How Garry Kasparov had a hand in creating a new hit from Netflix

Recently, Queen Gambit was released on Netflix streaming platform. The chess-themed series suddenly became popular all over the world and gained millions of fans. And none other than the Soviet world champion Garry Kasparov helped in its creation. TV channel "Rain" talked with this extraordinary person and learned all the nuances of working on the series.

"Queen's Move"

The series is set in Kentucky in 1957. The main character is a girl named Beth (Elizabeth) Harmon. She miraculously survives an accident in which her mother dies and ends up in an orphanage. In this place, children are given unusual "green vitamins", which are actually tranquilizers.

At some point, Elizabeth meets the shelter cleaner, who often plays chess in the basement of the establishment. He also opens this extraordinary world of figures for Beth. With the help of tranquilizers, she can not only quickly learn combinations, but also imagine a chessboard on the ceiling, thereby honing the skill.

Years pass, Beth is taken by a foster family. It didn't work out with the father right away, but the mother, upon learning about her daughter's talent, decides that this is not only a reason to get closer, but also to make money.

So the girl, along with her adoptive mother, begins to travel to various tournaments, where everyone is shocked by Beth's talent, especially considering that at that time chess was considered a traditionally male game. Along with success, Elizabeth comes to addiction to alcohol.

The girl then wins her addiction, then gives up and so on until the last series, in which she has to face the Soviet world champion Borgov, who has never lost to anyone.

Chess in the series

From the first episodes, the way the chess games are shown in the series amazes and fascinates. The actors do not just move the pieces, but play real games with the real names of all chess techniques. And this is thanks to Kasparov's efforts.

“Chess is usually bad on screen,” the grandmaster remarked in an interview with The New York Times immediately after the Queen's Gambit was released on Netflix. - They are used unprofessionally, very often positions are devoid of any sense. But this time the case is different. Here is a mini-series that is as close as possible to the authentic atmosphere of chess tournaments. He is as truthful as possible, ”writes Jewish.

There has been a lot of controversy about the name of the series: some like The King's Gambit, others argue that Queen's Gambit would be more correct. Kasparov himself says that "Queen's Move" most accurately reflects the idea of ​​the series, because the main character is a girl who will become the queen in the world of chess.

Before receiving the script, Kasparov met with Scott Frank, the creator of the series.

On the subject: A three-year-old boy from Russia played on equal terms with a world chess champion

“We were introduced by my friends, the creators of Game of Thrones. They said they had a friend who was planning to make a chess-themed series. We met and talked. First, he offered me to play the role of Borg, ”says Kasparov. - But after some thought, I refused, as I had to spend several months on the set, and I could not afford it. But I offered them help in working on the chess part. "

The grandmaster, having received the script, read it out. Considering the fact that Kasparov had also read the book on the basis of which the series was created, he understood what difficulties the creators had to face. He slightly altered the description of chess games, giving the script a more specific and professional sound.

“Walter Travis had a hard time imagining life in the USSR, so the moments of the series related to Soviet chess players are not reflected in the book in the most believable way,” Kasparov said.

“Then we discussed all this in Berlin with Scott. The first part of my recommendations was only on chess. Beth plays real games played by real chess players in tournaments. But it was necessary to adhere to the book canon, so at some point the game departs from the original and moves into a narrative format suitable for the series,” says Kasparov.

And the prototype for the final game was the 1993 duel between Ivanchuk and Wolf.

“This is the real game of 1993, Ivanchuk-Wolf. Literally a day after the series aired, I received a letter from Patrick Wolf. He wrote to me that he recognized his game, - says Kasparov. "That is, the game is real, but still there is some deviation, which only benefited the series."

“The second block of my recommendations was related to the situation in Soviet tournaments,” the chess player explains. - One of the details that I recommended was the inclusion of KGB officers in the script. They accompanied the Borg to prevent him from escaping. He also recommended to include a scene in the elevator where Borgov talks about Harmon and does not suspect that she understands him. "

Kasparov helped put the stage for the tournament in Moscow to make it look authentic.

“It seems to me that this success story from the American provinces to the competition for the world title has been very well sustained. Although the story is fictional, you believe in it. It really could have happened, ”says Kasparov.

The closest prototype of the heroine is considered by the majority to be Boby Fischer, who at the age of 14 became the US champion, and later the world champion.

Throughout the series, Beth struggles with addiction to either tranquilizers or alcohol. And the viewers of the series are tormented by one question: why does no one control the state of the players?

“There are other problems in chess. Now it is possible to receive a computer prompt. As for psychotropic substances, there have been attempts to introduce doping control, but it seems to me pointless. After all, drugs banned in other sports are hardly effective in chess, ”Kasparov said.

In the image of Elizabeth Harmon, various addictions are visible - be it pills or alcohol. Kasparov says that in those days it was common for chess players to relieve stress and fatigue in this way.

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“In modern chess, this is impossible - regular workloads, constant games or training. But as for the 1960s, it was all the time, - the chess player says. - Even some world champions have sinned this. Alcohol addiction was widespread among the Soviet chess players I knew. "

The series has a powerful image of the heroine playing chess games on the ceiling.

“The fact that many chess players play in their heads is an indisputable fact. They may well use both the ceiling and the wall for this, ”Kasparov said.

The series shows several sessions of simultaneous play. This practice is the norm for professionals, and Kasparov is no exception.

“There can be 50 boards. It's all about the strength of the opponents. A 30-board session can be easier than a 15-board session, ”the grandmaster shares his experience.

At the end of the series, when Beth walks to the alley where everyone is playing chess, Garry Kasparov also made some changes. According to the idea, everyone was supposed to call the heroine Elizabeth, but the chess player insisted that an ordinary Soviet resident would do it in his own way and would simply call the girl Liza.

The show states that there are two types of players - analytic players and intuitive players. Kasparov himself believes that he is an intuitive player, although he is working on analysis and preparing for games. You have to intuitively act in times of crisis during the game. He considers intuition to be his greatest strength.

During the filming, Kasparov was unable to meet with any chess actor, as the schedule did not allow him.

In total, the grandmaster thoroughly prepared 8 games, which were considered the strongest games in the series. In total, the audience saw about 300 of them (including those that just flashed in the frame).

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