A Spider on the Chessboard?

It is said that a rising tide lifts all boats and such seems to be the case with gaming.  As our modern world craves more and more entertainment, gaming - in all its forms - seems to be prospering.  You would think that with all these wonderful electronic gadgets with which to game, from the tried and true PC, to the consoles and even cell phones, board games would begin to suffer.  Actually, the opposite has happened as there now seems to be a board gaming renaissance in the works. 

Chess, the king of games, is one such board game that has enjoyed a significant boom in recent years.  By leveraging the social nature of the internet to maximum effect (not surprising since the relationship between chess and computers goes way back), Chess has since become as infectious as a black and white virus.

I suppose that it why I am not surprised that there is a major motion picture in the works that will put Chess front and center once again.  Entitled Pawn Sacrifice, the movie will focus upon the life and times of Chess master Bobby Fischer, with a particular focus on the 1969 "Good Will" tournament and the 1972 World Championship between Boris Spassky and Fischer.  Sounds good.

Now there is word that Spidey himself, Tobey Maguire, might play the part of Bobby Fischer.  Deadline Hollywood has a quick blurb that “Tobey Maguire is producing and eyeing the Fischer role."

It’s too early to tell if this will in fact be the case, but the mere fact that Chess will be given more time on the silver screen is reason enough to celebrate.