Sherlock Holmes

People are probably aware that the character Sherlock Holmes had an interest in chess; as seen in the recent film, 'A Game of Shadows'.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvoOBbChxb4

The 'actual' chess game; between Holmes & Moriarty; comes from the story, 'The Final Problem'. It was annotated in the book.  This youtube clip, is a commentary on this game.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaNeaIadOUU

What are your favourite chess moments: from literature, film, T.V, or the visual arts?

Stampnl

Good clip - but how does this relate to chess ? Apart from the obvious Seven Seals parody?

Holmes NEVER played a game of chess in "the canon" which consists of the 4 novels and 56 short stories written about him by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (or Dr Watson, depending on how seriously you take this stuff). Nor does he (or Dr Watson) ever speak about being a chessplayer himself.

There is no game of chess in "The Final Problem" or anyplace else in the canon. One of the very rare references to the game is his famous remark ‘Amberley excelled at chess – one mark, Watson, of a scheming mind’ which appeared in ‘The Adventure of the Retired Colourman’ in The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes 

SOURCE: The Annotated Sherlock Holmes vol 1-2, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, edited by Wm S Baring-Gould, 1967.

Didn't "Hound of the Baskervilles" involve a chess problem?  Its been a long time since I read it, or saw the move, but I believe it does. 

No it doesn't.

how did you find that out? well i agree to the scheming mind though, that arthur conan doyle was a very smart man i believe. Or does it say exactly that in the book??

how did you find that out? well i agree to the scheming mind though, that arthur conan doyle was a very smart man i believe. Or does it say exactly that in the book??  TetsuoShima

I recalled the (very famous) quote about "...chess - the mark of a scheming mind" but had to look it up to get it right as well as the source - my memory isn't that good! I just typed "Sherlock Holmes chess quotes" into a SE and yes, the quote is exactly as copied here.

BTW there is nothing in "The Canon" about SH playing cards, draughts, or any other game whatsoever, although he does say "The game is afoot" occasionally - referring to something important happening in his current case.

In the modern movie (A Game of Shadows), there is also a part where they play blindfold.

The Bond Flick "From Russia With Love" used the Spassky game, not the other way around

http://www.chess.com/blog/NimzoRoy/boris-amp-bronstein-duke-it-out?_domain=old_blog_host&_parent=old_frontend_blog_view

The game was played in 1960. The movie came out in 1963. You can verify the dates at my blog for the game and www.imdb.com for the movie. 

In the 19th century chess was often used against you in a court case. Lawyers held chess against you as being a scheming, devious activity that showed the same traits.

the demonata series(book) involves chess a bit in the first book.

All very intesting. Although some of you seem to subscribe to the Frasier Crane school of discourse. :-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv6bzeoS_dk

I merely put the Holmes v Moiarty game up as I thought it was interesting in itself as a game & illustrative of the wider thread I was hoping this would become.

''What are your favourite chess moments: from literature, film, T.V, or the visual arts?''

There is a chess scene in The Thomas Crown Affair (1968). Steve McQueen vs. Faye Dunaway.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063688/

Has anyone seen the Mystery (on PBS) recently aired on television, at least in the US, called "The Big Four" , a Hercule Poirot episode? It has a Russian

chess player who dies while playing Ruy Lopez!  (I'll not give any more

away). i think most chess players would have something to say about

this scene!

  There is also a strange novel, by Arturo Perez-Reverte, originally in

Spanish, called The Flanders Panel (a painting depicting a chess game),

also made into a film, which is kinda weird, but not to be dismissed.

When the Red Queen in Wonderland screams 'Off with her head.' Her being Alice.

Marcel Duchamp is an interesting read...