April 2023
Intermediate to advanced
238 pages
8h 30m
English
Andrew S. Powell
Yes I’m the Arbiter
And I know best …
The lyrics from Benny Andersson’s and Björn Ulvaeus’s “The Arbiter,” from the musical Chess (1984), serve as a warning to the American and Soviet chess grandmasters prior to their duel. The match, as the musical, is clearly allegorical of the Cold War, with the chess champions serving as representative avatars for each country’s political and sociological ideals. The Arbiter overseeing the tournament, however, is not only sending a firm reminder of the rules of play, but far more importantly, establishing his position as the grand supervisor of the events unfolding over the board; while the chess-playing “avatars” ...
Read now
Unlock full access