Tournament: the diagonal of geeks – Le Figaro

WE HAVE SEEN – In his first film, the young and talented director Elodie Namer tells an amazing story of love and rivalry in the midst of seemingly airtight young chess enthusiasts.

Cal Fournier (Michelangelo Passaniti) is a chess champion to how the next century. He does not wear a beard, playing his shots at the speed of lightning, “blitz”. He is young, handsome, a tad arrogant. It looks like the current world champion, Norwegian prodigy Magnus Carlsen. As Luzhin from Nabokov, he can fall in love. It is introverted but not shy, he will soon love with Lou, also very talented chess champion. She bet he will not manage to make her come. He will lose. In love, women have always been stronger than men.

In Budapest hotel where the tournament is taking place, they all sleep in the same suite. The room looks like a mess of populated gifted geeks. The more spiritual buddies Cal called Aurélien (excellent Fabien Libiszewski, grandmaster chess to the city). He plays everything, invent improbable games, launches unstoppable replies, “I made myself miniaturize a fetus.” Translate a child put me checkmate in a few moves. The new chess players have their language.

During the tournament girlfriend is with young people who do not speak the same language, we love to be confusing, it also plays chess. The game remains the last serious thing in the world. To be the new Kasparov, we must work on and with a computer. Everything is listed, classified. It identifies his opponents on Facebook. The legendary Cuban Jose Raul Capablanca champion must be turning in his grave.

The failures learn humility. Cal is talented but little Max –

only eight years – is a gifted. The miracle does not play shots computers. It creates intractable positions then takes over his opponents. Cal eventually become fixated. He sees his little rival everywhere. Lou and his friends want to help. He remains in his bubble. “There are more adventures on a chessboard than on all the seas of the world,” stated Pierre Mac Orlan. Cal is no longer safe …

In 1972, the great master Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky were, despite themselves, heralds and capitalism and communism hero. Today the professional chess player is a reflection of our world: individualistic and globalized, digitized. The Berlin Wall fell. The diagonal of fools is broken. Geeks mate.