MARK RUBERY CHESS
The Netflix mini-series ‘Queens Gambit’ took the world by storm and was responsible for another chess boom, the likes of which have not been seen since the Fischer-spassky match gripped the world in their epic 1972 match. The series has been roundly celebrated by film critics and audiences alike and more importantly by chess players themselves. The following is a brief review from Albert Silver of Chessbase …
‘Chess players always feel a combination of excitement and dread when a movie is released that either contains chess or is actually about our beloved game. The excitement needs no explanation, and the dread is the flood of technical problems that seem to inevitably appear. When I reported the new mini-series on Netflix to a colleague, his first question was, “Did they get the color of the squares for the kings and queens right?” This seemingly sarcastic comment belies the standard chess aficionados usually face. The good news is that not only is chess superbly rendered, with a wide variety of grandmaster-level positions and situations, but the story and production of “The Queen’s Gambit” is exceptional on all levels. Simply put: this is easily the best chess movie or series to ever grace the screens.’
The climax is reached in the final episode where the heroine Beth Harmon (whose character is loosely based on Fischer) faces the World Champion, Vasily Borgov, in a tournament in Moscow.
This critical game follows Ivanchuk-wolff, Biel 1993 for 37 moves before the protagonists go down a complicated and beautiful variation that results in the American registering a most popular victory!
46.Qxf6! (Naturally a queen sacrifice is a fitting way to conclude the game!) … gxf6 47.Rxf6 Qh5 48.Rf8+ Kg7 49.e8=q Re2+ 50.Kf1 Qxh3+ 51.Kxe2 Qg2+ 52.Rf2 Qe4+ 53.Kd2 (At this point Borgov offers his hand in resignation which contains the Black king …) 1-0
‘He mastered all elements of play. Smyslov was a brilliant endgame specialist, all in all his play resembled a smooth flow, like a song. When you look at his games, you have that light feeling as if his hand is making the moves all by itself while the man is making no effort at all – just like he was drinking coffee or reading a newspaper! This has the feel of Mozart’s light touch! No stress, no effort, everything is simple yet brilliant. I like this feature of Smyslov and I am fond of his games.’ (Kramnik)