Do You Speak The Language Of Chess?
Most chess players are bilingual.
Besides their mother tongue, they also speak the language of chess. Don't tell me that you have no idea what I am talking about. If you have been playing chess for a long time you can hear how chess pieces talk and you understand their language.
Say, God forbid, you've played the Barnes Opening.
I bet you can hear the knight on g1 when it whispers, "You are mean!" and the king on e1 cannot hide his disgust: "I hate you!"
Today, you can test your chess language skills. I will offer you 10 positions where pieces are saying famous quotes from well-known movies and you will have to figure out who said what. As an example, take a look at the following position from the Najdorf Sicilian:
I can clearly hear that queen on b2 when she channels her inner Gordon Gekko by saying "Greed is good!"
So, do you see now how it works? OK, here are the 10 positions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Here are the famous movie quotes that match each chess position:
- "Run, Forrest! Run!" (FORREST GUMP)
- "I'll be back." (THE TERMINATOR)
- "Here's Johnny!" (THE SHINING)
- "I see dead people." (THE SIXTH SENSE)
- "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." (GONE WITH THE WIND)
- "There's no place like home." (THE WIZARD OF OZ)
- "Hasta la vista, baby." (TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY)
- "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse." (THE GODFATHER)
- "Houston, we have a problem." (APOLLO 13)
- "I'm the king of the world!" (TITANIC)
Do you think you are fluent in language of chess? Share you answers to the test in the comments.
Here is my translation of the language of chess pieces:
Game #1. 17....Be6!! Black's queen is under attack, but the bishop says: "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."
Game #2. 11. Qxh7!! The queen says: "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse."
Game #3. 20. Nd5! The knight is ecstatic: "I'm the king of the world!"
Game #4. 37.... Ra1! The rook says: "I'll be back."
Game #5. 29...Kf8! The king cheers himself: "Run, Forrest! Run!"
Game #6. 28. Rxb7!! I can swear that when the rook completely shattered my king's castle, it said:
Game #7. 34. Kg5! Do you hear that?
Game #8. 22. Kxf2 The king knows what's coming and trying to call for help: "Houston, we have a problem."
Game #9. 30...Kb7! This happy king can finally catch his breath after a long journey: "There's no place like home."
Game #10. 30... Bb8?? After this move, the rook on a8 is buried alive, so the bishop tells her: "I see dead people."