The Luzhin Defence
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.
| The Luzhin Defence | |
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| Directed by | Marleen Gorris |
| Written by | Vladimir Nabokov (novel) Peter Berry (screenplay) |
| Starring | John Turturro Emily Watson Geraldine James Stuart Wilson Christopher Thompson |
| Running time | 109 mins |
| Country |  United Kingdom/ |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The Luzhin Defence is a 2001 movie, directed by Dutch director Marleen Gorris. The screenplay was written by Peter Berry and based on the novel The Defense (or The Luzhin Defence) by Vladimir Nabokov. Nabokov in turn drew upon the events in the life of his friend Curt von Bardeleben who committed suicide in 1924. The movie stars John Turturro as the tormented Luzhin; Emily Watson plays the love interest, Natalia. Watson received best actress nominations at the British Independent Film Awards and the London Film Critics Circle Awards.
[edit] The finale
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The chess 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. By playing 1. Kg4? (as opposed to 1. Kf2) White walks into a forced mate with a rook sacrifice:
- 1. Kg4? f5+
- 2. Kg5 Kg7
- 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+
- 3. Kd2 Rg1
- 4. Bxa6 Rxg2+
- 5. Kc3 Rxh2
and Black is up by a rook.
In the film Luzhin's final moves were made by the fiancee after Luzhin had committed suicide. The tournament had been paused after Luzhin had a breakdown. He had written down his last moves on a piece of paper.
