BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / Chess Kings?

**Posted by Davina** June 11, 2012 12:30 pm

In TRF there are 3 break-ins/outs organised by Moriarty. Two of these, he says, were done with bribed inside help. The first, the Crown Jewels break-in, is, however, unusual because Moriarty gets his own hands dirty. Why? Because he wants to be caught and because he wants to implicate Sherlock in the longer run. His imprisonment and trial give him publicity but, just as importantly it gives Sherlock publicity and links the two of them. All part of his cunning plan. Being involved directly Moriarty breaks from his normal MO.

What I am more intrigued by is the question: 'Why the Crown Jewels?'.

Firstly I suppose purely from a scripting point of view they are really well-known. It also makes for a wonderful, outlandish and colourful scene with Andrew Scott doing his stuff. But is there more than that to its choice?

His wearing of the crown and ermine cloak and holding of the sceptre and orb is highly symbolic of Kingship. Is this a reflection of the fact that Moriarty sees himself as a King-like figure? He certainly has the power of life and death over others and operates pretty much as an absolute monarch.

Is there also, and this is the aspect that is really nagging at me, a direct link and analogy with a game of chess going on here, with Moriarty as one King and Sherlock as the other. The episode is very much one revolving around two opposing sides or forces, good versus evil, devils versus angels. People are seen very much like pawns in a game, certainly to Moriarty ( not just in this episode either) and Sherlock too views individuals as unimportant (caring is not an advantage, remember).

Back in A Study in Pink the cabbie brags that his game of Russian Roulette with the poison pills is chess. Sherlock is, quite rightly, completely dismissive of this idea saying that it is luck. The cabbie thinks he is a genius, Sherlock knows he is not and mocks him. Moriarty is, however, a genius, even if he is also a nutcase, and Sherlock is aware of this. He is also aware of when he is in a game of chess and high strategy.

It is as if the two opposing kings are trying to plan and second guess their adversary, just as in a game of chess; after all what other game involves this levels of strategy? Moriarty tries to keep things simple and believes that his opponent's weakness is making things too complicated and clever. Ultimately however he miscalculated his opponent's abilities. 'King' Moriarty is quite willing to sacrifice himself in order to bring about, at least, a stalemate when he realises his planned checkmate is not going to work.

I don't know what you will all think of this. It is actually a simple analogy to draw. Maybe you have some other thoughts or observations.

All this from that image of Andrew in his regal splendour! Lol

**Posted by Sherli Bakerst** June 11, 2012 8:43 pm

Fascinating post, Davina! I'd never thought of it like that (ie, as deeply) but what you say makes a lot of sense. Thanks for raising these ideas.

Taking the image of Moriarty on the throne a bit further: By sitting there, he is not just a king; I would posit that it makes him emperor. To me, as an American, the Crown Jewels symbolize Britain's (former) power as an Empire. Encapsulated in the regalia of the monarch and sitting on the throne at the symbolic center of British power, Moriarty is showing everyone that not only is he at the pinnacle of personal power, he also controls his own empire--that of criminal enterprise. He is flaunting his power to the Establishment by smashing the glass that protects the symbols and then wearing them as his own. And if he strike at the very heart of Britain with impunity, what else is he capable of??? He's like a little boy sticking his tongue out and saying, "Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah!"

**Posted by Davina** June 11, 2012 9:06 pm

That is certainly a valid viewpoint, the Emperor in his regalia.

What do you think about the chess game analogy? I get the really strong feeling of a game of chess being played out in TRF.

**Posted by tobeornot221b** June 11, 2012 9:27 pm

I see some chess pieces being mentioned in TRF:

King (King Arthur/"...the man with the key is king")
Queen (represented by the crown jewels)
Rook (= Rich Brook)
Knight ("the knights of the round table")

hmm... bishop...pawn...(where are you hiding?)

interesting, Davina!

**Posted by Davina** June 11, 2012 9:33 pm

The castle/rook could also be The Tower of London.
Knights...all the King's horses and all the King's men.
I think the 'ordinary' people could be the pawns or perhaps the King's men could be.

Hmmm...the bishop...Would Mycroft count?

Last edited by Davina (June 11, 2012 9:36 pm)

**Posted by Sherli Bakerst** June 11, 2012 9:36 pm

Oh, absolutely, the chess metaphor works! For me, anyway. Sherlock is white, Moriarty is black. White as a force for good--and aren't angels usually clothed in white? Black denoting the bad guy--in Westerns, the bad guys wear black hats. Though in some Asian cultures, white is the color of death, which also seems somehow appropriate here... So Sherlock and Moriarty as kings on opposite sides of the giant chessboard that is London--all those street grids--and the world: Yes.

Using people as pawns: Definitely. Moriarty uses the innocent hostages in TGG--could there ever be a more classic example of a pawn? Sherlock, as you said, Davina, also uses people to get what he wants. And, btw, Mycroft treats people as pawns, too: Witness how he interacts with John.

Moriarty believed that he'd checkmated Sherlock in TRF but he was wrong. The game is sort of at a stalemate, in that Sherlock has to lay low for a while but he will, in the end, prevail and will, undoubtedly, make a surprise move that will catch his opponents off guard. In the meantime, John seems to be at a stalemate in his life as are we, the audience, in terms of what to do without having Sherlock around.

**Posted by Sherli Bakerst** June 11, 2012 9:38 pm

The knight could also be Lestrade: Knights protected people from harm, right? Just like the police are supposed to do.

**Posted by Sherlock Holmes** June 11, 2012 10:05 pm

They do have a chess board at Baker Street too.

Sherlock and Moriarty have a chess game together in the RDJ movies, so it's obviously a theme that people like.

**Posted by BigFan** June 16, 2012 4:49 pm

That is funny.
Yesterday I asked my husband what is the "Springer / horse" in chess can do
TRF time: 0:51:46
Do you see what is at Lestrade's boss on the bookshelf? First, you can see it's not exactly, but here: 0:52:15
Just a mistake? Or maybe a clue
Everything else was in the room or on the desktop does not change.

Nochmal in Deutsch, damit man mich verbessern kann falls die Übersetzung zu sehr hinkt.
Also mir ist in dieser besagten Szene auf dem Bücherregal aufgefallen das die Buchstützen wie die Springer beim Schach aussehen.
Da sie zuerst anders standen, hab ich es nicht sofort gesehen, aber dadurch das sie bewegt wurden sieht man es deutlich. (die Sachen die auf dem Schreibtisch liegen, bleiben unverändert)
Wenn man den Infos meines Mannes vertrauen kann, kann ein Springer im Schach über andere Figuren "springen", also könnte man es auch so auslegen das Lestrades Boss über ihn hinweg entscheiden kann, Sherlock zu verhaften, was auch geschieht.
Die Figuren sind schwarz, also Moriarty?!?

Danke für Verbesserungen!

**Posted by m0r1arty** June 16, 2012 5:01 pm

Well spotted BigFan!

The two 'Knight' bookends turn 90 degrees during that scene (Continuity error?).

I'm unsure as to whether there is a larger conspiracy related to chess and Sherlock/Moriarty noted by said bookends - but the original analogy stands well.

-m0r

**Posted by Davina** June 16, 2012 5:34 pm

Also, which I hadn't thought of is that Springer also means 'jumper' in German as I 'one who jumps'. I haven't played chess in German, so I had assumed that the knight was Ritter not Springer.

I know Mark Gatiss speak German, he has tweeted in it, so perhaps this is a reference not only to chess (Schach) but also Sherlock's jump?

Just thinking.