Stranger than fiction: ‘Chess: the musical’

CHESS: the musical, with lyrics by Sir Tim Rice and music by the male half of ABBA, is blessed with some of the most ingenious text by our most celebrated musical logodaedalus, while also

featuring some of Björn and Benny’s most inspired music. I am delighted to say that after a most successful pre-Covid run at London’s Coliseum, this masterwork is now being revived ‘”CHESS:

THE MUSICAL” COMES TO SAINT LOUIS, THE CHESS CAPITAL OF THE UNITED STATES’, was the banner headline in the April 19 joint press release from The Muny Theatre, The Saint Louis Chess Club

(STLCC) and The World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF).

The announcement continued in the same enthusiastic tone, namely that the musical makes another big move in Saint Louis, the home of the inaugural (1886) world chess championship, and onto

the Muny stage for the first time. The Muny, America’s largest and oldest outdoor theatre, has announced a new collaboration with the STLCC and WCHOF to bring CHESS: The Musical to Saint

Louis. The musical will run on The Muny Stage July 5-11, 2023.

Before “Mamma Mia!” members of the pop group ABBA teamed up with Sir Tim Rice (Jesus Christ Superstar, The Lion King, Evita) to create a dynamic drama, CHESS, centered around the world chess

championship; mirroring the 1980s Cold War tensions of USA vs. USSR. The dazzling and beautiful pop rock score became a worldwide smash, including the hit single “One Night in Bangkok.”

CHESS, which originated in London’s West End in 1986, features music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, lyrics by Ulvaeus and Sir Tim Rice – adapted from the book by Sir Tim Rice.

“Creating CHESS for The Muny audience is a long-held dream,” said Mike Issaacson, Artistic Director and Executive Producer, The Muny. “We are grateful to work with two of the world’s leading

chess organizations to be able to offer this outstanding musical for the first time in Saint Louis history. Their inspiration, guidance and knowledge about the world of chess is

unparalleled.”

Serving as the principal show sponsors, the STLCC and WCHOF are responsible for driving the resurgence of chess in the United States and helping Saint Louis be recognized as America’s Chess

Capital. Together with The Muny, the organizations will collaborate to enrich the experience for theatre goers and chess enthusiasts alike through events and special promotions this May

through July.

“We are excited to collaborate with The Muny to share the love of chess with the Saint Louis community in yet another innovative form,” Shannon Bailey, Chief Curator, WCHOF. “CHESS offers a

unique metaphor of romantic rivalries and political intrigue and is a fantastic reminder for us all to continue to explore the connection of chess to art, culture and history.”

Show attendees will be able to view special artefacts and ephemera from CHESS during “Sound Moves: Where Music Meets Chess,” a new exhibition presented by the World Chess Hall of Fame

opening in May 2023.

“The Saint Louis Chess Club is equally looking forward to collaborating with The Muny to both bring CHESS to our city, as well as continue to invite new people to discover the possibilities

of chess,” said Tony Rich, Executive Director, Saint Louis Chess Club. “We invite the Saint Louis community to visit our campus in the Central West End or online to learn about a variety of

educational programming and events, each designed for all age groups and skill levels.”

The only serious criticism that has been levelled against Sir Tim’s work, is that the plot line, including defections, reversed defections, defaults in chess championships , unconvincing

elopements…betrayals…is wildly implausible. This criticism is grotesquely unfair, of course, since chess in the real world can boast of even more extreme and implausible scenarios, which

actually happened.

In that sense Sir Tim’s narrative was predictive, rather than fanciful. Take, for example, the subsequent case of Elena Akhmilovskaya, a leading player in the Soviet Women’s team, who

clandestinely eloped with John Donaldson, the Captain of the USA men’s team, during the Chess Olympiad. True to the script, almost as soon as Akhmilovskaya had received her permit of

residence, she dumped Donaldson, in favour of whoever turned out to be the actual object of her affections.

The most extreme case of chess life being serially stranger than fiction occurred during the 1978 world chess championship at Baguio City, the summer capital of the Philippines, in 1978. The

adversaries were the reigning Soviet world champion, Anatoly Karpov, known as Tolya, pitted against the Soviet defector, Viktor Korchnoi, known as The Leningrad Lip, due to his many

outrageously inflammatory statements. I had the privilege of being present throughout this contest, first as Korchnoi’s chief second and for the latter half the match with the additional

function of acting as the challenger’s Head of Delegation.

Karpov eventually won the match, by six wins to five, with 21 draws, after Korchnoi — along with Rubinstein, Bronstein and Keres, one of the greatest players never to have won the world

title — fought back bravely from a most unpromising start.

In far Baguio, where we lay our scene, these two Matadors of the Mind fought out their battle for the World Chess Championship, which, given the nature and political polarity of the two

combatants, attained new heights of acrimony, way exceeding the quantum of bitter hostility which usually marked such confrontations. The  published Soviet account of the match was titled “I

Dalekom Baguio”, hinting perhaps at the origin (from the Russian) of the word “Dalek” in the world of Doctor Who, meaning “alien” or “distant”, much as Anthony Burgess purloined the word

Droog (“friend” in Russian) to signify Alex’s bowler-hatted henchmen in A Clockwork Orange.

Much of my time was spent negotiating with the leader of the delegation from the Soviet imperium, the formidable KGB Colonel and former Stalinist military prosecutor, Viktor Davidovich

Baturinsky, a prominent member of a colourful cast of characters involved in the contest. One joke popular at the time was that the KGB always went around in threes: one who could read, one

who could write and a third to keep a watchful eye on the two intellectuals. In Karpov’s case, though, the entourage amounted to no fewer than 20 accompanying persons. Clearly this amounted

to more than a couple of “intellectuals“and a minder.

The various provocations  included the auditorium seating of the alleged ray- beaming Soviet parapsychologist, Dr Vladimir Zukhar, the X-raying of Korchnoi’s custom-built chair and the

controversy surrounding Korchnoi’s own entourage of orange-clad Ananda Marga gurus, who turned out to be on bail for the attempted assassination of an Indian diplomat. By a considerable

margin, though, the world’s media was most fascinated by the great yoghurt gambit.

During the drawn second game, a yoghurt was delivered to Karpov. After the conclusion of hostilities Petra Leeuwerik, Korchnoi’s colourful and volatile confidante — herself a former prisoner

of the USSR concentration camp in Vorkuta — came to me and said: “We must protest!” At first I thought she was joking, and I retorted, protest about what? However, she was, in fact, deadly

serious.  So, when an identical yoghurt was delivered to Karpov in game three, the audience burst out laughing – for by now The Great Yoghurt Controversy, for which the match may be

remembered long after the chess has been forgotten, was in full swing. Mme Leeuwerik had been incarcerated for attempting to blow up a train, so we were not unaccustomed to expressions of

extreme opinions from her.

After the second game the Korchnoi camp issued a formal protest, claiming that the delivery of a yoghurt could convey a kind of coded message. Thus, a yoghurt after move 20 could signify “we

instruct you to offer a draw”, or a sliced mango could mean “we order you to decline a draw”. A dish of marinated quail eggs could mean “play Nb5 at once” and so on. The possibilities are

limitless.

Predictably only Baturinsky and Mme Leeuwerik appeared to take the protest seriously, but their intransigence was sufficient to blow the dispute up out of all proportion. After a lengthy

meeting of the match appeals committee had failed to solve the problem, Lothar Schmid, the German chief arbiter, finally saved the day by decreeing that Karpov could have his yoghurt,

provided that he consumed only the violet-coloured variety, served at a fixed time by a designated waiter.

The Great Yoghurt Controversy gave the press a field day. On-the-spot reporter Ian Ward must have enjoyed himself when commenting in the Daily Telegraph on the compromise: “But will the

yoghurt crisis now really subside? Herr Schmid is the first to admit the tenuousness of the situation. He fully realises that yoghurt can come in many colours – green, blue, pink, yellow, to

name but a few. Under the Schmid ruling a change in the colour of the yoghurt passed to Karpov would throw the whole compromise into confusion: for then the Russians must seek official

permission once again.”

The Schmid ultimatum continued: “If it is a violet yoghurt again no mention need to be made in advance to me or to the deputy arbiters. In case Mr Karpov wishes to change beverages, please

let an arbiter to know in advance of the game by describing the new beverage in a short note.” German humour is, of course, no laughing matter, and Herr Schmid’s deadpan Judgement of Solomon

was universally admired. Ward concluded: “In this rarefied atmosphere that only chess grandmasters appear to comprehend fully, it appears that there might be serious complications if Herr

Schmid is asked to distinguish between, say, mauve and violet yoghurt. The implications remain frightening.”

I remind readers that this match took place in 1978, while CHESS the Musical had already been released in 1974, when Sir Tim kindly invited me to the World première at The Barbican. My

favourite lines, from a later version, referring to actual events from 1985, when world chess federation President Campomanes actually halted a championship match, as the wrong person

appeared to be winning, were:

I have already animadverted upon the RAC victory in the Hamilton Russell London clubs competition. This week’s game is another win by the Trophy-gaining RAC team, kindly submitted by Richard

Farleigh himself. No need for any ructions here, the match having been completed with total decorum from both sides.

Instead, Black should have considered 17… f4 18. e4 f3 19. Nd2 Nf6 20. Nxf3 Bg4 when he remains worse but carries some momentum.

After this blow, although White could have improved his 29th move (Bg2!) and his 32nd (Rc5!!), Black is crushed and fails to mount any further challenge until; finally, he relinquishes the

full point after another 17 moves.

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