In general I don't take that much notice of small details that are correct but usually rather the other way round. As an ex chess player I'm always interested in in anything chess related . The film Pawn Sacrifice depicts the 1972 tussle between Bobby Fisher and Boris Spassky . Both players has their 'seconds' ie another very strong player that they trust with preparation and advice. In Fisher's case it was the ex American chess champion then Reverend William Lombardy who was a Catholic Priest by trade. Famously he often wore his cassocks during the match to emphasis that they had God on their side!  I seem to remember this was also portrayed in the film so that was correct and not a bit or artistic licence.

We have something in common there; I used to be a chess player too (which is rare for women), and a very good one too (even rarer). I used to train with Romuald Mainka and Eckhard Schmittdiel, who were a few years older than me and are now grand masters. I actually toyed with the idea of becoming a professional chess player too but decided against it. For being a professional you have to do nothing but chess, and I had too many other interests.

When I met Jean she taught me bridge and I finally switched to that. Duplicate bridge is the only card game in which card luck is totally excluded; just as in chess it is all just skills. We played on a very high level for some time, but after our children were born there were other priorities, so we are no longer that skilled.

I quite often read the goofs section in IMDb when I'm watching a film, the minute errors that some people spot are a bit mind-boggling.

"In that scene, the cowboy was shooting a Smith and Wesson mark 33 but the film is set in June 1873 and that particular model wasn't made until August 1873"

Ok, I made that one up but that's the sort of level some people go to.

Women are definitely a minority in chess although I've come across quite a few when I played regularly. One of my best chess friends for many years is a strong player , representing the Welsh Ladies team at numerous Olympiads and is good enough to play for their men's team. I remember in the 90's travelling to watch Judith Polgar (the strongest female player of her generation) play the invitational Hasting International Tournament. It was fascinating to see a 17 year pretty blonde girl mixing it with top male chess players sometimes 3 times her age. Created a vivid impression.

Professional chess is one of the toughest things you can choose to do. When I was playing chess seriously over 20 years ago there were very few full time professional players. I remember the tragic story of a Grandmaster who committed suicide because he couldn't get his chess rating up high enough to be invited to the top tournaments , and he was top fifty ranked in the world. 

My chess playing friends tried to teach me Bridge . I was hopeless and they gave up quite quickly!