ARCHIVE FOOTAGE
As the Overture starts, black-and-white footage displays tanks rolling
through the streets of Budapest during the 1956 uprising. They
rollsilently, ominously in and out of the frame.
REPORTER
...in what is being dubbed an unwarranted act
of aggression on the part of the Soviet
government. Some would speculate that these
Hungarian Freedom Fighters would be front
runners for Time Magazine's annual "Man of the
Year" award.
STILL PHOTOGRAPH
An 8-year-old girl, YOUNG FLORENCE Vassy, alone on a checkered floor,
looking out at a pile of rubble from a bombed-out building.
INTERVIEWER (V.O.)
Now, how do you like America so far?
YOUNG FLORENCE (V.O.)
It's big.
A TELEVISION PROGRAM
Young Florence sits next to a PROFESSOR and across from an INTERVIEWER.
Suppressed laughter sounds from the live audience.
PROFESSOR
Young Florence here is just one of the hundreds
of children we've been able to rescue from
Hungary so far.
She hugs the professor's arm.
INTERVIEWER
(smiling)
Well, she seems to have taken a liking to you.
More suppressed laughter from the audience.
STILL PHOTOGRAPH
A black-and-white image of an idyllic day on the grounds of Princeton
University. 21-year-old FLORENCE VASSY and 19-year-old FREDERICK
TRUMPER exchange a kiss across a chessboard, apparently set at some
point mid-game.
JOURNALIST (V.O.)
...at Princeton University, where Florence
Vassy, poster child for the Hungarian
revolution, has turned out all grown-up, hand
in hand with rising American chess genius
Frederick Trumper. Do I hear wedding bells?
Stay tuned as this reporter looks deeper on The
Inside Scoop.
ARCHIVE FOOTAGE
A series of explosions in the Afghan mountains as Soviet aircraft
streak overhead.
REPORTER (V.O.)
(through considerable static)
The situation has been progressively worse over
here...
STILL PHOTOGRAPH
Frederick Trumper, wearing a shirt proclaiming "I am a chess champion!"
speaks at an anti-Soviet rally.
NPR REPORTER (V.O.)
...as the United States has now withdrawn from
this year's Summer Olympic games in protest of
the Afghanistan crisis. The games are still to
be held in Moscow, without the backing of
several Western nations.
INT. PIONEERS' PALACE, MOSCOW--BROADCAST FOOTAGE
ANATOLY SERGIEVSKY, a stately man in his late 30s, rises from a seat
and shakes hands with a gaggle of men in suits surrounding a table.
JOURNALIST (V.O.)
In a statement delivered by the president of
the World Chess Federation, it was announced
that this year's world championship would
proceed as scheduled.
INT. FIDE PRESS ROOM--BROADCAST FOOTAGE
The ARBITER, a seemingly British man in his early 40s, stands behind a
lectern with two female ASSISTANTS, each looking like a sexualized
librarian, to each side of him. He addresses a gaggle of REPORTERS OS.
ARBITER
Frankly, the Olympics are for amateurs, and
these national boycotts are the kind of
amateurish behavior I would expect from those
games.
I hereby announce that this year's tournament
between World Champion Frederick Trumper and
the Soviet Challenger Anatoly Sergievsky will
not be affected by the war in Afghanistan or
any other spats of nuclear paranoia.
INT. MARRIOTT HOTEL LOBBY, PHILADELPHIA--ARCHIVE FOOTAGE
The lobby is a mob scene, filled wit PHOTOGRAPHERS, JOURNALISTS, and
FANS. A banner hangs in the background reading "Trumper-Karpov, 1978."
ARBITER (V.O.)
Chess has never been about politics.
Two flags hang beneath the banner - an American beneath Trumper's namd,
and a Soviet beneath Karpov's. FREDDIE TRUMPER, a slim, mildly
disheveled man in his late 20s, is revealed as he is hoisted onto the
shoulders of a couple of fans.
ARBITER (V.O.) (CONT'D)
It is about strategy, discipline, and intense
concentration.
Some from the mob tear the American flag off the wall.
ARBITER (V.O.) (CONT'D)
Its nations are simple - black and white...
The flag is rolled into a ball and tossed to one of the fans holding
Freddie.
ARBITER (V.O.) (CONT'D)
Neither adheres to any particular ideology,
only its color.
The fan unravels the flag and tosses it over Freddie's shoulders.
Freddie lets it drape there as he triumphantly shoots his arms into the
air.
ARBITER (V.O.) (CONT'D)
Politics do not enter into it.
INT. FIDE PRESS ROOM--BROADCAST FOOTAGE
The same conference as before. Camera flashes abound as the Arbiter
finishes his remarks.
ARBITER
All that the game needs is to remain the model
of decorum and tranquility that it has always
been.
Applause as he bows his head and walks off, followed by his four
assistants.
INT. ANATOLY'S APARTMENT, MOSCOW
The apartment carries its own unique sense of Soviet decadence - a
display of reproduced icons, bookshelves stuffed with Russian
literature, philosophy, and chess strategy, various paintings and
carvings, a Soviet flag near the doorway. Anatoly sits in a leather
chair, contemplative and unshaven, perusing a book entitled "Trumper
vs. Karpov - 1978," with a chessboard in front of him. A woman steps
in - SVETLANA SERGIEVSKA, in her mid-30s - wearing a black, almost
puritan dress. A music-box waltz begins to play.
SVETLANA
Tolya...
ANATOLY
Hm?
She crosses the room and leans on his chair's armrest.
SVETLANA
Your breakfast is ready. You wre up so early,
I thought maybe you had found a mistress.
She slides down in the chair and puts her arm around him.
SVETLANA (CONT'D)
(kissing him)
And I can see I was right; you always need her.
ANATOLY
(wriggling)
Please...
SVETLANA
I'm sorry...
She places her hands on his shoulders and begins to massage them.
SVETLANA (CONT'D)
You are here so seldom now.
Her hands move inward, rubbing above and around his collarbone and
working his upper back. Anatoly remains stalwart; he turns a page.
SVETLANA (CONT'D)
I miss you. I miss my husband.
ANATOLY
When this match (is over) -
Her hands reach his neck; one of his hands swiftly clamps down on hers.
He turns to her, and she backs away, sliding herself off the chair.
SVETLANA
I will...set you a place at the table.
She exits into the kitchen; Anatoly puts the book down and looks at the
board in front of him. He moves a piece.
INT. A BOMBED-OUT BUILDING -TWILIGHT
The same building from the photograph of Young Florence. The Arbiter,
carrying a briefcase, walks in through the hold that opens out into the
street. He surveys the room. Dust and pebbles covering sixty-four tan
and brown tiles make up the center of the floor, with two tiles' width
around that forming a perimeter between there and the walls. Where the
walls aren't completely blown apart, they are cracked; scorched
canvases adorn them. The wire frame of a chandelier with no candles
hangs from the ceiling.
The Arbiter snaps his fingers, and an AMERICAN SOLDIER wearing Marine
dress blues is escorted into the room by two of the Arbiter's
assistants. Behind them, a SOVIET SOLDIER in a Navy dress uniform is
escorted by the other two assistants. A WOMAN IN BLUE trails them.
Her dress is silken, and she wears a tasteful gold cross necklace. All
seven gather in a semi-circle around the Arbiter.
ARBITER
(addressing them)
EACH GAME OF CHESS
MEANS THERE'S ONE LESS
VARIATION LEFT TO BE PLAYED
He sets his briefcase on the ground.
ARBITER (CONT'D)
EACH DAY GOT THROUGH
MEANS ONE OR TWO
LESS MISTAKES REMAIN TO BE MADE
The Arbiter kneels down and opens the briefcase. The two soldiers eye
each other warily as two of the assistants take them to opposite ends
of the rom. The other two remain standing by the Arbiter.
ASSISTANTS
EACH GAME OF CHESS
MEANS THERE'S ONE LESS
VARIATION LEFT TO BE PLAYED
The Arbiter removes two 9mm pistols from the briefcase. He hands one
to each of the two remaining assistants, who in turn bring them to the
soldiers.
ASSISTANTS (CONT'D)
EACH DAY GOT THROUGH
MEANS ONE OR TWO
LESS MISTAKES REMAIN TO BE MADE
The assistants guide the soldiers back to the middle of the room, their
backs turned to each other. The Arbiter raises his arm. The woman in
blue watches them worriedly as they begin to pace, as though for a
duel.
ARBITER
NOT MUCH IS KNOWN
OF EARLY DAYS OF CHESS
BEYOND A FAIRLY VAGUE REPORT
THAT FIFTEEN HUNDRED YEARS AGO
TWO PRINCES FOUGHT
THOUGH BROTHERS FOR A HINDU THRONE
The Arbiter claps his hands. The assistants scatter to the four
corners of the room, and the soldiers cock the barrels of their
pistols.
ARBITER (CONT'D)
THEIR MOTHER CRIED
FOR NO ONE REALLY LIKES
THEIR OFFSPRING FIGHTING TO THE DEATH
The woman in blue rushes to the American soldier.
ARBITER (CONT'D)
SHE BEGGED THEM -
WOMAN IN BLUE
STOP THIS SLAUGHTER!
ARBITER
WITH HER EVERY BREATH
BUT SURE ENOUGH, ONE BROTHER DIED
The Arbiter snaps his fingers again. The Soldiers turn and fire. The
Soviet soldier falls dead to the floor. The woman in blue wails and
rushes over to him. She gently strokes his cheek as the assistants
rush over to carry off the body.
ARBITER (CONT'D)
(as the Assistants lift the body)
SAD BEYOND BELIEF
SHE TOLD THE WINNING SON
WOMAN IN BLUE
(rising, to American Soldier)
YOU HAVE CAUSED SUCH GRIEF
I CAN'T FORGIVE
THIS EVIL THING YOU'VE DONE
The American soldier drops the pistol and rushes to the woman in blue,
pantomiming his pleas for mercy.
ARBITER
HE TRIED TO EXPLAIN
HOW THINGS HAD REALLY BEEN
(looks at the Woman in Blue)
BUT HE TRIED IN VAIN
NO WORDS OF HIS
COULD MOLLIFY THE QUEEN
The woman in blue turns and walks out through the giant hole in the
wall. The American soldier turns to the Arbiter.
ARBITER (CONT'D)
AND SO HE ASKED
THE WISEST MEN HE KNEW
THE WAY TO LESSEN HER DISTRESS
The four assistants re-appear at the entrance. They take one step into
the room.
ARBITER (CONT'D)
THEY TOLD HIM
HE'D BE PRETTY CERTAIN TO IMPRESS
A rank of eight soldiers appears behind each of them - two ranks of
American soldiers, two ranks of Soviet soldiers. The assistants file
them in...
ARBITER (CONT'D)
BY USING MODEL SOLDIERS
ON A CHECKERED BOARD
TO SHOW IT WAS HIS BROTHER'S FAULT
...as though setting up a human chess game.
ARBITER (CONT'D)
THEY THUS INVENTED "CHESS."
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. TRAIN - DAY
As the Overture starts, black-and-white footage displays tanks rolling
through the streets of Budapest during the 1956 uprising. They
rollsilently, ominously in and out of the frame.
REPORTER
...in what is being dubbed an unwarranted act
of aggression on the part of the Soviet
government. Some would speculate that these
Hungarian Freedom Fighters would be front
runners for Time Magazine's annual "Man of the
Year" award.
STILL PHOTOGRAPH
An 8-year-old girl, YOUNG FLORENCE Vassy, alone on a checkered floor,
looking out at a pile of rubble from a bombed-out building.
INTERVIEWER (V.O.)
Now, how do you like America so far?
YOUNG FLORENCE (V.O.)
It's big.
A TELEVISION PROGRAM
Young Florence sits next to a PROFESSOR and across from an INTERVIEWER.
Suppressed laughter sounds from the live audience.
PROFESSOR
Young Florence here is just one of the hundreds
of children we've been able to rescue from
Hungary so far.
She hugs the professor's arm.
INTERVIEWER
(smiling)
Well, she seems to have taken a liking to you.
More suppressed laughter from the audience.
STILL PHOTOGRAPH
A black-and-white image of an idyllic day on the grounds of Princeton
University. 21-year-old FLORENCE VASSY and 19-year-old FREDERICK
TRUMPER exchange a kiss across a chessboard, apparently set at some
point mid-game.
JOURNALIST (V.O.)
...at Princeton University, where Florence
Vassy, poster child for the Hungarian
revolution, has turned out all grown-up, hand
in hand with rising American chess genius
Frederick Trumper. Do I hear wedding bells?
Stay tuned as this reporter looks deeper on The
Inside Scoop.
ARCHIVE FOOTAGE
A series of explosions in the Afghan mountains as Soviet aircraft
streak overhead.
REPORTER (V.O.)
(through considerable static)
The situation has been progressively worse over
here...
STILL PHOTOGRAPH
Frederick Trumper, wearing a shirt proclaiming "I am a chess champion!"
speaks at an anti-Soviet rally.
NPR REPORTER (V.O.)
...as the United States has now withdrawn from
this year's Summer Olympic games in protest of
the Afghanistan crisis. The games are still to
be held in Moscow, without the backing of
several Western nations.
INT. PIONEERS' PALACE, MOSCOW--BROADCAST FOOTAGE
ANATOLY SERGIEVSKY, a stately man in his late 30s, rises from a seat
and shakes hands with a gaggle of men in suits surrounding a table.
JOURNALIST (V.O.)
In a statement delivered by the president of
the World Chess Federation, it was announced
that this year's world championship would
proceed as scheduled.
INT. FIDE PRESS ROOM--BROADCAST FOOTAGE
The ARBITER, a seemingly British man in his early 40s, stands behind a
lectern with two female ASSISTANTS, each looking like a sexualized
librarian, to each side of him. He addresses a gaggle of REPORTERS OS.
ARBITER
Frankly, the Olympics are for amateurs, and
these national boycotts are the kind of
amateurish behavior I would expect from those
games.
I hereby announce that this year's tournament
between World Champion Frederick Trumper and
the Soviet Challenger Anatoly Sergievsky will
not be affected by the war in Afghanistan or
any other spats of nuclear paranoia.
INT. MARRIOTT HOTEL LOBBY, PHILADELPHIA--ARCHIVE FOOTAGE
The lobby is a mob scene, filled wit PHOTOGRAPHERS, JOURNALISTS, and
FANS. A banner hangs in the background reading "Trumper-Karpov, 1978."
ARBITER (V.O.)
Chess has never been about politics.
Two flags hang beneath the banner - an American beneath Trumper's namd,
and a Soviet beneath Karpov's. FREDDIE TRUMPER, a slim, mildly
disheveled man in his late 20s, is revealed as he is hoisted onto the
shoulders of a couple of fans.
ARBITER (V.O.) (CONT'D)
It is about strategy, discipline, and intense
concentration.
Some from the mob tear the American flag off the wall.
ARBITER (V.O.) (CONT'D)
Its nations are simple - black and white...
The flag is rolled into a ball and tossed to one of the fans holding
Freddie.
ARBITER (V.O.) (CONT'D)
Neither adheres to any particular ideology,
only its color.
The fan unravels the flag and tosses it over Freddie's shoulders.
Freddie lets it drape there as he triumphantly shoots his arms into the
air.
ARBITER (V.O.) (CONT'D)
Politics do not enter into it.
INT. FIDE PRESS ROOM--BROADCAST FOOTAGE
The same conference as before. Camera flashes abound as the Arbiter
finishes his remarks.
ARBITER
All that the game needs is to remain the model
of decorum and tranquility that it has always
been.
Applause as he bows his head and walks off, followed by his four
assistants.
INT. ANATOLY'S APARTMENT, MOSCOW
The apartment carries its own unique sense of Soviet decadence - a
display of reproduced icons, bookshelves stuffed with Russian
literature, philosophy, and chess strategy, various paintings and
carvings, a Soviet flag near the doorway. Anatoly sits in a leather
chair, contemplative and unshaven, perusing a book entitled "Trumper
vs. Karpov - 1978," with a chessboard in front of him. A woman steps
in - SVETLANA SERGIEVSKA, in her mid-30s - wearing a black, almost
puritan dress. A music-box waltz begins to play.
SVETLANA
Tolya...
ANATOLY
Hm?
She crosses the room and leans on his chair's armrest.
SVETLANA
Your breakfast is ready. You wre up so early,
I thought maybe you had found a mistress.
She slides down in the chair and puts her arm around him.
SVETLANA (CONT'D)
(kissing him)
And I can see I was right; you always need her.
ANATOLY
(wriggling)
Please...
SVETLANA
I'm sorry...
She places her hands on his shoulders and begins to massage them.
SVETLANA (CONT'D)
You are here so seldom now.
Her hands move inward, rubbing above and around his collarbone and
working his upper back. Anatoly remains stalwart; he turns a page.
SVETLANA (CONT'D)
I miss you. I miss my husband.
ANATOLY
When this match (is over) -
Her hands reach his neck; one of his hands swiftly clamps down on hers.
He turns to her, and she backs away, sliding herself off the chair.
SVETLANA
I will...set you a place at the table.
She exits into the kitchen; Anatoly puts the book down and looks at the
board in front of him. He moves a piece.
INT. A BOMBED-OUT BUILDING -TWILIGHT
The same building from the photograph of Young Florence. The Arbiter,
carrying a briefcase, walks in through the hold that opens out into the
street. He surveys the room. Dust and pebbles covering sixty-four tan
and brown tiles make up the center of the floor, with two tiles' width
around that forming a perimeter between there and the walls. Where the
walls aren't completely blown apart, they are cracked; scorched
canvases adorn them. The wire frame of a chandelier with no candles
hangs from the ceiling.
The Arbiter snaps his fingers, and an AMERICAN SOLDIER wearing Marine
dress blues is escorted into the room by two of the Arbiter's
assistants. Behind them, a SOVIET SOLDIER in a Navy dress uniform is
escorted by the other two assistants. A WOMAN IN BLUE trails them.
Her dress is silken, and she wears a tasteful gold cross necklace. All
seven gather in a semi-circle around the Arbiter.
ARBITER
(addressing them)
EACH GAME OF CHESS
MEANS THERE'S ONE LESS
VARIATION LEFT TO BE PLAYED
He sets his briefcase on the ground.
ARBITER (CONT'D)
EACH DAY GOT THROUGH
MEANS ONE OR TWO
LESS MISTAKES REMAIN TO BE MADE
The Arbiter kneels down and opens the briefcase. The two soldiers eye
each other warily as two of the assistants take them to opposite ends
of the rom. The other two remain standing by the Arbiter.
ASSISTANTS
EACH GAME OF CHESS
MEANS THERE'S ONE LESS
VARIATION LEFT TO BE PLAYED
The Arbiter removes two 9mm pistols from the briefcase. He hands one
to each of the two remaining assistants, who in turn bring them to the
soldiers.
ASSISTANTS (CONT'D)
EACH DAY GOT THROUGH
MEANS ONE OR TWO
LESS MISTAKES REMAIN TO BE MADE
The assistants guide the soldiers back to the middle of the room, their
backs turned to each other. The Arbiter raises his arm. The woman in
blue watches them worriedly as they begin to pace, as though for a
duel.
ARBITER
NOT MUCH IS KNOWN
OF EARLY DAYS OF CHESS
BEYOND A FAIRLY VAGUE REPORT
THAT FIFTEEN HUNDRED YEARS AGO
TWO PRINCES FOUGHT
THOUGH BROTHERS FOR A HINDU THRONE
The Arbiter claps his hands. The assistants scatter to the four
corners of the room, and the soldiers cock the barrels of their
pistols.
ARBITER (CONT'D)
THEIR MOTHER CRIED
FOR NO ONE REALLY LIKES
THEIR OFFSPRING FIGHTING TO THE DEATH
The woman in blue rushes to the American soldier.
ARBITER (CONT'D)
SHE BEGGED THEM -
WOMAN IN BLUE
STOP THIS SLAUGHTER!
ARBITER
WITH HER EVERY BREATH
BUT SURE ENOUGH, ONE BROTHER DIED
The Arbiter snaps his fingers again. The Soldiers turn and fire. The
Soviet soldier falls dead to the floor. The woman in blue wails and
rushes over to him. She gently strokes his cheek as the assistants
rush over to carry off the body.
ARBITER (CONT'D)
(as the Assistants lift the body)
SAD BEYOND BELIEF
SHE TOLD THE WINNING SON
WOMAN IN BLUE
(rising, to American Soldier)
YOU HAVE CAUSED SUCH GRIEF
I CAN'T FORGIVE
THIS EVIL THING YOU'VE DONE
The American soldier drops the pistol and rushes to the woman in blue,
pantomiming his pleas for mercy.
ARBITER
HE TRIED TO EXPLAIN
HOW THINGS HAD REALLY BEEN
(looks at the Woman in Blue)
BUT HE TRIED IN VAIN
NO WORDS OF HIS
COULD MOLLIFY THE QUEEN
The woman in blue turns and walks out through the giant hole in the
wall. The American soldier turns to the Arbiter.
ARBITER (CONT'D)
AND SO HE ASKED
THE WISEST MEN HE KNEW
THE WAY TO LESSEN HER DISTRESS
The four assistants re-appear at the entrance. They take one step into
the room.
ARBITER (CONT'D)
THEY TOLD HIM
HE'D BE PRETTY CERTAIN TO IMPRESS
A rank of eight soldiers appears behind each of them - two ranks of
American soldiers, two ranks of Soviet soldiers. The assistants file
them in...
ARBITER (CONT'D)
BY USING MODEL SOLDIERS
ON A CHECKERED BOARD
TO SHOW IT WAS HIS BROTHER'S FAULT
...as though setting up a human chess game.
ARBITER (CONT'D)
THEY THUS INVENTED "CHESS."
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. TRAIN - DAY