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Silfir's Chess Accuracy Corner!

Unfortunately, as a result of Mangadex' over two year long shutdown of the chapter discussion forum, the first time I read this chapter I wasn't able to post another installment of my thrilling feature that absolutely everybody peruses with what must be rapt attention, as evidenced by the complete lack of reactions. But this episode's anime adaptation aired today, so my first impulse upon seeing a glimpse of animated Allen destroying a 5-year-old Eruca at chess, obviously, was to find this chapter. To celebrate, I'll even start using images.

mMbSXY8.png


There are only two panels to look at, but there is a lot of good to see here. The board is correctly aligned and eight squares deep - and the geometry lines up for it to be the full 8x8. Almost all of Allen's pieces that we can see are on their starting squares, safe for the queen and a pawn that moved out to e6 to make room. It's not at all implausible for a 9-year-old little shit like Allen to neglect proper development in order to just wreak havoc with a single queen - particularly because Eruca, all of 5 years, lethally adorable, but also clearly terrible at chess, elected to spend at least six moves (you can barely something standing on f3) pushing all the pawns by one square. Which, to be quite clear, is realistic as hell. I teach chess to children. When left to their own devices, about 95% of them will play at least one game exactly like this. Then they get smashed to bits. Usually by me. I never claimed I was good at teaching chess.

It's not even out of the question that Allen would choose to announce checkmate by knocking over his opponent's king, presumably right after the move that created checkmate. (Who wouldn't? Look at her face. It's hilarious. I used to play against my little sister when we were that age. The looks of her crying when she got destroyed are some of my fondest childhood memories.) The angle isn't great, but with the shine of the king partially obscuring Eruca's hair and the geometry, it seems to be in the forefront. There are no pieces between it and the edge of the board, plus there is a good bit of space between the board and the edges of the board. So this image suggests to me that the king was on h1 as it was checkmated - which would, indeed, allow it to be checkmated by a queen on h2. The same queen we observe being absent from its starting square in the first panel. It could receive the necessary support from the knight we can't see, or the rook we also can't see (and which, as a bonus, could provide mating support in h1 all the way from h8). So that's good!

And we even have room for a little more good - I have never seen this particular bishop design IRL, but it's visually distinctive, and actually quite beautiful. (A swan?) Clearly the artist must have been feeling fanciful, eschewed the boring option of simply copying the classic Staunton designs, and a lovely effort they made! But there's a snag. Look closely at the piece being knocked over, and it looks very much like a king. But look at the first panel - what exactly is it that's standing on the e1 and e8 square? Aren't those the kings? Why do they look nothing like the piece that's knocked over in the final panel? Why don't any of the pieces in the starting positions - they're all accounted for - look anything like that piece?

Even assuming that time passed between the position shown in the first panel, and the act of checkmate in the second - the discrepancy that cannot be resolved is that there we're shown seven piece designs - and the chess we know has only six pieces. The only conclusion, therefore, is that the chess shown in the manga has an additional piece. It must be called an Emperor or something. Or possibly a Mage!

Overall: 4/5. I might be feeling generous today, but the combination of almost complete visual accuracy, and a lovely possibly original bishop design by the mangaka, prevails over the blemishes.

Now for the anime. It would be fairly straightforward to simply copy the position from the manga, you would think. Think again!

27XURHK.png


(Before this the anime added a scene of Eruca carrying the chess board into the room - which is also how it ends up being a seperate item, rather than being draw into the grain of the table like in the manga. There's every chance the position of the pieces as they're on that board is completely random - it certainly isn't the starting position.)

I wish I could see that episode of Shirobako on the guy in the anime studio whose job it was to come up with an all-original chess position for use in the anime. Whoever it was, they did a reasonable job! Almost all the pieces are on reasonable positions. (Reasonable, remember, by the standard of children, one of which is five and clearly knows nothing.) However, it's clear that they looked at the manga panel, since this chess board reproduces the piece designs, most notably the rather beautiful bishop. Now, for whatever reason Black's king and queen have swapped places - but that's not illegal or anything. So it's a decent enough job!

The issues arise with the next image:

Q0cquWY.png


That's right. This son of a gun just checkmated Eruca by taking a rook with a pawn, while the king is nowhere in sight! Once again I can't see how continuity between this image and the last could possibly exist - look at the knight out of focus on the right, but also the gigantic white pawn in the forefront on the left. Where the hell is this on the board in the previous image? I can't even begin to imagine.

Now, as far as the choice of checkmating move goes - well, taking a piece that is not the king (which is illegal, and not checkmate) is a good start. And because we can't see the king, it's actually possible to envision a position in which the pawn move delivered what's known as a discovered check - a diagonal or file was revealed, with a bishop, rook or queen lurking behind, and a king at the other end, helpless to move, and no other pieces available to interfere. I should write to the anime staff and ask them for the position, which clearly they must have devised specifically for this scene. No way they would just haphazardly assemble some random pieces, put the scene at an angle where we can't see the board at all, and just claim it's checkmate. Such would be an affront to the dignity of chess, or as it is reportedly better known in Japan, "Tall Shogi". (By me, I just reported it.)

Based on the feasibility of the checkmating move when taken in connection with the previously shown board position, I have to give the anime's depiction of chess a significant demerit, but still put it at 3/5, slightly above average. Just like in the manga, the board has the right number of squares, the position is legal (unlike Eruca, she's 5), and the designs really work for me. I want to own this chess set just to play with those magnificent swan-bishops.
 
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Silfir's Chess Accuracy Corner!

Unfortunately, as a result of Mangadex' over two year long shutdown of the chapter discussion forum, the first time I read this chapter I wasn't able to post another installment of my thrilling feature that absolutely everybody peruses with what must be rapt attention, as evidenced by the complete lack of reactions. But this episode's anime adaptation aired today, so my first impulse upon seeing a glimpse of animated Allen destroying a 5-year-old Eruca at chess, obviously, was to find this chapter. To celebrate, I'll even start using images.

mMbSXY8.png


There are only two panels to look at, but there is a lot of good to see here. The board is correctly aligned and eight squares deep - and the geometry lines up for it to be the full 8x8. Almost all of Allen's pieces that we can see are on their starting squares, safe for the queen and a pawn that moved out to e6 to make room. It's not at all implausible for a 9-year-old little shit like Allen to neglect proper development in order to just wreak havoc with a single queen - particularly because Eruca, all of 5 years, lethally adorable, but also clearly terrible at chess, elected to spend at least six moves (you can barely something standing on f3) pushing all the pawns by one square. Which, to be quite clear, is realistic as hell. I teach chess to children. When left to their own devices, about 95% of them will play at least one game exactly like this. Then they get smashed to bits. Usually by me. I never claimed I was good at teaching chess.

It's not even out of the question that Allen would choose to announce checkmate by knocking over his opponent's king, presumably right after the move that created checkmate. (Who wouldn't? Look at her face. It's hilarious. I used to play against my little sister when we were that age. The looks of her crying when she got destroyed are some of my fondest childhood memories.) The angle isn't great, but with the shine of the king partially obscuring Eruca's hair and the geometry, it seems to be in the forefront. There are no pieces between it and the edge of the board, plus there is a good bit of space between the board and the edges of the board. So this image suggests to me that the king was on h1 as it was checkmated - which would, indeed, allow it to be checkmated by a queen on h2. The same queen we observe being absent from its starting square in the first panel. It could receive the necessary support from the knight we can't see, or the rook we also can't see (and which, as a bonus, could provide mating support in h1 all the way from h8). So that's good!

And we even have room for a little more good - I have never seen this particular bishop design IRL, but it's visually distinctive, and actually quite beautiful. (A swan?) Clearly the artist must have been feeling fanciful, eschewed the boring option of simply copying the classic Staunton designs, and a lovely effort they made! But there's a snag. Look closely at the piece being knocked over, and it looks very much like a king. But look at the first panel - what exactly is it that's standing on the e1 and e8 square? Aren't those the kings? Why do they look nothing like the piece that's knocked over in the final panel? Why don't any of the pieces in the starting positions - they're all accounted for - look anything like that piece?

Even assuming that time passed between the position shown in the first panel, and the act of checkmate in the second - the discrepancy that cannot be resolved is that there we're shown seven piece designs - and the chess we know has only six pieces. The only conclusion, therefore, is that the chess shown in the manga has an additional piece. It must be called an Emperor or something. Or possibly a Mage!

Overall: 4/5. I might be feeling generous today, but the combination of almost complete visual accuracy, and a lovely possibly original bishop design by the mangaka, prevails over the blemishes.

Now for the anime. It would be fairly straightforward to simply copy the position from the manga, you would think. Think again!

27XURHK.png


(Before this the anime added a scene of Eruca carrying the chess board into the room - which is also how it ends up being a seperate item, rather than being draw into the grain of the table like in the manga. There's every chance the position of the pieces as they're on that board is completely random - it certainly isn't the starting position.)

I wish I could see that episode of Shirobako on the guy in the anime studio whose job it was to come up with an all-original chess position for use in the anime. Whoever it was, they did a reasonable job! Almost all the pieces are on reasonable positions. (Reasonable, remember, by the standard of children, one of which is five and clearly knows nothing.) However, it's clear that they looked at the manga panel, since this chess board reproduces the piece designs, most notably the rather beautiful bishop. Now, for whatever reason Black's king and queen have swapped places - but that's not illegal or anything. So it's a decent enough job!

The issues arise with the next image:

Q0cquWY.png


That's right. This son of a gun just checkmated Eruca by taking a rook with a pawn, while the king is nowhere in sight! Once again I can't see how continuity between this image and the last could possibly exist - look at the knight out of focus on the right, but also the gigantic white pawn in the forefront on the left. Where the hell is this on the board in the previous image? I can't even begin to imagine.

Now, as far as the choice of checkmating move goes - well, taking a piece that is not the king (which is illegal, and not checkmate) is a good start. And because we can't see the king, it's actually possible to envision a position in which the pawn move delivered what's known as a discovered check - a diagonal or file was revealed, with a bishop, rook or queen lurking behind, and a king at the other end, helpless to move, and no other pieces available to interfere. I should write to the anime staff and ask them for the position, which clearly they must have devised specifically for this scene. No way they would just haphazardly assemble some random pieces, put the scene at an angle where we can't see the board at all, and just claim it's checkmate. Such would be an affront to the dignity of chess, or as it is reportedly better known in Japan, "Tall Shogi". (By me, I just reported it.)

Based on the feasibility of the checkmating move when taken in connection with the previously shown board position, I have to give the anime's depiction of chess a significant demerit, but still put it at 3/5, slightly above average. Just like in the manga, the board has the right number of squares, the position is legal (unlike Eruca, she's 5), and the designs really work for me. I want to own this chess set just to play with those magnificent swan-bishops.
This was so detailed that I ended up reading the whole thing. Quite fascinating!
 

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