|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
Chessville
Advertise to Single insert:
|
Thompson's Pantomine I have just been to a most entertaining pantomime in the Village Hall of the nearby hamlet of Sharpe Ende. The show was put on by the local amateur group - The Sharpe Ende Players - and I received a surprise invitation from Thompson to attend the opening night. When I took his phone call I discovered that there was another side to him - he told me he was a competent keyboard player and was helping to accompany the show. Naturally I was intrigued by the prospect of seeing and hearing Thompson at the keyboard and I accepted immediately. I was somewhat disappointed to be told that there would be no chess connection during the proceedings, although this turned out to be not strictly true. On arriving at the Village Hall I was welcomed by Thompson, escorted to a complimentary seat in the front row and given a free programme. From this I learnt that the pantomime was the old favourite Cinderella. Thompson then disappeared to prepare for the performance. On reading through the programme I learnt that not only was Thompson playing the keyboard but he was also the Musical Director. He had assembled a group of local musicians to form a small orchestra especially for the pantomime. The instrumentation was keyboard, saxophone, trombone, guitar and drums. I noticed that the trombone player was “Slider” Hopkins, one of the stronger chess-players from the club in Paulsborough. A few minutes before the start of the show Thompson reappeared for a brief chat. He told me that the orchestra had needed very little rehearsal as they were all experienced musicians who could sight read as well as busk if required. The only problem was that the drummer was inclined to speed up at times. Thompson, an ardent jazz fan, told me that this failing had also applied to the drummer of one of Count Basie’s bands, a flashy but exciting player called Sonny Payne. The Count’s solution to this problem was to supply a long bamboo cane to his rhythm guitarist Freddie Greene, a long established member of the band who laid down a steady chordal accompaniment at a rock-solid four beats to the bar. Whenever Sonny began to increase the tempo Freddie would surreptitiously poke him with the cane as a signal to slow down. This proved to be very effective and Thompson had armed himself with a similar implement for use in emergency. By the time Thompson had related this anecdote the performance was due to begin and he took his seat at the keyboard. The show began with a rousing overture by the orchestra and I have to admit that I was impressed both by the performance and Thompson’s skill at the keyboard. A young local girl, Melanie, was cast as Cinderella and her mother took the part of one of the Ugly Sisters. Buttons, in true pantomime tradition, was played by another young lady from Sharpe Ende. The pantomime followed the usual programme of comedy and dramatic routines interspersed with singing and dancing accompanied by Thompson’s band of musicians. I noticed that during the longer intervals between musical items a portable plug-in set would appear and Thompson and the trombonist would engage in a game of chess. When a cue for music came the chess set would be hastily abandoned and the combatants would take up their instruments again. I don’t think the audience spotted any of this as their eyes were on the stage. Those readers who play chess will be aware of how easy it is to become engrossed in a game to the exclusion of other things. Readers of Thompson’s previous exploits will not be surprised to learn that this is what happened on this occasion. Thompson was White and had found himself playing against an unusual gambit which the trombonist had been experimenting with. When I was shown the game later by the two participants, Slider told me that he had discovered the Blackburne-Hartlaub Gambit on the internet. He had found the title a bit of a mouthful and therefore re-christened it the Blackheart Gambit. Apparently it had been played on occasion by Emanuel Lasker. The game had reached a stage where the players had castled on opposite sides. Thompson was still a pawn up, behind in development, but hanging on. Engrossed in the position the musicians missed a cue, which meant that Cinderella was about to sing her big number but had no musical introduction. After a few seconds of standing in anticipation at the front of the stage she realised that she had to attract the attention of the musicians and, trying to make it appear as if it was part of the script, exhorted the band to start playing. Whilst Melanie had the sweetest of singing voices, her speech came across with a certain harshness. This, compounded by the tension of the situation, made her request sound like an order given on the parade ground by a Sergeant Major. Nevertheless, Thompson and Slider were still lost in the intricacies of their game and it was only when another member of the orchestra nudged them that they became aware of the situation. With a bit of scuffling about the group readied themselves and launched into the introduction for Cinderella’s song. By now the audience were tittering at what they thought was part of the show, and this was not really conducive to the correct atmosphere for a love song. Melanie’s mother, in the role of one of the Ugly Sisters, and being on stage at the time, was not amused at the way in which her daughter’s big moment had been spoilt. However, her glowerings and mutterings fitted in well with the character she was portraying and the audience noticed nothing amiss, again thinking it was all part of the show. Half-way through Melanie’s solo the drummer, no doubt distracted by previous events, began to raise the tempo. This was immediately noticed by Melanie’s mother, prompting more irate comments from the back of the stage. Thompson also registered the increased speed and, still playing with one hand, picked up his long cane and prodded the offending drummer. Unfortunately, in so doing he managed to pass the stick through the slide of the trombone, causing Slider to inadvertently produce what came out as a loud (but musical) raspberry. The audience were by now convinced that this was a comedy number and laughed even louder. Melanie’s mother, a fearsome lady who required little makeup for her part, advanced to the front of the stage from where she loudly abused the unfortunate trombone player. Eventually Slider had had enough and began to answer back, causing Melanie’s mother to take another aggressive step forward. There was not room on the stage to accommodate this step and the audience howled as the large Ugly Sister toppled majestically into the orchestra. Fortunately the guitarist and sax player were able to break her fall and they quickly stood her up and hustled her through a side door to the back of the building. Naturally the music had now stopped and somebody quickly closed the stage curtains and announced an interval. There was a buzz of conversation as the audience discussed the show and went in search of refreshments. This gave the orchestra time to recover their concentration and in fact before the interval had ended Thompson and Slider were once again engrossed in their game. I learnt later that the game actually finished during the interval when Thompson was checkmated. After the interval the show continued, more or less according to plan as far as I could see. At the end the cast received a standing ovation and the orchestra were also applauded. As everyone dispersed, Thompson and Slider came over with the pocket set to show me the game. We soon spotted where Thompson had gone wrong - it had happened at the point where the game was resumed during the interval. Claiming that he had been distracted by Melanie’s formidable mother, Thompson showed me his defensive move with his king to knight one. This had proved to be disastrous as Black’s queen soon made a decisive entry at rook six and checkmate was inevitable. King to knight two would have avoided the catastrophe. I wonder how many other chess games have been decided by the interference of an Ugly Sister?
Copyright R. Canter, 2000-2006
|
Advertisement
Advertisement
The
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
