''Chess with the Doomsday Machine'' (''Shatranj ba Mashin-e Qiamat'') ( fa, شطرنج با ماشین قیامت) is a

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

about the Iran-Iraq war by Habib Ahmadzadeh. In 1980, an attack on the Iranian city of

Abadan Abadan ( fa, آبادان ''Ābādān'', ) is a city and capital of Abadan County, Khuzestan Province, which is located in the southwest of Iran. It lies on Abadan Island ( long, 3–19 km or 2–12 miles wide). The island is bounded ...

marked the beginning of the Iran-Iraq war. Hundreds of thousands of people fled the badly damaged city but a small number of civilians chose to stay, living in a city under siege. The story focuses on the experiences of Moosa, a young Abadani soldier defending his home town. He has been chosen to assist in destroying the enemy's "Doomsday Machine", a sophisticated radar system.

Publisher

The book was written in 1996 and published in Persian by Soreie Mehr Publication Company in 2005. ''Chess with the Doomsday Machine'' has been nominated for and received numerous awards, and has been reprinted many times in Iran. According to critics, ''Chess with the Doomsday Machine'' is one of the most prominent novel about the Iran-Iraq war in recent years. In 2008, the book was translated from Persian into English by Paul Sprachman, a professor at

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and wa ...

, and published by Mazda Publishers.

The novel

The "Doomsday Machine" of the title is the nickname given to a British

Cymbeline ''Cymbeline'' , also known as ''The Tragedie of Cymbeline'' or ''Cymbeline, King of Britain'', is a play by William Shakespeare set in Ancient Britain () and based on legends that formed part of the Matter of Britain concerning the early Celti ...

counter-battery radar A counter-battery radar (alternatively weapon tracking radar or COBRA) is a radar system that detects artillery projectiles fired by one or more guns, howitzers, mortars or rocket launchers and, from their trajectories, locates the position on ...

system used to direct Iraqi

counter-battery fire Counter-battery fire (sometimes called counter-fire) is a battlefield tactic employed to defeat the enemy's indirect fire elements ( multiple rocket launchers, artillery and mortars), including their target acquisition, as well as their comma ...

against Iranian artillery. Moosa, the protagonist of the novel, becomes an artillery spotter in the artillery duel between the two sides, using an unfinished multi-storey building as his

observation post An observation post (commonly abbreviated OP), temporary or fixed, is a position from which soldiers can watch enemy movements, to warn of approaching soldiers (such as in trench warfare), or to direct fire. In strict military terminology, an ...

. A native Abadani, Moosa is also assigned to guard the few remaining civilians who choose to remain in the city during the

Siege of Abadan The Siege of Abadan refers to the encirclement of the city by Iraqi forces beginning in November 1980. The city had already been under almost daily bombardment since the early days of the war, which began the previous September. Abadan Island wa ...

Onelight Theatre adaptation

In 2012

Onelight Theatre OneLight Theatre is a professional theatre company, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia whose primary function is to develop and produce new plays. In addition to its artistic work, OneLight Theatre also hosts conferences related to theatre arts, partici ...

decided to stage an adaptation of the Iranian novel. Onelight Theatre is a professional theatre company that has been developing and producing works in

Halifax Halifax commonly refers to: *Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada * Halifax, West Yorkshire, England *Halifax (bank), a British bank Halifax may also refer to: Places Australia *Halifax, Queensland, a coastal town in the Shire of Hinchinbrook *Halifax ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native En ...

since 2002. Located at

Alderney Landing Alderney Landing is a convention centre, art gallery, market, events plaza and theatre facility in Downtown Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. It was opened in May 1999. The theatre hosts many concerts, conventions and other events, and is the home of Halif ...

, Onelight is the resident theatre company at the complex. After returning home from representing

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

at the Fadjr International Theatre Festival in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the Capital city, capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is th ...

, the show made its Canadian premiere on February 6, 2014. The production returned to Canada after first touring ran, with a debut in Abadan, the birthplace of the story and that of Onelight Theatre's artistic director, Shahin Sayadi. "Taking this work to stage in the place it all started, my hometown, has truly been an honour", said Sayadi. "I'm looking forward to bringing it home to Canada next month." Written and directed by Shahin Sayadi, ''Chess with the Doomsday Machine'' used a combination of English, Persian and nonverbal communication to tell the story of the challenges a young soldier must face. The production was revived at Alderney Landing, for a run between January 19 to February 7, 2015.

Awards

* Literary Award of Esfehan * Year Book of Sacred Defense * Year Book of Press Association of Writers and Critics * Golden Pen Award of Iran * Year Book of Islamic Republic of Iran

References

{{reflist, 2

External links