Kurt Vonnegut’s Harrison Bergeron is, without a doubt, one of the most well-known science fiction stories ever. It is not surprising, then, that it was made into a movie, specially for the Showtime television network and starring Sean Astin and Christopher Plummer. The story tells of a dystopian future wherein all are made equal by curbing the smart’s intelligence.1 But it’s not quite working on the young protagonist, who persistently remains clever. And what better way to show his cleverness than to have him excel at chess?
So before the plot really gets going, we see Harrison watch terrible television while absent-mindedly giving his brother a thorough whooping on the chessboard. Thanks to some pretty good shots, it’s easy to give you the exact position: 2
This is really convincing! Harrison, who is playing black, has played normal developing moves while his utterly nerfed brother has been pottering about incoherently. It’s not just that the queen’s side fianchetto doesn’t fit in this opening at all or that Kh1 was probably not the greatest move, it’s also that he must have lost a move somewhere. Black has played seven moves while white only seems to have played six. He must have gone Be2 first and then Bc4 or something like that.
As if that weren’t bad enough, he now goes Ne1. Black does not immediately take the exchange, preferring Qh4 with a mate in one threat. Rightfully so, because white, in blissful oblivion, plays g3 and Qh2# is on the board in no time..
Harrison didn’t have much trouble here. But some twenty minutes later, we see him in an illegal brothel of the mind, where people can test their wit if they still have it. He is trying his hand at a game of chess. They draw lots via the tried and tested method of hiding a white pawn in one hand a black one in the other and having your partner choose a hand. I don’t think that’s likely to have come up by accident. Was there a chess player on set? In any case, Harrison draws black and plays the Alekhine. But when we see the position again, it looks more like a French gone wrong:3
I must admit that I’m not a hundred percent sure about the identities of that clump of black pieces in the centre. I’m reasonably confident, but not a hundred percent sure. White plays Qh5, of course, and Harrison realises he’s cooked.
Harrison: There’s nothing I can do. You’ve got mate in three.
Well, kind of. Only if you count the move just played, though, which is rather unusual. They start a second game, but they don’t get to finish it. A police razzia puts an early end to their encounter and kicks off the main plot.4 But they have convincingly established how dystopian this future is: the police will not just limit your intelligence — they’ll even disturb your chess game.
Realism: 4/5 Both positions seem quite reasonable to me. Particularly taking into account that two of the three players involved were, quite literally, mentally handicapped.
Probable winner: Black and white, respectively. Also me, because I got this very useful tip from one of my readers. Thanks!
1. [Which, to a surprising extent, means curbing their enthusiasm.] ↩
2. [In this movie’s universe, this diagram editor is forbidden.] ↩
3. [So like a French.] ↩
4. [I won’t spoilt it; I’m not a fungus.] ↩