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Video clips and chess?

7 February 2008, 19.37 CET | Last modified: 14:22 | By Peter Doggers  | Filed under: Reports | Tags: , ,

In which pop music videos does chess play a role? Let’s try and make a list.

Of course we should start with “One Night in Bangkok”, originally a song from the musical Chess.

Marvol requested (in the comments) for Murray Head’s version:

Streatham & Brixton Chess Club’s directory of video clips notes that Madonna’s clip of her song “Ray of Light”, from the “Ray of Light” record (1998) has some flashes of a blitz game, at around 1.25. Alas, the board is wrongly set-up…

During this year’s Corus Chess Tournament I learnt that about (for!?) Bobby Fischer there’s a song by the British band iLiKETRAiNS, from their record Progress Reform (2006). It’s called “A Rook House For Bobby”.

Can you make this list longer than just three examples? If possible we will embed the videos you mention in the article.

Videos from the comments:

Madonna – “The Power Of Goodbye”

Blonde Redhead – “Melody”

Cat Stevens – “Father and son”

Ochestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – “Maid of Orleans”

Elton John – “Nikita”

Portishead – “Sour Times”

The Strokes – “You Only Live Once”

Wu-tang Clan – ” Da Mystery of Chessboxin’ ”

T.I. – “What you know”

Roxette = “It must have been love”

Jan Smit – “Cupido”


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25 Responses to “Video clips and chess?”

  1. Manuel on February 7th, 2008 20:07

    Madonna – the Power Of Goodbye

    http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=cj_ixCMkfyY

  2. Sander on February 7th, 2008 20:24

    Blonde Redhead
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXzSXs0PMO4

  3. krannjik on February 7th, 2008 20:58

    Is dit ook de smaak van een persoon bij jullie op de redactie

  4. Frans on February 7th, 2008 21:33

    Deze zag ik bij Top2000 a Gogo. Rond de 2.00 min zit ie.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHHG0qbN0nw

    Bord ligt fout natuurlijk.

  5. Paul on February 7th, 2008 21:41

    Well it’s mentioned in White Rabbit from Jefferson Airplane

  6. peter on February 8th, 2008 00:01

    @krannjik
    Welke smaak? ;-)

  7. Marvol on February 8th, 2008 00:03

    If you ARE going to mention One Night in Bangkok… you should of course also point to THE version by Murray Head:
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=QUuV-FE8uE0
    Much better than the Robey version if you ask me. Well he could have looked less gloomy.

    From 2:20 he plays a game against a lady (he’s got white, very ungentlemanly) which makes sense – if only a little, because she walks straight into a Scholar’s Mate that is just left unplayed (very gentlemanly). Even the re-appearence of this game at 2:48 is consistent.

  8. Manuel on February 8th, 2008 00:23

    Orchestral Maneuvres in the Dark – Maid of Orleons

    http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=WYY2NDUmrNI&feature=related

  9. Rogier van Loon on February 8th, 2008 09:04

    Notice that in the Ray of Light clip from Madonna, white plays with two white-coloured bishops too… xD Now I have to check the numbers of pawns the white-player has left…

  10. krannjik on February 8th, 2008 09:39

    Muziek natuurlijk wat anders

  11. peter on February 8th, 2008 09:45

    De knipoog was bedoeld om aan te geven dat er niet echt ?ɬ©?ɬ©n smaak valt te destilleren uit de vari?ɬ´teit van video’s, maar inderdaad, het aanbod ligt niet ver van de smaak van de hoofdredacteur, die niet vies is van een vari?ɬ´teit aan muziekgenres.

  12. arne on February 8th, 2008 11:22

    And of course there’s ‘Nikita’ from Elton John with the famous pawn-on-hat scene:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKmXRwjWYUM (the scene starts at 3:33)

  13. Frank Str?ɬ§ter on February 8th, 2008 15:23

    Portishead – Sour Times : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTT2l6kfueo

  14. Michael on February 8th, 2008 17:24

    The Strokes – You Only Live Once

  15. Sander on February 8th, 2008 20:37

    Yo!
    Wu tang clan – Da mystery of chessboxin
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl6jwab3HWk

  16. Jon on February 9th, 2008 01:56

    T.I. – What you know
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=D61mqcicqp8

    Starts at 1:45
    Ends at 1.60

  17. Marcel on February 9th, 2008 15:00

    Volgens mij is er ook nog een clip van John Lennon waarin hij een schaakstuk in zijn mond stopt. Kan er alleen niet opkomen welk nummer het was….

  18. Amos Sky on February 9th, 2008 22:20

    Good news everybody!! I just got off the phone with Megan Prophet, Christina Aguilera’s agent, and she confirmed that Chistina will be doing a remake of “One Night in Bangkok.” Evidently, Christina is extremely excited and enthusiastic about getting the chance to remake this legendary video. Unfortuantely, Vishy Anand will not be able to make a cameo in the video, because of his commitment to the World Championship match. As one can imagine Vishy was extremely hurt, actually reduced to tears, when he realized he wouldn’t be able to perform in the video. Radjabov was offered the gig next but his allegiance to Brittaney Spears made him uncomfortable with the role. The third choice for the video was Garry Kasparov but his wife didn’t like the idea one bit, and threatened to leave him if he dared step foot on the charter plane he had scheduled to fly directly into Hollywood. After Christina found out that here first three choices were unavailable she made a call to her father’s chess hero, Victor Korchnoi!!! Victor is in Hollwood right now, as of 2/02/08, filming the video. Megan Prophet (Christina’s agent) said the highlight of the video is when Christina gives Victor a provocative lap dance in the middle of a gigantic chess board ( the size of a stage) during a complicated King’s Indian Defense that Chrisina had always dreamt of unleashing against the chess star. MTV is excited about airing the video sometime in April.

  19. Nancy on March 10th, 2008 20:51

    Roxette – it’s must have been love

    http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=S0DNQMzpG_s

    vanaf 2:48

  20. Nancy on March 10th, 2008 21:37

    Jan Smit – Cupido (vreselijk…… maar er komt een schaakspel in voor)

    http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=70D-9ETuwr0

    vanaf 00:48

  21. Capablanca on March 11th, 2008 00:16

    Amos Sky, why not Karpov there?
    Capa.

  22. Nancy on March 11th, 2008 20:02

    Alfred J. Kwak – Spetter Pieter Pater
    http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=73keIrx_7z0

  23. Amos Sky on March 12th, 2008 00:39

    Capa- Good question. And after doing a little research I found out that Mr. Aguilera has a personal vendetta against Karpov because during his championship run, in the late 70’s and early 80’s, Mrs. Aguilera had a crush on the chess champion. She was obsessed with Karpov’s sublime play and would analysis his games for hours on end, not taking breaks sometimes for days. It drove Mr. Aguilera mad to see his wife cooped up in their dining room with a chess board, constantly manipulating chess pieces through frenzied eyes, and screaming with ecstasy when she realized the genius of Karpov’s latest game. Mr. Aguilera warned Christina that if Karpov showed up to the set of the video shoot for “One night in Bangkok” he would go after him with a marble chess board, and knock him senseless. Imagine that first Kasparov gets attacked with a chess board and then Karpov. Oh my goodness!!!

  24. Moran on November 17th, 2008 09:31

    Mercury Rev – Goddess on a Hiway !!!

  25. Moran on November 17th, 2008 09:33

    Mercury Rev – Goddess on a Hiway
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mAop0p0EnE

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