Chess's Cold War Chill Thrills Pupils
In the evening of Wednesday 15th January, a group of pupils accompanied by Mrs Sadeh-Ginzburg and Mr Spitz enjoyed a thrilling evening at the Hampstead Theatre watching the play Ravens: Spassky vs Fischer. This play, by Tom Morton-Smith, dramatises the real-life battle to be the world chess champion that took place in Reykjavik in 1972 between the Soviet Boris Spassky and the American Bobby Fischer. The play presents two classically contrasted opponents: Spassky is the world champion who abides by the rules of the game whilst Fischer is the maverick who disregards rules and authority with his unruly and volatile temperament. It is intriguing to watch how Fischer’s tactic of breaking his rival’s ego succeeds in undermining Spassky and instilling paranoia amongst his team. This is clearly a cold war. Robert Emms excels at playing Fischer and Ronan Raftery is impressive as Spassky. A gripping play about the ‘Match of the Century’ made for an entertaining evening for all.