The Defense
Encyclopedia
The Defense is a Russia
n novel
written by Vladimir Nabokov
during his emigration in Berlin and published in 1930.
. Embarrassed, he says no, but this encounter serves as his motivation to pick up chess. He skips school and visits his aunt's house to learn the basics. He quickly becomes a great player, enrolling in local competitions and rising in rank as a chess player. His talent is prodigious and he attains the level of a Grandmaster in less than ten years. As his obsession
with chess grows, he becomes socially detached and physically unhealthy. At a resort, he meets a young girl, never named in the novel, whose interest he captures. They become romantically involved, and Luzhin eventually proposes to her.
Things turn for the worse when he is pitted against Turati, a grandmaster from Italy
, in a competition to determine who would face the current world champion. Before and during the game, Luzhin has a mental breakdown
, which climaxes when his carefully planned defense against Turati fails in the first moves, and the resulting game fails to produce a winner. When the game is suspended Luzhin wanders into the city in a state of complete detachment from reality.
He is returned home and brought to a rest home, where he eventually recovers. His doctor manages to convince him that chess was the reason for his downfall, and Luzhin, aided by his fiancée, decides to abandon all thoughts of chess.
Slowly however, chess begins to find its way back into his thoughts (aided by incidental occurrences, such as an old pocket chessboard found in a pocket, or an impossible chess game in a movie). Luzhin begins to see his life in vague chess terms, seeing continuing repetitions of 'moves' leading to his slide back in to a life of chess obsession. He desperately tries to find the move that will allow him to avert this scenario, but feels it growing closer and closer.
Eventually, after an encounter with his old chess mentor, Valentinov, Luzhin realizes that he must "abandon the game," as he puts it to his wife (who is desperately trying to communicate with him). He locks himself in the bathroom (his wife and several dinner guests banging on the door). He climbs out a window, letting himself fall to his death. The last line of the (translated) novel reads: "The door was burst in. 'Aleksandr Ivanovich, Aleksandr Ivanovich,' roared several voices. But there was no Aleksandr Ivanovich."
Luzhin's wife: She marries Luzhin after much protest from her mother and father. She is initially drawn to the air of mystery that surrounds the chess master and feels compassion for his social ineptitude. She takes on a motherly role in her marriage with Luzhin, and makes it her occupation to amuse him and keep his mind off of his unhealthy obsession with chess. She remains nameless in the novel.http://www.lib.ru/NABOKOW/luzhin.txt
Valentinov: A confident man and competent chess player who manages Luzhin's career through childhood. He uses the young Luzhin for his own gain and without much regard for Luzhin's personal development. Valentinov returns Luzhin to his father once he is no longer marketable as a child prodigy.
Turati: The flamboyant Italian grandmaster of chess. Luzhin has a nervous breakdown midway through the game with Turati.
, a chess master Nabokov knew personally. Bardeleben ended his life by jumping out of a window. Nabokov said of this novel: "Of all my Russian books, The Defense contains and diffuses the greatest 'warmth' -– which may seem odd seeing how supremely abstract chess is supposed to be." He later described this novel as the "story of a chess player who was crushed by his genius, a concept explored in "The Relentless Combination: Chess and the Patterns of Madness in Vladimir Nabokov's The Defense" (Glen Downey
, The Antigonish Review #121. http://www.antigonishreview.com/bi-121/121-downey.html
The book was also influenced by the Soviet film "Chess Fever
" (1925).
. It was directed by Marleen Gorris, and starred John Turturro
as Luzhin.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
written by Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
during his emigration in Berlin and published in 1930.
Plot summary
The plot concerns the title character, Aleksandr Ivanovich Luzhin. As a boy, he is considered unattractive, withdrawn, and an object of ridicule by his classmates. One day, when a guest comes to his father's party, he is asked whether he knows how to play chessChess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
. Embarrassed, he says no, but this encounter serves as his motivation to pick up chess. He skips school and visits his aunt's house to learn the basics. He quickly becomes a great player, enrolling in local competitions and rising in rank as a chess player. His talent is prodigious and he attains the level of a Grandmaster in less than ten years. As his obsession
Obsession
-Literature:* Obsession , a 1998 nonfiction book by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker* Obsessed , a 2005 thriller by Ted Dekker* Obsession , a novel by Jonathan Kellerman* Obsession, a 2009 novel by Gloria Vanderbilt...
with chess grows, he becomes socially detached and physically unhealthy. At a resort, he meets a young girl, never named in the novel, whose interest he captures. They become romantically involved, and Luzhin eventually proposes to her.
Things turn for the worse when he is pitted against Turati, a grandmaster from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, in a competition to determine who would face the current world champion. Before and during the game, Luzhin has a mental breakdown
Mental breakdown
Mental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...
, which climaxes when his carefully planned defense against Turati fails in the first moves, and the resulting game fails to produce a winner. When the game is suspended Luzhin wanders into the city in a state of complete detachment from reality.
He is returned home and brought to a rest home, where he eventually recovers. His doctor manages to convince him that chess was the reason for his downfall, and Luzhin, aided by his fiancée, decides to abandon all thoughts of chess.
Slowly however, chess begins to find its way back into his thoughts (aided by incidental occurrences, such as an old pocket chessboard found in a pocket, or an impossible chess game in a movie). Luzhin begins to see his life in vague chess terms, seeing continuing repetitions of 'moves' leading to his slide back in to a life of chess obsession. He desperately tries to find the move that will allow him to avert this scenario, but feels it growing closer and closer.
Eventually, after an encounter with his old chess mentor, Valentinov, Luzhin realizes that he must "abandon the game," as he puts it to his wife (who is desperately trying to communicate with him). He locks himself in the bathroom (his wife and several dinner guests banging on the door). He climbs out a window, letting himself fall to his death. The last line of the (translated) novel reads: "The door was burst in. 'Aleksandr Ivanovich, Aleksandr Ivanovich,' roared several voices. But there was no Aleksandr Ivanovich."
Major characters
Aleksandr Ivanovich Luzhin: The protagonist of the novel. As a child, he is misunderstood by his parents and mistreated by his peers, and is generally sullen in complexion and demeanor. He has no friends. As an adult, he is corpulent, socially inept, and absent-minded. He has a nervous breakdown during his match with the Italian grandmaster Turati.Luzhin's wife: She marries Luzhin after much protest from her mother and father. She is initially drawn to the air of mystery that surrounds the chess master and feels compassion for his social ineptitude. She takes on a motherly role in her marriage with Luzhin, and makes it her occupation to amuse him and keep his mind off of his unhealthy obsession with chess. She remains nameless in the novel.http://www.lib.ru/NABOKOW/luzhin.txt
Valentinov: A confident man and competent chess player who manages Luzhin's career through childhood. He uses the young Luzhin for his own gain and without much regard for Luzhin's personal development. Valentinov returns Luzhin to his father once he is no longer marketable as a child prodigy.
Turati: The flamboyant Italian grandmaster of chess. Luzhin has a nervous breakdown midway through the game with Turati.
Comments
The character of Luzhin is based on Curt von BardelebenCurt von Bardeleben
Curt von Bardeleben was a Count and a German chess master who committed suicide by jumping out of a window in 1924. His life and death were the basis for that of the main character in the novel The Defense by Vladimir Nabokov, which was made into the movie The Luzhin Defence...
, a chess master Nabokov knew personally. Bardeleben ended his life by jumping out of a window. Nabokov said of this novel: "Of all my Russian books, The Defense contains and diffuses the greatest 'warmth' -– which may seem odd seeing how supremely abstract chess is supposed to be." He later described this novel as the "story of a chess player who was crushed by his genius, a concept explored in "The Relentless Combination: Chess and the Patterns of Madness in Vladimir Nabokov's The Defense" (Glen Downey
Glen Downey (writer)
Glen Downey is a Canadian children’s author, teacher, and academic from Oakville, Ontario. His publications include more than eighty books for young people across a variety of genres that focus specifically on the development of child and adolescent literacy and numeracy...
, The Antigonish Review #121. http://www.antigonishreview.com/bi-121/121-downey.html
The book was also influenced by the Soviet film "Chess Fever
Chess Fever
Chess Fever is a 1925 Soviet silent comedy film directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin and Nikolai Shpikovsky. Chess Fever is a comedy about Moscow 1925 chess tournament, made by Pudovkin during the pause in the filming of Mechanics of the Brain...
" (1925).
Movie adaption
The book was adapted to film in 2000, as The Luzhin DefenceThe Luzhin Defence
The Luzhin Defence is a 2000 film directed by Marleen Gorris, starring John Turturro and Emily Watson. The film centres on a mentally tormented chess grandmaster and the young woman he meets while competing at a world-class tournament in Italy...
. It was directed by Marleen Gorris, and starred John Turturro
John Turturro
John Michael Turturro is an American actor, writer and director known for his roles in the films Do the Right Thing , Miller's Crossing , Barton Fink , Quiz Show , The Big Lebowski , O Brother, Where Art Thou? and the Transformers film series...
as Luzhin.
External links
- Daaim Shabazz, "In Search of Luzhin's Defence", The Chess Drum