Discover
| # | Person | Characters |
|---|
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Great promise but gets bogged down in politics... 8/11/2019 12:00:00 AM by Gitzzz I used to play quite a lot of chess when I was younger and now picking it up again. Watching different World championship matches is an integral and fascinating part of the journey. When I saw the trailer for this film I really excited. Tense, close battle full of drama with a bit of Cold War politics sprinkled all over. I am afraid to say that this film was 80% politics and KGB/USSR bashing (mainly by bitter Eastern Europeans and holier than thou haughty residents of the Perfidious Albion). Not one game was shown in any detail. KGB this, KGB that. Poor Viktor etc etc. Well, poor Viktor loved himself so much that he left his family behind and was no way near Karpov's level. I grew up in the USSR and so have my parents and many of my friends. Everyone had a good time. Golden childhood. This film was a missed opportunity. I almost bought it but luckily it is available for free on Amazon Prime. Since I will never watch it again, I guess I saved myself some money. Shame, as I would happily pay as long as the film is worth it. Not bad, not great. 5/10.
- Fantastic chess documentary 8/7/2020 12:00:00 AM by frank-jakobsen
Great movie. It tells a story about when chess was political. It makes me want to learn more about chess history. Fantastic movie, highly recommended.
- Awesome doco of political chess and human nature 2/19/2021 12:00:00 AM by roguegrafix
As a chess player, Korchnoi never really attracted me. But after watching this doco I may go back and examine his games. But this doco is not only for chess players (apart from about 3 specific moves) it is all about the man Viktor. A Russian chess prodigy he defects from the USSR and then takes on the mighty Soviet chess/political system and damn nearly destroys it.
Lovely commentary from a host of chess contemporaries, you see Viktor in his prime, in his depths of disaster and in his return. Likewise Karpov has come up in my eyes because of his compassion after the fall of Communism.
If you know something about chess, this story is for you. If you do not, this story is for you. This is just a great story. Enjoy.
| # | Person | Crew |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liam Ayres | cinematographer |
| 2 | Sebastian Cardwell | cinematographer |
| 3 | Alan Byron | director |
| 4 | Tim Martens | editor |
| 5 | Vincent Vardnoush | editor |
| 6 | Garry Kasparov | self |
| 7 | Anatoli Karpov | self |
| 8 | Viktor Korchnoi | self |
| 9 | Boris Gelfand | self |
