Here's Adam Raoof's reply. Yes, Adam did provide a real game for this movie. I hope he got paid more than a few hundred bucks! A fitting tribute to Larsen, who died last year (2010) in Sept. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bent_Larsen Petrosian resigns before the mate in the game referenced below. What are the missing moves that result in "discovered check and, incidentally, mate" ? (Web site requires Java.)

Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2011 19:29:56 +0000 Subject: Re: [math-fun] Chess game in current Sherlock Holmes movie From: Adam Raoof <adamraoof@gmail.com> To: Henry Baker <hbaker1@pipeline.com> Cc: Paul Reiners <paul.reiners@gmail.com>, Hans Havermann <gladhobo@teksavvy.com>

OK Henry - this is the game it was based on

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1106678

mainly because Holmes was playing white in the original script and won with a queen sacrifice - the variation I used is in the notes - and as a tribute to Larsen. Moreover this is one of my favourite tournament books, and it was played in the year of my birth!

However very soon after deciding on this line, the script was changed and Holmes was given the black pieces... so we just reversed the position and lost a move. As they announced the moves in descriptive it made no fundamental difference. I added the line about 'discovered check and, incidentally, mate', which made it to the film and which Robert Downey Junior thought was "&&**ing awesome"!

Adam

On 22 December 2011 18:02, Henry Baker <hbaker1@pipeline.com> wrote:

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Outstanding!

We're looking forward to seeing the original game.

Thanks!

At 03:13 PM 12/21/2011, Adam Raoof wrote:

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Thanks for asking Hans, Henry et al! Actually not much of the footage of the actual game we filmed survived the edit, but it was a famous Larsen game with reversed colours and using some variations - I will dig it out and send you the score on Friday when I get home!

Sent from my iPod

On 21 Dec 2011, at 21:38, Henry Baker <hbaker1@pipeline.com> wrote:

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Adam Raoof's rating is 2127 !! I'm impressed. Perhaps we should simply ask him; I just cc'd him on this email.

At 01:13 PM 12/21/2011, Paul Reiners wrote:

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I haven't seen the movie, but I started a discussion here:

http://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/sherlock-holmes-a-game-of-shadows

One person said:

the credits (on IMDB <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4668958/>) have Adam Raoof<http://ratings.fide.com/card.phtml?event=405230>(I assume that is the same guy) listed a technical adviser for chess

If the director didn't change things up to make it more interesting then I would guess it was a real game.

On Wed, Dec 21, 2011 at 11:53 AM, Henry Baker <hbaker1@pipeline.com> wrote:

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I saw this movie yesterday.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes:_A_Game_of_Shadows

Q: Is the chess game in the movie real? The characters call out their moves in usual notation, but the chess board isn't shown.

For those of you chess nuts who can do chess in your heads, would this be a real game?

I would imagine that after spending $125 million in making this movie, someone must have hired a chess person for a few hundred dollars to make the game real. -- Best wishes

Adam Raoof

ECF Director of Home Chess President: Middlesex County Chess Association FIDE International Organiser & Arbiter 328 Watford Way Hendon, London NW4 4UY Mailing list: send a blank email to adamraoof-subscribe@topica.com http://www.goldersgreenchess.blogspot.com/ Hendon Chess Club: http://www.hendonchessclub.com/ Mobile: 07855 036 537