
Josh Waitzkin : Why?
Bruce Pandolfini : I don't know.
Josh Waitzkin : What do you mean?
Bruce Pandolfini : I don't care. It's... white's move.
Josh Waitzkin : I want the certificate.
Bruce Pandolfini : [sighs] You want the certificate. You have to have the certificate.
[gets briefcase]
Bruce Pandolfini : You won't move until you get the certificate.
[opens it]
Bruce Pandolfini : Fine. You win.
[gives him copy of certificate]
Bruce Pandolfini : Here's your certificate.
Josh Waitzkin : [takes it]
Bruce Pandolfini : Fill it out. It doesn't mean anything. It's just a piece of paper. It's a xerox of a piece of paper. Do you want another one
[gives Josh another copy]
Bruce Pandolfini : Do you want 10?
[gives Josh few more copies]
Bruce Pandolfini : Do you want 20?
[continues stacking them on chess board one-by-one]
Bruce Pandolfini : 30? I've got a whole briefcase full of them. They don't mean anything, though.
Bonnie : [entering the room]
Bruce Pandolfini : They mean nothing.
Bonnie : Get out of my house.
Bruce Pandolfini : [sits there grimly a moment and then collects the certificates and prepares to leave]
Bonnie : [goes over to comfort Josh]
Bruce Pandolfini : [while getting coat on] To put a child in a position to care about winning and not to prepare him is wrong.
Bonnie : Get out of my house.
Bruce Pandolfini : [leaves]
Bonnie : [comforts Josh]
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Bruce Pandolfini : His chess ideas are like pieces of his body he's reluctant to give up. For instance, he simply can't cope with being told not to bring his queen out too early in the game. Why shouldn't he? He's won many a game in Washington Square doing exactly that, why is this suddenly wrong?
Fred : Try getting him to brush his teeth sometime.
Bruce Pandolfini : What I'm trying to teach him and what he's learning there are two very different things. Park hustlers play tactics, not position. They rely on wild, unpredictable moves meant to intimidate their opponent. Great in a two-minute speed game for drug money, but it'll cost Josh dearly in real games.
Fred : Well, he's learning some new words!
Bruce Pandolfini : I was wondering if you could keep him from playing there so much.
Fred : Sure.
Bonnie : No. It'd kill him not to play in the park. He loves it.
Bruce Pandolfini : It just makes my job harder.
Bonnie : Then your job's harder.
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Bruce Pandolfini : [throws the baseball. It hits and breaks a fancy floor lamp] Ooh.
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Bruce Pandolfini : Look deep, Josh. It's there. It's twelve moves away, but it's there. You've got him.
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[after the first lesson]
Fred : So were you two talking about chess up there?
Bruce Pandolfini : No, it didn't come up.
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Josh Waitzkin : [throwing baseball inside mansion against the wall] Come on, Bruce!
Bruce Pandolfini : All right.
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Bruce Pandolfini : Paraphrase: Look at the board, can you see it?
Josh Waitzkin : I can't see it.
Bruce Pandolfini : [violently knocks pieces on the floor] Can you see it now?
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Bruce Pandolfini : [Josh is attempting to solve a chess problem] Clear the lines of lint in your head, one at a time, and the king will be left standing alone, like a guy on a street corner. Here, I'll make it easier for you.
[sweeps the pieces onto the floor]
