Chess – A Musical Revival

The narrative of the musical centres on a Cold War and a world chess championship between grandmasters Frederick Trumper (USA) and Anatoly Sergievsky (Soviet Russia). The story is set in locations such as Meran and Bangkok.

A key subplot involves Florence Vassy, a Hungarian-born woman who is Trumper's manager and later becomes romantically entangled with Sergievsky, creating a dramatic love triangle. The plot explores themes of rivalry, politics, espionage, love, and personal sacrifice, using the chess tournament as a metaphor for Cold War tensions and international power struggles.

Master Class Vol 1 to 15

No other World Champion was more infamous both inside and outside the chess world than Bobby Fischer. On this DVD, a team of experts shows you the winning techniques and strategies employed by the 11th World Champion.
No other World Champion was more infamous both inside and outside the chess world than Robert James Fischer. But what were the secrets to his sensational ability, and what enabled him to take on the Soviet school of chess alone – and win? On this DVD, a team of experts presents you every facet of the chess legend, and shows you the winning techniques and strategies employed by the 11th World Champion. Grandmaster Dorian Rogozenco delves into Fischer’s openings, and retraces the development of his repertoire. What variations did Fischer play, and what sources did he use to arm himself against the best Soviet players? Mihail Marin explains Fischer’s particular style and his special strategic talent in annotated games against Spassky, Taimanov and other greats. Karsten Müller is not just a leading international endgame expert, but also a true Fischer connoisseur. His congenial video analysis of Fischer’s legendary endgames can only be found on this DVD! To top it off - you too can unleash tactical combinations like Fischer! German Bundesliga player Oliver Reeh has compiled the World Champion’s best combinations – and now it’s your move. You too can try to find Fischer’s stunning brilliancies by entering your solution on the board and receive video feedback in the new ChessBase media format!
• Video running time: approx. 5 hours (English)
• Interactive tactics test with video feedback
• Collection of every Fischer game, tables, backround knowledge, short biography
• “Fischer powerbook”– the World Champion’s repertoire as an opening tree
• Tactic training: 100 Fischer games with training questions.

The musical's score is a fusion of rock, pop, and classical styles, with standout songs such as “One Night in Bangkok” and “I Know Him So Well” (here sung by the unforgettable Elaine Paige in the original production). Both became international hits. Chess won several awards, including the Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Musical (1986) and multiple Laurence Olivier and Tony Award nominations. It remains a cult favourite and is frequently revived and revised for new productions around the world.

In the July issue of the English magazine Chess editor Malcolm Pein informs us about the latest revival. Apparently Tim Rice himself hinted in early February that it was set for a major comeback in the autumn. This it seems was inspired by the popular culture growth of the game during the pandemic through Netflix's The Queen's Gambit, major online chess events being professionally streamed, and an uptick globally of school chess programmes.

The long-rumoured Broadway revival of Chess has indeed been officially announced for the autumn, with the production directed by Tony award-winner, Michael Mayer and choreographed by Lorin Latarro. Crucially, the Broadway revival will feature a new, updated book by Danny Strong with Brian Usifer lending music supervision.

Tim Rice and lead singer Elaine Paige attended the World Championship match between Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov in 1986. The photo of them in the audience, sitting next to FIDE President Florencio Campomanes, was provided by Lars Grahn.

I attended the London half of the match and had the opportunity to have some very nice chats with the two.

A musical delight

We got an album of the original Chess musical in 1988 – on a set of 78 rpm vinyl records, and listened to it avidly. Our six-year-old son Tommy listened to it at least half a dozen times, following the text of the song in the album book. It is one of the reasons he grew up to be perfectly bilingual (German and English).

The musical style of Chess is a blend of rock, pop, and classical, reflecting the creative backgrounds of its composers Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. It combines a powerful rock 'n' roll sound and the clarity and warmth of orchestral music. 

For those of you who do not know the musical Chess, or those who are filled to the brim with nostalgia at its mention, there is a full live recording posted on YouTube, in 16 parts. Full lyrics are also available here. This is the kind of songs you'll encounter:

Attack like a Super Grandmaster

In this Fritztrainer: “Attack like a Super GM” with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.

No one can deny that these are difficult times.

It's the U.S. versus U.S.S.R.
Yet we more or less are
to our credit putting all that aside.
We have swallowed our pride.
No one's way of life is threatened by a flop.

But we're gonna smash their bastard!
Make him wanna change his name
Take him to the cleaners and devastate him
Wipe him out, humiliate him

We don't want the whole world saying
They can't even win a game
We have never reckoned
On coming second
There's no use in losing

The value of events like this need not be stressed
When East and West
Can meet as comrades, ease the tension over drinks
Through sporting links
As long as their man sinks.

Not exactly conciliatory and dignified – but most entertaining, don't you think?

Above is part one of Chess in Concert, recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall. YouTube lists parts 2 to 16, each between eight and nine minutes long. Here are some of our favourites: 

• Merano (part two)
• Hotel Aurora (part three, "You're playing a lunatic")
• No one can deny that these are difficult times (part four)
• We wish, no must, make our disgust... (in part five)
• British Honorary Counsulate (in part eight)
• One night in Bangkok (in part nine, and here's the original Murray Head version)
• How straightforward the game (part 14)