In lack of Blade Runner related news and updates on the upcoming Final-Cut version, I came a cross this very detailed Wikipedia article on the Immortal Game, the actual chess game which the game between Sebastian (and Batty) and Tyrell is based on. The real game was first played back in 1851 by Anderssen and Kieseritzky, in which Anderssen won. The nick name “The Immortal Game” was given to it four years later.
The chessboards used in Blade Runner are not arranged exactly the same as those in the immortal game, but it is still considered to be the game played due to the symbolism in the situation of the prodigy child and his maker.
The article contains a complete sequence in algebraic chess notation for those interested. It also had this nifty GIF animation of the game, which I included in this posting.
I took the liberty of grabbing this quotation from the BR-FAQ over at BRmovie.com, which transcribes the relevant scenes where the game unfolds..
Roy makes a move. [22.Qf6+]
JF says, “No, knight takes queen, see? Won’t do.” [22....Nxf6]
Roy then does that on the board and sits down to examine the board further.
Later, in the elevator, JF (repeating Roy) says “Queen to Bishop 6. Check.” [22.Qf6+]
Tyrell responds with “Knight takes queen.” [22....Nxf6]
and the response is “Bishop to King 7. Checkmate.” [23.Be7++]
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immortal_Game
http://brmovie.com/Downloads/Docs/The_Blade_Runner_FAQ.txt
