A case for classical

So, a very calmly played game that became one of my most simple and instructive miniature. A miniature being a game that is over in less than 25 moves. It is rare for any player to get lucky and have a decently played and won game of just 13 moves. My Brazilian opponent gentlemanly resigned after my 13th move because of the positional compromise he got into and even when there was no capture, the opening of my bishop lines, and the threat of knight fork on two black major pieces, even as it was attacking the bishop... it was enough for him to not carry on. It's also special on so many levels, both because the resign came through gracefully, and not a single piece was captured because the game was barely out of the opening phase... and also because I played with a very calm and unexcitable mode. I believe I was possessed by Harmon. LOL.

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The Queen's Gambit

Alright, this is not about a game of chess. It is about a super-hyped Netflix hit of the last two months, which is about, well, chess lol.

Now it's been half a year since I completed the whole MCU Netflix series during the mid 2020 world wide lockdown. My best friend was binging The Crown, and nudged me one day about The Queen’s gambit. I did not know if it was because of the sheer popularity of the latter or that my best friend remembers my love/ interest in chess.

Starting out on the 7 part miniseries, I wondered when Beth Harmon (remarkably played by Anya Taylor-Joy) was going to meet the enigmatic B Fischer, given her meteorite rise in American chess and also the 60-70s era as a backdrop.

Alas it was not meant to be, because the show was based on a fiction by Walter Tevis. There were though some points of reference to real historical characters and events. Like both Beth and Benny (I remember the good looking boy as Newt from The Maze Runner, and Jojen Reed from Game of Throne) being a kind of Bobby Fischer, based on their own background in the story and some personality traits.

What is of particular interest to me was the details of the show that are probably deliberate and very poignant. [Spoilers Ahead; proceed at your own risk] For example, the biggest game at the end where Beth had with the russian grandmaster Borgov, was played with the Queen’s gambit opening, the namesake of the miniseries’ title. In the style of the church lady: ain't that special?

And then there's something else… the last move she made, before it was GG for Borgov, was a side step of her king. It was, I think, pretty amazingly thought up by the heavyweight chess teachers GM Kasparaov and the American Bruce Pandolfini. She was challenging the Russian Regality and Borgov was a symbol of the king on the Russian side. It was like the move says: move aside, my King.

I bet that last game was designed. And I will find time to share Beth Versus Borgov soon. I’m already looking forward to it myself! just gotta find the time, and let me go to my calendar, and check. hah did you see that coming? ;)