"In Chess, the pawns go first"

"In Chess, the pawns go first"

This was a quote from Magneto in one of the X-man movies, as he told his minions to go forward...
Anyone care to defend this statement?

Usually, I'd say this is true, but not always, and I hate generalizations... it makes me think Magneto isn't the best chess player. 1.Nf3 is a blatant example... Do you think this statement refers to a more outdated style of play where pawns were not regarded to be as important as they are in a modern style of play? Maybe this is why Magneto eventually was defeated because his conceptions of the game of chess seemed to neglect modern theory, as he was seeking to sacrifice his pawns so readily? Maybe I'm reading too much into it... maybe not. Thoughts?


Magneto and Xavier also played a game in that same movie I believe... anyone know what kind of game it was?

Now that you mention it, I remember that quote too. I was pissed off 🙂

Maybe Xavier plays French or Caro- Kann defence so mister Magneto can safely advance his central pawns first ??

Even better one : Cosby Show sitcom episode - the game starts with black pieces moving first.

We are chess geeks, we shouldn't spot and be annoyed by that meaningless stuff. 😛

LOL, yes we are chess geeks. I don't know about that Cosby episode, but maybe theywere playing a variant?

I don't really think it annoys me, rather, it intrigues me. I did think about it for a while... maybe there is some latent symbolism the writer was trying to employ... relating to Magnetos ego. He wins in chess this way and thinks he can use the same strategies in life... does chess relate to life in such a way? Are our opponents in life far more stronger than any opponent we face on the chessboard? Or is there an inherent paradox within the concept of relating chess to life?

So many questions whirling in my head, will I ever find answerson an internet forum?

To be fair, in the context of the movie the statement was accurate enough. The average moviegoer is going to make the connection. Also, Magneto didn't say that in chess the pawns always go first. 😉

Originally posted by Badwater
To be fair, in the context of the movie the statement was accurate enough. The average moviegoer is going to make the connection. Also, Magneto didn't say that in chess the pawns always go first. 😉

"In chess, at least two pawns go first in order to release the Bishops, if you don't consider the Knights."

Just doesn't have the same ring to it...

Knights before bishops.

knights before bishops, except after c, or when it's a "magic bishop" or something...

Oh, in case you're wondering what the worst move ever in a chess match shown in a film/on tv/etc, I give the award to the music video for sour times by portishead:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=i9yhw1CGFmc

at 38 seconds, the position is this:

The bassist from Portishead (playing black) is to move. He is a clear rook up and has decent attacking chances. Many of you will note that Ng3+ wins the queen and kills off the game. Rg7 is also very playable.
Instead, watch the video. He plays an absolute howler in Qg1+??
And yes, I noticed this first time, for the 3 seconds it's on the screen 🙁

Oh, you are right! And he seems to be thinking so hard on his move...

Originally posted by Guych
Oh, you are right! And he seems to be thinking so hard on his move...

I have seen an advertisement about chess from the biggest chess sponsor in my country, and in there, a kid was moving his rook to knock over the opponent's king. I suppose they just wanted to have scene with "the king going down", but hey the king should already be checkmated in the first place to be knocked over by the rook liked that. it was a pathetic sign of how much even the major sponsor of the chess federation knew about the game.

>There is a chess book in the bookstore near me, a small instructional book to introduce chess to beginners, which has a photo of a board oin thew cover with the opening set-up of the pieces. You only see the White side of the board, but the White queen is on e1, a black square, and the White king is on d1, a white square!
>I can't begin to tell you how often I see the men on the board set up incorrectly in a store, or with the board turned 90 degrees so that there is a black squre in the bottom right-hand corner. It's astounding.