The Chess Chronicles, Part 16: Game 1 Of The Tournament (Chess #1 + Arbiter Reprise)

"Chess #1" was one of the first pieces composed for the musical, and it was originally intended to be used for ballet:

When Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus teamed up with lyricist Tim Rice, they began working on the project in 1983–84 with a strong emphasis on creating dramatic, symphonic instrumental material to depict the intensity of world championship chess matches.  "Chess #1", sometimes referred to as "The First Game", was one of the first fully orchestrated instrumental tracks they completed.

It was included on the 1984 concept album, well before the show reached the stage.  In the original 1986 London production of "Chess," the first chess match between the American and Soviet grandmasters was staged as a symbolic ballet. Dancers dressed in black and white represented the chess pieces, embodying the game's strategic moves and capturing the tension of the Cold War-era competition. This innovative approach was part of the musical's effort to blend theatrical elements with the game's intellectual drama.

Tim Rice has mentioned in interviews that the “match music” was created deliberately to convey narrative without lyrics — the idea was that the chess games would be danced or symbolically staged, allowing the audience to follow the emotional arc rather than the actual chess moves.

There were multiple places in the musical where the orchestra was used to play in spots where the ensemble had sung in the original 1986 version.  It's only a few bars, and it's very simple, but playing it on instruments only really takes away from the piece.  I'm not sure why Concord chose to do that, or whether that decision was made by some other publishing company, but we found it to be more effective.  This piece was one of the reasons I decided to use the original handwritten score.

The piece can be broken into two parts, with the first part representing Freddy's carefree, brash style, and the second part representing Anatoly's increasing dominance over the game:

The second section was designed to underscore the entrance and growing dominance of Anatoly Sergievsky, the Soviet champion. According to interviews and production notes from Tim Rice and conductor Anders Eljas (who orchestrated the concept album and the original London production), the musical chess matches were structured like dramatic duels.

• The first theme (bright, syncopated, rhythmic) was meant to reflect Freddie Trumper’s brash, showman-like style.

• The second, more controlled and weighty theme was intended to represent Anatoly’s disciplined Soviet chess machine — not just him personally, but the weight of the system behind him.

• The climactic interplay of the two themes symbolizes their confrontation across the board.

This technique mirrors a classical ballet structure, where contrasting musical motifs are assigned to different characters, allowing the audience to follow emotional or symbolic shifts even without lyrics.

For our production, Freddy flipped the board in frustration after his loss, and the band immediately started vamping the Arbiter Reprise in bars 6-7.  We jumped out of the vamp when he got to "I'm The Arbiter My Word Is Law", finished the song, and got ready for the Quartet.

Cleaning up the pieces from the stage after Game #1 was always an unwelcome chore, as they could go ANYWHERE.  That's show business, kids!

This piece was one of my favorite moments of the show, not only musically but also dramatically.  It's the first time Freddy realizes that he is no longer the best chess player in the world.  The brash cocky American has been brought down to earth, and it's no longer obvious as to who will win the match.