Chess in Movies

Chess and movies art have always been close friends.

Let's compile a collection to show what kind of friendship it's been!

Let's get going,

Blazing Saddles (1974), directed by Mel Brooks

Bart: Well, Jim, since you are my guest and I am your host, what's your pleasure? What do you like to do?

Jim: Oh, I don't know. Play chess... screw...

Bart: [quickly] Well, let's play chess

Of course, without great deeds, and efforts and sacrifices of us humbly lowly Pawns, there would be no chess...

1984

"A man loses his identity while living under a repressive regime. In a story based on George Orwell's classic novel, Winston Smith (John Hurt) is a government employee whose job involves the rewriting of history in a manner that casts his fictional country's leaders in a charitable light."

 Pawn Sacrifice was hard to watch. For much of the movie, I forgave many small historical inaccuracies as the the film explored a plausible psychological story. Then, in game six of the World Championship, the announcer said Fischer had abandoned his customary Sicilian Defense (he played 1.P-QB4, that is 1.c4). They had failed to establish his preference for 1.P-K4 (1.e4). This error was unforgivable.

Ciao Bumiputra, it’s always great to see you around. Grazie

James, liked your descriptive👍 After all, you’re a historian. And don’t be so unforgiving, it’s just (about) a game😁

I was forgiving until they broke my heart. Fischer played 1.P-QB4 and the announcer said he abandoned 1...P-QB4.

( can watch complete - English subs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBSQ1e5Ksn8 )

Boohoo, not available in my country, boohoohoo...

try again

Yes, it works now. Grazie 

Bumiputra, has chess really originated in India? As you know I doubt everything

Bumiputra, did you know of Torre's story?

Hey Roaring!

How would I, of all persons, know where in the Earth (?) Chess originated. 

In any case, based on my limited observation, I would say that the answer much depends on what your are looking for.

For instances, if you are one of those persons who like to be rigid and uncompromising about her (or his) Rules, then I think that - after close observation - you would be likely to conclude that chess originated in some FIDE building...

..but if you are a feminist, you could also conclude that Chess originated in a European monastery, based on the fact that the game could not be considered to be complete as long as it was a merely mascoline pass time .

If you like to look at the abstract, mathematical side of Chess you may be tempted to conclude it originated in the Middle East, in Muslim lands and times.

While, if it is the figurative part of Chess that strikes you the most, then yes you may be forced to retreat to Western India.

In the case you are a serious Historian and it is the close ties between Chess, History and the transitions of Power that interest you, because you think Chess is the Game of History (and of war) then the Midlle Persian Empire may be a good starting point for you (...but once you get there you may easily get confused, because of the numerous path crossings).

Finally, in case your attention span is attracted by the distintive Horse Leap, then you will suddenly find your imagination to be jumping across the whole of Southern and Eastern Asia.

The chess to which the above movie provides us an insight, however, seems to me to tell again another story.

As if this game had walked out of India like the fox, “who effaces his tracks in the sand with his tail" and had later come back in its arab (or muslim) version, pretending it had never been there before (or forgetting it had).

No, I don't know the story of Torre. Tell us it, tell us it. Please

We all got a lovely little essay on the possible origins of chess from our Italian friend Bumiputra following a provoking question

Before we mayhap go any further in our investigation, I'd like to ask this question (it will become apparent later why I'm putting it),

Where is the origin of the first writing script? the answer to which would indicate the place where the cradle of the first advanced civilization might be.

They taught me in school it was Mesopotamia and Sumerians.

Bumiputra, did they teach you the same thing?

No, I don't know the story of Torre. Tell us it, tell us it. Please

Tell us! Tell us! Please – tell us all!
Hurry, do hurry! Speak swiftly and clear
For our bedtimes draw ever and ever so near –
Spin us a tale, tell us a rhyme,
What happened “Once upon a time”?

Well, here's the story, once upon a time in the year 1925...

When the Mexican arrived at one of the Moscow railway stations that year of 1925 AD, the people from the organizing committee waiting for him were utterly surprised to see the chess player only in his shirt.

And it was the month of November in Moscow. Here's, for example, how Napoleon prepared for it in a painting by Vasily Vereshchagin.

The poor Mexican, Carlos Torre Repetto.

So what happened to him?

The people from the organizing committee took him right away to one of the Moscow department stores, GUM I think it was...

Socrates: [274c] I heard, then, that at Naucratis, in Egypt, was one of the ancient gods of that country, the one whose sacred bird is called the ibis, and the name of the god himself was Theuth. He it was who [274d] invented numbers and arithmetic and geometry and astronomy, also draughts and dice, and, most important of all, letters. 

Now the king of all Egypt at that time was the god Thamus, who lived in the great city of the upper region, which the Greeks call the Egyptian Thebes, and they call the god himself Ammon. To him came Theuth to show his inventions, saying that they ought to be imparted to the other Egyptians. But Thamus asked what use there was in each, and as Theuth enumerated their uses, expressed praise or blame, according as he approved [274e] or disapproved.  

"The story goes that Thamus said many things to Theuth in praise or blame of the various arts, which it would take too long to repeat; but when they came to the letters, [274e] “This invention, O king,” said Theuth, “will make the Egyptians wiser and will improve their memories; for it is an elixir of memory and wisdom that I have discovered.” But Thamus replied, “Most ingenious Theuth, one man has the ability to beget arts, but the ability to judge of their usefulness or harmfulness to their users belongs to another; [275a] and now you, who are the father of letters, have been led by your affection to ascribe to them a power the opposite of that which they really possess.  

"For this invention will produce forgetfulness in the minds of those who learn to use it, because they will not practice their memory. Their trust in writing, produced by external characters which are no part of themselves, will discourage the use of their own memory within them. You have invented an elixir not of memory, but of reminding; and you offer your pupils the appearance of wisdom, not true wisdom, for they will read many things without instruction and will therefore seem [275b] to know many things, when they are for the most part ignorant and hard to get along with, since they are not wise, but only appear wise."