Viswanathan Anand to host 'Pawn Sacrifice' screening

Chess maestro Viswanathan Anand will on Thursday host a special screening of "Pawn Sacrifice", a Hollywood biographical film which pays tribute to American chess legend Bobby Fischer.

The screening is an attempt to encourage young professional players in India.

Set in the Cold War era, this film revolves around Fischer's 1972 match with Russian chess grandmaster Boris Spassky whom he defeated in the world championship.

"The idea of a special screening of the movie for chess enthusiasts seemed like a great idea to us. When we approached Anand for this, he was more that happy to host it... that just made it perfect. It's going to be great to see how the Indian chess players come together to pay tribute to Bobby," Dharmesh Datta - head, marketing, PVR Pictures, said in a statement.

Directed by Academy Award-winner Edward Zwick, "Pawn Sacrifice" features actor Tobey Maguire as Fischer and actor Liev Schreiber as Spassky.

The film will be released in India on September 18 by PVR Pictures and MVP Entertainment.