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***spoilers on The Queen’s Gambit alert***
In my lifetime, there were two occasions that I can remember when the public went gaga about chess. Regardless if one is a chess aficionado, a casual one, or an illiterate to chess, chess became a favourite topic for casual conversations after these two occasions.
Unlike football, chess on its own is not a hot topic to strike. With football, we can visualize how Pele made the bicycle kick or replay Maradona’s dazzling moves in our mind like when he dribbled the ball from midfield to beat the entire England team, scoring a goal. However, chess requires one to understand the game to appreciate its beauty.
Explaining the 17- move game won by Viswanathan Anand when he beat Boris Gelfand in their 8th game encounter at the 2012 World Championship match – recorded as the shortest world championship game ever played – will not interest many. Nor would many understand how amazing it was for 13-year-old Bobby Fischer to beat former US Open Champion, Donald Byrne, in a game dubbed as the ‘Game of the Century’ when Fischer sacrificed his queen to create a series of checks using the bishop pair and knight to win.
For those who know little or nothing of chess, these beauties are like the dead language of ancient Greek and Latin. The interests in chess were almost always about the character and the people associated with it – their eccentricity, their strange behaviour, their insecurity as though everyone is against them, their odd demands, and their lifestyle. In short, their exceptionally vocal individuality.
After all, chess by nature is a game that amplifies individuality.
It is one person controlling a world of King and Queen, and a set of armies revolving around 64 squares with no greys in between.
1972 was the first time chess blew up when Bobby Fischer stunned the world by defeating Boris Spassky to break Russia’s 2½ decade chess dominance to be crowned the 11th World Chess Champion.
Prior to the historical match, Russians had a string of World Chess Champions from 1948 to 1972. But Fischer’s reign as World Champion was short-lived when 3 years later, he was stripped of his title for refusing to play against Russian Anatoly Karpov.
From then on, the Russians regained their chess domination for the next quarter-century until India’s Anand Viswanathan became World Champions in 2000.
It was no surprise that the meteoric rise of Bobby Fischer created a surge in chess’ popularity around the world because, for the first time in many years, an American champion is able to break the Russian chess bloc; especially during a time when America and Russia were going through a period of Cold War.
For me? I was just amazed at Fischer’s talent and ended up getting his famous book “My 60 Memorable Games” – my first chess book, which I had begged my father to buy for me from a local bookstore.
While some of Bobby’s popularity revolved around the fact that he was a brilliant chess tactician and strategist, fearless and aggressive in his playing style, he was also well known for his off-the-board antics and demands. Fischer was vocal in claiming that the Russian chess players fixed games among themselves to arrange the outcome of a tournament – an unfounded claim.
During the 1972 World Championship match against Spassky, he claimed that the Russians had placed secret cameras and microphones in the playing area and requested the match be moved to a smaller room away from the crowd. He even forfeited his second game with Spassky because his demands were not met, and even threatened to abandon the tournament – a familiar move that he has done at a few high-profile tournaments prior.
Even before the start of the game, Fischer already made demands for the prize fund to be increased before finally agreeing to play. And after all that drama, he still arrived late in the city of Reykjavik for the finals – missing the championship opening ceremony.
In the planned World Chess Championship of 1975, Fischer demanded FIDE – the International Chess Federation, to change the championship match format which was rejected – except for one. This led to his forfeiture of the match and FIDE – having little choice, declared his opponent Anatoly Karpov of Russia as the 12th World Chess Champion.
Soon after, Fischer went into a recluse – always on the move from one country to another, until he reappeared in 1992 to play a rematch against Boris Spassky which he comfortably won 10-5. After that, he went missing again until stories about him being detained in Japan for using a forged passport surfaced in 2005, which subsequently brought him to Iceland where he took residence (and citizenship) until his death in 2008.
In a poetic ending, Fischer died at the age of 64 – an apt ending for a man who ruled the 64 squares of black and white. The rise of Bobby Fischer 48 years ago, stirred the interest of many people to learn and play chess.
When Fischer left the scene, the world of chess returned to its obscurity – appearing every now and then but never creating the same impact that Fischer did.
There were other memorable chess milestones like when – the liberal Russian, became the World Champion to defeat Anatoly Karpov – the more conservative Russian counterpart. And again, when Kasparov defied FIDE and started the Professional Chess Association to create his own version of the World Chess Championship cycle – an Association that eventually faded from natural redundancy after a 12-year run.
And of course, the more sensational event was when India’s Anand Viswanathan became the World Champion when he defeated Alexei Shirov in 2000 – the first player outside of Russia or America able to do so.
But still, these events were just minor blips that did not turn heads or only received glimpses at best. But in the last month or so, it became clear that chess has once again created some frenzy.
In some strange twist, we are all drawn back to the same 60’s era of Bobby Fischer and introduced to a chess talent similar, if not better, than that of the former Champion. And of course, like Fischer, the player is an American. Only this time, it is a fictitious female chess prodigy in the form of Elizabeth “Beth” Harmon.
While most of the real chess heroes were maintained – to create some authenticity of the era, we are introduced with new chess masters and a new World Champion in the form of Russian Vasily Borgov.
The producers took the trouble to use real chess games – or variants of real games – as props for the miniseries. And it seems that many chess practitioners began taking interest in learning the Queen’s Gambit opening – Beth Harmon’s favourite – similarly to when many players took interest to learn the Sicilian Opening, which was Fischer’s weapon of choice.
It is amazing how the storyline, the presentation, the director, the entire crew, and the actors, were able to capture a gripping drama out of a very dry and mundane game like chess.
Let us be honest – chess is very dry and brain draining. The game itself is difficult to understand, let alone trying to remember the rules of the game and how to checkmate the opponent’s King.
But, as someone who is actively involved in chess, it is interesting when someone comes up to me and opens a conversation by asking, “Have you watched The Queen’s Gambit?” Just like that, I realized that chess has become popular again.
The Queen’s Gambit focuses on the life and times of Beth Harmon – from her natural chess talent beginning until her peak when she defeated the World Chess Champion Vasily Borgov. And on her way to stardom, Beth grew into an idol, creating an interest for many to learn chess and become like Beth.
Both Beth and chess have now become a conversation (and writing) topic of choice. The main twist of the miniseries was to champion a female Bobby Fischer in the form of Beth Harmon, while at the same time, mirroring the exact Cold War rivalry between America and Russia. After all, Russia IS the traditional chess powerhouse so, it was logical to continue reflecting the same cold era.
Despite different backgrounds, Beth was orphaned after an apparent suicide by her mother, Fischer raised by his single mother, both their moms were well-learned and intelligent with college degrees. And unlike Fischer who learned the game on his own, Beth learned the game from Mr Shaibel – the janitor at her school, but both worked on improving their games on their own.
But in the Netflix series, Beth was depicted as a person with drug and alcohol dependency, when Fischer was not known with such addiction. In contrast, Fischer was known for being very vocal against his homeland America and his antisemitism comments, whereas Beth has nothing negative to say about America.
Although Beth is not seen as antisemitic, she did return the sponsorship money from a Christian organization for not wanting to promote their cause, thus jeopardizing her chances to travel to Paris to challenge the World Champion.
Another common thing between Fischer and Beth was the fact that they were very much favoured and well-liked by the common Russians, but of course, the reception that Beth received from the Russians was greatly dramatized if not exaggerated.
Strength wise, Beth Harmon is better than Fischer as Fischer struggled in his first few tournaments when Beth seemed to cruise easily against all her opponents.
Realistically, it seems illogical that Beth could continue playing well even after she was barred from learning the game from Mr Shaibel at the orphanage. But for comparison purposes, Fischer took an 18months sabbatical in 1968/69 and return even stronger to register convincing wins towards his eventual run for the World title match.
Later in her career, Beth did struggle to win as she began to take on the more experienced players – drawing her game with her eventual coach and on-off love interest Benny Watts in the finals of the 1966 US Open.
But the psychological move made by Benny – in toying with Beth confidence and playing style, is a common tactic used by many chess players. Chess, after all, is a mind game – on and off the board.
But what attracts many of us to Beth was her mysterious look, her strong will, her determination, the way she conducts herself and how she suppresses her emotions from the public’s eye. Beth shies herself from social activities, prefer to spend time on her own with a small group of chess friends unlike other teenage girls of her age.
She is also sympathetic towards her adopted mother Alma Wheatley who took interest in her ability to make money from winning chess competitions, and who was also honest enough to request for some commission in chaperoning and managing Beth’s travelling routine, while Alma herself enjoys the jet setting routine to support Beth playing schedule.
The miniseries was realistic in depicting the way of life of a chess champion, the chess community, and their chess habits. Yes… Chess players like to play speed chess dubbed “blitz” – the German WWII attacking tactics, at the wee hours of the night. And yes, we bet in each game – anything from RM1 to as much as RM10 a game. And yes, I have seen players who can play speed chess against 2 or 3 opponents at the same time and still win. And yes, the simple life of Benny Watts – living in a small basement apartment with minimal furniture, does reflect the life of many chess players as they are always on the move going from one tournament to another. Their focus is on chess – not the luxuries or the extravagant life that many seeks.
The chess lifestyle portrayed is probably true for those who are involved with chess full time in Europe, America, Russia, as these countries have the means to provide opportunities for those who can play or coach well.
Events are abundant and cash prizes are generous. Some players can diversify into becoming officials or arbiters, and the more resourceful ones develop into becoming chess organizers.
Of course, the more you can do, the better it is for you. And like any other sports, being at the top of the world ranking, or a leading chess player in a country (and with a Grandmaster title tagged to the name), one can also live a comfortable lifestyle with grants and funds received from the sponsors and government or sports associations.
But for us in Malaysia, home to former World No 1 badminton player Lee Chong Wei, and where football is the sports of choice for many (albeit the fact that we are ranked 154th in the world), and where local corporations are eager to provide millions of sponsorships to host the top golfers in the world – chess is off the radar.
While a few chess enthusiasts and personalities can still make ends meet via the game that they love, many struggled. Most are able to keep their business (and passion) alive because they have additional income from other ventures (including holding a fulltime job) to sustain their love and business for chess.
Even Associations and the National Federation are having a tough time convincing corporations to provide funding. And in most cases, where the funding is obtained, it is more of the “know who” element rather than the “know how” or the impressive 50-page working paper that is presented to substantiate the request.
While Beth Harmon and her Queen’s Gambit may not start a surge in the popularity of chess in Malaysia – unlike the sensation that it has created for America, Europe, and Australia, it does spark some local interest.
At the business level, many are asking if the Federation will be organizing any international event soon so that they can help manage the event, or provide the accommodation, or renting out their expensive ballroom as a playing venue.
From another viewpoint, online chess was already popular even before the birth of Beth Harmon – since MCO started some 5 months ago, although Online Chess popularity has dwindled and hampered slightly due to cheating issues.
Furthermore, many chess players are tired of playing online chess – and are eager to return to the normal over-the-board encounters. But still, there is a loyal group of online chess supporters, and albeit the cheating issues, it is still a popular mode to play chess in times where your movements are limited from the living hall to the kitchen and to the bedroom because anything beyond the porch or gate is a medical offence.
It may take time for chess to become really popular in Malaysia – perhaps until a time where Malaysia has its own homegrown Grandmaster as the local hero. A Netflix series may not be the main catalyst that can catapult chess popularity in Malaysia, at least it has opened up the notion that chess is actually an interesting game – with colourful lifestyle, interesting characters, and attractive personas.
And for me – who have been in chess for the last 5 decades – having played chess during my secondary years in Seremban; and my college years in Texas in the mid 80’s; and taking part in the annual Merdeka Team Championship (and won in 1992); including being part of the regular club meeting in Exeter Devon in the late 90’s; chess has provided me with its own set of excitement and colours.
Fischer and Harmon aside, there are other aspects of chess that is more than just a game – the politics, the people, the power, the greed, the characters, the colours and of course the friendship (and the enemies); and they are probably just as interesting as Beth and her Gambit, if not more.
Perhaps I should start thinking of a Malaysian version of the miniseries – Gambit Raja a.k.a King’s Gambit. Anyone interested…?
Written by,
Terry Najib
