I usually avoid them, but it’s time for a highly personal confession: I am a sucker for clever use of enjambment. So when I heard, in the chorus of today’s subject, the loud and angsty wail Nobody loves me, it’s true being followed by the softer addendum not like you do, I was charmed. When I saw a chessboard, I was delighted. If it turns out that the position makes sense, too, I may get excited.
Right at the beginning of the music video, we see a chap sitting at a chessboard. There doesn’t seem to be an opponent or a clock. There is a very clear shot of the position, though, and it shows us this:1
When I saw this, there was a serious risk of me getting excited: this position looks normal!2 But then things started happening. That’s usually a bad sign.
After a brief moment of thought, black plays what is possibly the worst move in the position: Qg1+ Did he think the rook was on g7 instead of h7? Otherwise, Ng3+ would have been an obvious an easily winning choice. But I suspect shenanigans. After a couple of cuts, we get back to the position, but now the original player is gone and someone else is sitting on the white side. The black queen is on a7 again, but now the black king is on b8. This is criminal! Did black make his move, realise it was massively stupid, undid it, and play Kb8 instead? That would at least account for the nobody loves me bit.
After some pondering, white does choose the best move: he turns the board around and takes up the black pieces.
Realism: 3/5 That judgement is entirely based on the position itself, by the way. It says nothing about the undoing of moves.
Probable winner: Black, obviously. Unless he gives his queen away, like a twerp.
1. [Maybe nobody loves you because everybody loves this diagram editor instead.] ↩
2. [Almost normal.] ↩