The Luzhin Defence
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''The Luzhin Defence'' is a 2000
romantic drama Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...
film directed by Marleen Gorris, starring
John Turturro John Michael Turturro ( ; born February 28, 1957) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his varied roles in independent films, and has worked frequently with the Coen brothers and Spike Lee. He has received a Primetime Emmy Award a ...
and
Emily Watson Emily Margaret Watson (born 14 January 1967) is an English actress. She began her career on stage and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1992. In 2002, she starred in productions of ''Twelfth Night'' and ''Uncle Vanya'' at the Donmar Ware ...
. The film centres on a mentally tormented
chess grandmaster Grandmaster (GM) is a title awarded to chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. Once achieved, the title is held for life, though exceptionally the t ...
and the young woman he meets while competing at a world-class tournament in Italy. The
screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...
was based on the novel ''
The Defense ''The Defense'' (also known as ''The Luzhin Defense''; ) is the third novel written by Vladimir Nabokov after he had immigrated to Berlin. It was first published in Russian 1930 and later in English in 1964. Publication The novel appeared first ...
'' (or ''The Luzhin Defence'') by
Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov ( ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian and American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Born in Imperial Russia in 1899, Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Rus ...
. Emily Watson received best actress nominations at the
British Independent Film Awards The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports, and promotes British independent cinema and film-making talent in the United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early Nov ...
and the
London Film Critics Circle The London Film Critics' Circle is the name by which the Film Section of The Critics' Circle is known internationally. The word London was added because it was thought the term Critics' Circle Film Awards did not convey the full context of th ...
Awards.


Plot

It is the early 1920s and Aleksandr Ivanovich 'Sascha' Luzhin (Turturro), a gifted but tormented chess player, arrives in a Northern Italian city to compete in an international chess competition. Prior to the tournament he meets Natalia Katkov (Watson) and he falls in love with her almost immediately. She in turn finds his manner to be appealing and they begin to see each other in spite of her mother's disapproval. Competing alongside Luzhin in the championship is Dottore Salvatore Turati ( Fabio Sartor), who is approached by Leo Valentinov ( Stuart Wilson), a Russian, who is Luzhin's former chess tutor from pre-revolutionary Russia. Valentinov tells the Italian that Luzhin cannot handle pressure and he intimates he will make sure that his former prodigy will be unsettled off-table, giving Turati a winning chance. The competition starts badly for Luzhin, who is unsettled by the presence of his former friend and coach. He struggles through the early rounds but he soon begins to win again as his relationship with Katkov becomes closer and intimate. She then informs her parents that she is going to marry him. Meanwhile, Luzhin goes on to reach the final and face Turati. But in the finals the Russian
Émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social exile or self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French verb ''émigrer'' meaning "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Huguenot ...
loses out to the time clock, forcing the game to adjourn. However, outside the venue, he is whisked away by an accomplice of Valentinov who abandons him in the countryside. His former teacher knows that this will completely unhinge him because of the memory of his parents' abandonment many years ago. Luzhin wanders aimlessly until he collapses and is found by a group of
Blackshirts The Voluntary Militia for National Security (, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts (, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the National Fascist Party, known as the Squadrismo, and after 1923 an all-vo ...
. Luzhin is taken to the hospital suffering from complete mental exhaustion. The doctor informs Katkov that he will die if he keeps playing chess as he is addicted to the game and it is consuming his very being. Nevertheless, even while recuperating Valentinov comes around with a chess board encouraging Luzhin to finish the match with the Italian, Turati. Natalia defends her beloved but urges him to break off with the game. Luzhin seems to agree. Eventually Luzhin leaves the hospital. He and Natalia then agree to marry at the earliest opportunity. However, on the morning of the wedding, Luzhin is put into a car with Valentinov, who tells him that there is the small matter of finishing the competition. In terror, Luzhin leaps from the car. Dazed, cut and mentally confused, he stumbles back to the hotel where he tries to dig up the rest of the glass chess pieces he buried on the grounds years ago, (1:36:39 "I've got the King but I need the whole army...") but he does not find them. Luzhin, who is in his muddied wedding suit, sits in his room as Natalia and the hotel staff try to open the door. But before they can get in, the troubled chess grandmaster throws himself out of his bedroom window and dies. The tragic death is witnessed by Valentinov who has just arrived by car. The film then concludes in the competition hall where Natalia completes the competition using her fiancé's notes. She discovers the papers in his pocket and an experienced chess player explains to her the matter of the notes. In an arranged meeting without public she plays against Turati who does exactly what Luzhin expected and loses. Katkov and Turati then leave acknowledging the
Pyrrhic victory A Pyrrhic victory ( ) is a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat. Such a victory negates any true sense of achievement or damages long-term progress. The phrase originates from a quote from ...
and the genius of Luzhin.


Cast

*
John Turturro John Michael Turturro ( ; born February 28, 1957) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his varied roles in independent films, and has worked frequently with the Coen brothers and Spike Lee. He has received a Primetime Emmy Award a ...
as Luzhin *
Emily Watson Emily Margaret Watson (born 14 January 1967) is an English actress. She began her career on stage and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1992. In 2002, she starred in productions of ''Twelfth Night'' and ''Uncle Vanya'' at the Donmar Ware ...
as Natalia * Geraldine James as Vera * Stuart Wilson as Valentinov * Christopher Thompson as Stassard * Fabio Sartor as Turati * Peter Blythe as Ilya * Orla Brady as Anna * Mark Tandy as Luzhin's Father * Kelly Hunter as Luzhin's Mother


Production

Nabokov based ''
The Defense ''The Defense'' (also known as ''The Luzhin Defense''; ) is the third novel written by Vladimir Nabokov after he had immigrated to Berlin. It was first published in Russian 1930 and later in English in 1964. Publication The novel appeared first ...
'' on the life of German
chess master A chess title is a title regulated by a chess governing body and bestowed upon players based on their performance and rank. Such titles are usually granted for life. The international chess governing body FIDE grants several titles, the most pres ...
Curt von Bardeleben, who seemingly committed
suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...
by leaping from a window in 1924. The film was shot entirely in Europe.
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
, Hungary was used for outdoor scenes as they were set in
St Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
, these included the Széchenyi Chain Bridge, Hungarian National Museum and Heroes' Square. The chess tournament (although in Italy) was shot inside the main hall of the Museum of Ethnography, Budapest. In Italy, the hotel scenes were filmed at Villa Erba, Cernobbio, on the
Lake Como Lake Como ( , ) also known as Lario, is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over deep, it is one of the deepest lakes in Europe. ...
. The scene at the railway station is in Brenna-Alzate, near
Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...
. In the novel, Valentinov's first name is never mentioned;Leona Toker. Nabokov: The Mystery of Literary Structure, Chap. 5 "Secret Asymmetries", p. 84, Par. 3. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, 1989. on the contrary, Luzhin's first name is revealed only in the closing sentences. Another dissimilarity is that the novel ends up by Luzhin's suicide, thereby his game would be never finished.


The finale

The
chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...
position they play for the final between Turati and Luzhin is already a winning position for Black (Luzhin), even though Black is down on
material A material is a matter, substance or mixture of substances that constitutes an Physical object, object. Materials can be pure or impure, living or non-living matter. Materials can be classified on the basis of their physical property, physical ...
. By playing 1. Kg4 (as opposed to 1. Kf2)
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
walks into a forced
checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...
with a rook
sacrifice Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...
: * 1. Kg4 f5+ * 2. Kg5 Kg7 If 2. Kh4 Be7# * 3. Nd5 Rh3! * 4. gxh3 h6+ * 5. Kh4 Bf2# If White plays 1. Kf2 instead of 1. Kg4 this leads to a heavy material loss for White and an easy game for Black: * 1. Kf2 Rxc3+ * 2. Ke1 Rxc1+ and Black is up by a rook. In the film Luzhin's final moves were made by his fiancé. The tournament had been paused after Luzhin had a nervous breakdown which had been caused by extreme strain. On the same day he was going to get married he committed suicide by jumping from the hotel balcony. His fiancé later found a piece of paper inside his jacket where he had written down his intended final moves against Turati.


Cinematic error

In Luzhin's previous game, on his way to the final, the film shows an inaccurate checkmating move. The scene shows White (Luzhin) play an apparently brilliant
combination In mathematics, a combination is a selection of items from a set that has distinct members, such that the order of selection does not matter (unlike permutations). For example, given three fruits, say an apple, an orange and a pear, there are ...
culminating in a
queen sacrifice In chess, a queen sacrifice is a move that sacrifices a queen, the most powerful piece, in return for some compensation, such as a tactical or positional advantage. Queen sacrifice: real versus sham In his book ''The Art of Sacrifice in Ches ...
followed by Rd1-d8#. However, White's rook on the ''d1'' square is pinned against its
king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
in the corner at ''h1'' by Black's rook on ''c1'', making the checkmate unplayable. Nevertheless, Luzhin (White) is shown playing the illegal winning move to wild applause from the audience. The sequence is as follows, Luzhin has just played his rook to e8 ( check) although it is not clear if this was a capture or not. Play then continues: * 1. ... Bf8 * 2. Rxf8+ Kxf8 * 3. Nf5+ Kg8 * 4. Qf8+ Kxf8 * 5. Rd8# White's last move is illegal (see
rules of chess The rules of chess (also known as the laws of chess) govern the play of the game of chess. Chess is a two-player Abstract strategy game, abstract strategy board game. Each player controls sixteen chess piece, pieces of six types on a chessboar ...
). Moving the rook would put White in check, which is prohibited. In the film, the Black rook was erroneously placed on ''c1'' instead of ''c2'', where it was in the actual game this winning combination was played, making it legal, a famous win of
Milan Vidmar Milan Vidmar (; 22 June 1885 – 9 October 1962) was a Slovenian electrical engineer, chess player, chess theorist, and writer. He was among the top dozen chess players in the world from 1910 to 1930 and in 1950, was among the inaugural recip ...
over future world champion
Max Euwe Machgielis "Max" Euwe (; May 20, 1901 â€“ November 26, 1981) was a Dutch chess player, mathematician, author, and chess administrator. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion, a title he held from 1935 ...
.


Release

The film opened in 59 cinemas in the United Kingdom on 8 September 2000 and grossed ÂŁ59,779 in its opening weekend, placing at 15th at the UK box office.


References


External links

* * * * *
Rotten Tomatoes



Vidmar - Euwe, Karlsbad 1929.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luzhin Defence, The Films about chess 2000 films Films based on works by Vladimir Nabokov Films based on Russian novels Films directed by Marleen Gorris 2000 romantic drama films Romantic period films British romantic drama films French romantic drama films 2000 in chess Films scored by Alexandre Desplat 2000s English-language films 2000s British films 2000s French films English-language romantic drama films Sony Pictures Classics films