Match of the Century is the second game in recent memory to figure chess as its topic without simply being chess. The first was The Queen’s Gambit: The Board Game, a title I didn’t play but which seemed to draw mostly groans. Match of the Century was designed by Paolo Mori, and because Mori is one of the most assured designers working today, it is decidedly not groan-worthy.

That doesn’t mean it fits Mori’s register. This is his most overtly historical game, tackling the 1972 World Chess Championship match between Soviet grandmaster Boris Spassky and challenger Bobby Fischer. But while it’s a compelling ditty in its own right, it didn’t leave me any surer of the dynamics of that landmark tournament.

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