The French Defense

[JG27Pyth]

There was a real contrast in character between the funny, life-loving, class-clown, chain-smoking pill-popping skirt-chasing Tal, and Botvinnik the dour Super Soviet electrical engineer and computer scientist who led the USSR to world chess dominance post WWII. It's the battle of the young wild-eyed romantic vs the classicist and their chess styles matched their personal styles beautifully.

From what I've seen this play does no justice to either man.

[jakrueg2pbg]

Thank-you ! I enjoyed this work, Jeffery

[BrianMayRedSpecial]

horrible.

[ani19bd]

Where is the rest of it?

[SIMONSTUDIOPresents]

Dear Chess Fans,

The French Defense is not meant to be a reanactment of the actual game.

I ask you all, Dear Chess Fanatics, What is dramatic about Tal being the way he supposedly was- polite and humble?

[kooler2004]

he was far from polite and definitely not humble. If he was polite he wouldn't of made those cracks at the older guys age, and if he was humble he wouldn't be bragging about winning and how much smarter he was.

[theoak111]

@SIMONSTUDIOPresents sorry for taking so long to answer! I like the dramatization in the film and I enjoyed it. Yet, there is an answer to your question. Tal's life was dramatic in a sense with many things that show that. His bad health never let him stay a champion for more than a year. In that sense he had a huge misfortune! A real chess gentleman with a fragile health, great inspiration on the board and respected by all champions. Even the late Bobby Fischer liked him, and he had a negative

[theoak111]

@SIMONSTUDIOPresents ... score against him! This is probably the reason that people were critical about this play. Dramatization is not necessarily the outcome of intense dialogues in a film. If you do not expect your audience smart enough to understand then maybe you shouldn't film in the first place. A great idea about a chess film would be for instance the same kind of setting but with both opponents having an inner monologue as the game progresses. A monologue that bridges pieces of their .

[theoak111]

@SIMONSTUDIOPresents life, their struggles, how their personal styles, seemingly so different, had many similarities, how their match was influenced by the politics of the time, how the attempt to solve the mysteries on the chessboard can be ultimately an attempt towards life's questions e.t.c. Of course, it is your film and your opinion on the matter. To me it seemed an oversimplification of what their actual fight could mean.

[Justs99171]

Tal was humble, polite, witty, funny, and enigmatic. I've read that he was the only world champion who wasn't an arrogant meglomaniac.

[josedepr]

very funny! why dont u make a play of the greatest game of all time; GO.

[SvenTwelve]

"I'm gonna whoop you for the whole world to see". - Mikhail Tal

[revdolaf]

To the playwright!

I really wish you had done some serious research on the personalities involved before wirting this play - after all, you are talking about real people through the medium of your play, and there are enough people around who remember them. It would have been a decent play if you had used fictive names, and perhaps rid yourself of some of the old-fashioned prejudice against chessplayers. These men where after all professionals, not punks.

Peace and Love.

[JYMMIdeJAMAY]

Tal is my hero, I really loved this video, I will watch the other videos of the play.

[MethodMonsters]

Dear Chess Players and Fanatics,

THE FRENCH DEFENSE, a play by Dimitri Raitzin is a DRAMA. It is NOT a play about chess. Our intention was to create something universal so that audiences who do not understand chess could enjoy it as well. Please watch all 5 clips and then critique the play not for its historical accuracy but for its artistic merit.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Daniel Hendricks Simon

[SvenTwelve]

Holy Jesus!! I can't believe they both just stood there while the music played. That was INTENSE! lol!!!!

[mishasoloviev11]

This play is eight minutes of disastrous nonsense that has no bearing on the reality of Tal's contribution. He is being portrayed as a silly punk devoid of any class, whereas serious players marvel at the fantasy-like depth of his play are grateful for the many beautiful games he left behind. Botvinnik was a Kremlin bootlicker who glorified Stalinism while tens of millions were perishing in the Gulags. The play needs a page-one rewrite.

[keypusher]

Botvinnik was a Kremlin bootlicker who glorified Stalinism while tens of millions were perishing in the Gulags.

Your description of Botvinnik is at least as off-base as the play's portrayal of Tal.

[SvenTwelve]

This play is a singular masterpiece, the brilliant storyline of which surpasses by far the genius achieved by the men who are its subject. Oh damn, that was really hi-larious stuff.

[ubernerd35]

They portray tal like he's Fischer, when in fact- the two are opposites.

[JerryKitich]

first of all Botvinnik would have no reason to introduce himself to Tal, they knew who each was

secondly, Tal is the last one to make fun of someone's pills, he had gone through enough of his own health problems, Tal was no punk

[macnolds]

tal wasn't a jerk. he smoke

and drank, but could be found

playing amateurs in blitz just for the

joy of the game.

[Quirious]

This play seems to ignore the fact that Botvinnik lost his title to Smyslov.

[bolleharry5]

Botwinnik won the title 3 times

He lost it three times from, Smyslov, Tal and Petrosian

[bckm54]

I saw Tal when I lived in NYC. He was visiting a tournament, playing blitz against anyone, beginner or GM, and he treated them all equally well. He was witty, charming, and he had a magic I have not seen in any other chessplayer except perhaps Bronstein.

[max31416]

I once had an opportunity of watching Bronstein give a simultaneous display. Other grandmasters I have seen giving displays seem uptight and tense, but Bronstein was friendly and relaxed. He took, on the average, just a few seconds per board, much less than any other grandmaster I have seen. I only saw him getting angry once. There was this little kid at one of the boards, and his father kept "helping" him. Somehow David noticed and when he stopped at that board told the guy to shut up.

[max31416]

I'll add a bit. I could not believe how fast Bronstein played his moves in the simultaneous display. By comparison other grandmasters (no names) just seemed slow and awkward. After the display I asked him if he thought that blitz harmed your game. He answered that 7' blitz games were OK, but that 5' games were not very good.

[PhilomathBret]

so basically he didn't answer your question.

[YTM021807]

Tal was cool and collected. Not shaky and nervous as presented here. He smoked a lot, yes. Botvinnik I never met, but seeing videos is probably more accurate.