Tournament: the diagonal of geeks – BBC

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

Cal Fournier (Michelangelo Passaniti) is a chess champion to how the twenty-first century. He does not wear a beard, playing his shots at the speed of lightning “blitz”. He is young, handsome, arrogant tad. It looks like the current world champion, Norwegian prodigy Magnus Carlsen. As Luzhin 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 crowded mess of gifted geeks. The more spiritual buddies Cal called Aurelian (excellent Fabien Libiszewski, grandmaster chess to the city). He plays everything invented improbable games, launches unstoppable replicas “I made myself miniaturize a fetus.” Translate child put me checkmate in a few shots. 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, play chess too. The game remains the last serious thing in the world. To be the new Kasparov, you have to work on and with a computer. Everything is listed, classified. Identifying 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 wonder is not playing strokes computers. It creates intractable positions and takes over his opponents. Cal ends up making a fixation. He sees his little rival everywhere. Lou and his friends want to help. It remains in a 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 in the image of our world: individualistic and globalized, digitized. The Berlin Wall fell. The diagonal of fools is broken. The geeks mate.