Thursday 22 March 2018

Some pretty obvious cheating

I'm not sure when I decided I was 'old', but I have no doubt that I am know. One of the warning signs is getting sucked into watching too many detective mysteries such as 'Lewis', 'Midsomer Murders' or 'Murdoch Mysteries'.
And it was the last of these shows that had a very chess heavy episode on last night. The plot revolved around the murder of a Russian chess master before a tournament in Toronto. To investigate the murder, one of the young constables has to go undercover as a competitor in the tournament.
Without giving too much away, there was a large amount of what we would now call cheating involved. To pass himself off as a chess master, the young constable (Crabtree) had the moves relayed to him via an earpiece, which was pretty novel technology for the turn of the 20th century (when the series is set). However, to transmit his opponents moves, he had to say them out loud, so they could be picked up my the microphone. No one seemed to either mind, or notice. And in at least one game, his opponent was also cheating, via the real player tapping signals on his shoulder, which most people could see.
Of course it was all part of the slightly tongue-in-cheek nature of the show, so it could be excused. Especially as  they seemed to get most of the chess right. Openings were called by their correct names (eg Queens Gambit) and even followed the correct moves. The tournament had demonstrations boards hanging up (although not used), and the tables had country flags. One thing that was missing however were chess clocks, allowing the games to be dragged out.
Overall it was a good 'chess' episode, and one worth watching if it pops up on a TV channel near you.

No comments: