This is a surprisingly slyly amusing short about chess obsession. By an entire
nation. Surprising because it is quite funny in a Chaplinesqe manner and
is directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin, who would go on to make what are
considered three classics in Soviet silent film - Mother, The End of St.
Petersburg and Storm Over Asia - none of which are comedies. But are in line
with Soviet worker ideals of the time. Chess Fever has none of that. The
Soviet Union was a bit chess obsessed and dominated the chess world from
the late 1920's to about 2000. Great names like Kasparov, Spassky, Petrosian,
Botvinnik, Tal, but now for the past seven years it has been a Norwegian
who has been World Chess Champion.
Chess is everywhere in the film - a cop is chasing a man but they stop to
play chess, a peasant riding on the back of a cart pulls out his chess set
and plays, a tournament is taking place with rapturous fans - and in the
main story a young man can't tear himself away from his chess board where
he is playing himself to go see his fiancée who is not pleased that
he is so late. She is pleased though to see him on his knees till she realizes
that he is playing chess and she goes into a frenzy. At the time of the film
the World Champion was Raul Casablanca from Cuba, one of the real chess legends
and he makes a cameo. After Casablanca lost the next year to Alekhine there
was only a two year interruption of Soviet World Champions till Fischer in
1972. This is up on Youtube. 20 minutes in length.
