When Sherlock Played Moriarty

Hey there, thanks for clicking on the notification that said "@AstroTheoretical_Physics has a new post" (if you didn't click on that notification I don't know how you are here), and welcome to my last blog (kinda rushed) post for a while! Am I going to quit blogging? Nah. I will just be taking a break (I don't know if that break will be short or long, probably be a long one). Wait, but why? While some of you might already know the reason, and if you don't then.....umm.......uhh........ it's not required for you to know (not exaggerating, it seriously does not). 

That was mean of me. 

Anyhow, with that being said, let's jump into the main thing. 

Sherlock Holmes is undoubtedly one of the most famous fictional characters. His ability to use deductive reasoning and forensic science during an investigation to conclude a case has made him the most famous detective of all time. A fictional character created by the British writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the modern mastermind detective first appeared in the novel "A Study In Scarlet",  which was published in the year 1887. From Jeremy Brett to Henry Cavill, over 75 actors have portrayed the role of Sherlock Holmes in films and on TV.

Who Portrayed Sherlock Holmes as the best on screen?

But why am I blabbering about this fictional big-brain character in a chess blog? Am I just tired of blogging about chess stuff? Or am I just too obsessed with Sherlock and his abilities that I couldn't resist writing about him, even though it's a chess site?

None of the above.

Sorry @Lightning for copying your meme, I just felt like doing so.........

The reason is that, in one of the movies about Mr. Holmes, we had a chess scene. But which movie and scene am I talking about? And why will such a busy guy with 100s of cases and investigations every day play the game of chess?

I am referring to the scene where one of the most famous if not the most famous portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, Robert Downey Jr. in "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" (2011), challenges his arch-rival and enemy Professor James Moriarty, to a game of chess. It was towards the end when Sherlock Holmes and his enemy Moriarty sat down on a balcony in the winter at night. They decided to play a game of 5 min blitz chess.

Sherlock Holmes (right) with Professor Moriarty (left) during their first meeting.

Now, I am not going to discuss what happened in the whole movie and why were they playing like this, or if this game was again a part of "just Sherlock things" for knowing more about Moriarty's personality. So, go and watch out the movie (but after reading this whole thing). And if you have already watched it but have forgotten everything courtesy of a bad memory, well then........, watch it again🤷‍♂️. 

The Iron Man of MCU (right) portrays Sherlock Holmes alongside Jude Law (John Watson). 

So, did Robert Downey Jr. (the man who played Sherlock) and Jared Harris (the man who played James Moriarty) actually sat down and played a game of chess during the shooting? 

Nope. 

The scene and the moves were based on a real-life chess game, dating back to the year 1966, played between the world champion of the time Tigran Petrosian, and one of the strongest non-soviet players of the 1960s, Bent Larsen. This game of Larsen is considered to be one of the greatest games he had ever played, because of the unique creativity shown by him during the game. 

However, not the fully exact game was copy-pasted into the movie, there were a few minor changes, and at a certain point in the game, we saw a change in the continuation. In this blog, I will be taking you through the game, and then, I will also be showing you the continuation in the real game and the continuation that was shown in the movie. 

Let's go! 

"A Game of Shadows" 

THE GENIUS INSIDE LARSEN

This game was played during the 7th round of the Second Piatigorsky Cup, in 1966. Larsen showed tremendous form in the whole tournament, beating Petrosian 2 out of the 2 times they faced each other (including this game), and finishing in 3rd place only behind Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer.

In the actual game, Larsen is playing with the white pieces and Petrosian with the black pieces, and Larsen begins the game with 1.e4. Petrosian responds with 1...c5, the Sicilian defense. 

However, in the movie, Sherlock is playing with the black pieces and Moriarty with the white pieces, and Moriarty begins the game with 1.c4. What happened was, they took a game from reality and just reversed the colors. Hence, we can assume that Sherlock responded with 1...e5, a kinda reversed Sicilian with the white pieces, and the game went on. Confusing, isn't it?

Moriarty playing 1.c4.

Hence, let's pretend that Sherlock is playing with the white pieces

Bent Larson chooses to play a set-up called the "Maroczy" variation of the Sicilian defense. After the 10 book moves, we do have an equal position, but it's white who will enter into the middlegame with a slight advantage, by securing a little bit more space.

What happened next? Let's find out.  

Can you find the breathtaking move that Bent Larsen (Sherlock Holmes) played in this position?  

What a move. But can't the queen just be taken? Well, here's when we see a change in the continuation. In the actual game, Petrosian played Nf4. But in the movie, Moriarty captured the queen.

The conversation (Disclaimer: Spoilers alert) that took place after Holmes sacrificed his queen was as follows: 

Moriarty: "Seems like you have lost your most valuable piece." 

Holmes: "But a winning strategy sometimes necessitates sacrifice." 

At this point, Moriarty gets up from his chair and says, "The game's over, you should have your shoulders checked."

Further, both players speak their moves aloud without looking at the board. Can you find the winning idea that would have continued if Petrosian had captured the queen?

This ain't what happened, but what "could" have happened if Black was to capture the queen in the real game. However, Moriarty captured the queen in the movie and got checkmated. The final line that Holmes said before delivering the brutal checkmate: "Bishop to bishop 8, discovered attack and incidentally, mate." (as it's 1891, they are using the old notations as the board didn't have coordinates.) 

If interested, click on this video to view the scene where Sherlock checkmated his arch-rival. 

Coming back to the actual game, that didn't happen. However, the game did end after a few moves. Here's how it went: 

What a game and what a move that was. Here's how the combination would have looked if the colors are reversed and seen from black's perspective, as Sherlock was playing with the black pieces: 

Thanks to @Simaginfan for the help with the image! 

Conclusion

The filmmakers did a great job with the scene. Back then when the movie was made, there weren't enough resources to check out these things, but they took a game from real life and reversed the colors for the movie purposes, and did a pretty good job in my opinion. Of course, there were a few minor errors regarding the chess and the chessboard if you look carefully at the clips, but it's fine I guess.

Kudos to Larsen for playing an incredible game of chess. Realizing that he had a superiority of pieces on the kingside, he attacked the same side and played a breathtaking sacrifice to end the game to his name. 

I hope you enjoyed reading the blog and enjoyed the game. Do let me if you find any errors because I rushed with this lol. And sorry for that joke in the beginning, I am taking a break due to school life. Anyhow, I hope I get the time to post soon, until then, I am outta here.