The character of Jonathan Poe (Josh's young rival) was based on real-life young chess prodigy Jeff Sarwer. In the National Primary Championship, on which the climax of this movie was based, Josh and Jeff tied for first place, after which Josh won on tie-breaks. While Sarwer would go on to win the World Championship Under 10, he soon disappeared with his sister and father. The family was known for living a travelling lifestyle with no permanent address. Jeff Sarwer, upon seeing the film, had no opinion on his character being portrayed as Josh's single-minded rival, stating, "At the end of the day it was a Hollywood film, a work of fiction, and it helped popularize chess more so that's always a good thing. But I have a lot of distance to the actual book and film. The way I was portrayed was nothing at all like how I was in real life, so what's the point in comparing myself to it?"

Film

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