If the computer is unaware of that its moves are not being fulfilled, then there was definitely a problem with the computer, which was the point to the experiment.
Another excellent video! You have a great eye for detail. "Court Martial" is probably my favorite episode of TOS (it perfectly presents the man vs. machine theme that the original series used so frequently), but I never noticed Spock's taking two turns in a row before--my brain must have just filled in the gap because I knew subconsciously they were supposed to be taking turns. Although since Spock "programmed" the computer for chess, perhaps he installed a failsafe to allow him to take multiple turns in a row if he were in danger of losing. :) Maybe Finney wasn't the only one taking liberties with the Enterprise's computer programs. Also I think as the show moved through its first season and Spock came to be seen as not only logical, but also supremely intelligent, the writers realized that Kirk probably shouldn't always be able to defeat Spock in chess, so they never played again past those two instances--leaving chess as a metaphor for Kirk, but not an actual pastime. Great job using the clip from "Obsession"--I always thought the chessboard in disarray in his quarters was a perfect way to represent Garrovick's youth and frustration to the audience.
I love your failsafe theory! That's great!! I want to someday get into the reason why I think only Kirk could beat Spock at chess, but that's a topic for another day. Btw, I found some photographic evidence of a third game between Spock and Kirk, which I will post here in the coming days. I've always loved the shot of the chess set in Garrovick's quarters, and the shot of the chess set in front of Kirk from "Mark of Gideon." I've always liked "Court Martial" alot too, it fills in some of Kirk's background. It's a bit different from the other episodes, being a court room drama. I also liked the computer record playback, it was like a little sneak peak into another incident we'd otherwise not have seen.
As a kid, watching these episodes, the various chess and checker games just pulled me in. Instant verisimilitude. But I don't mind finding out they were cobbled together from contemporary games.
@@MetaTrek Your video makes me appreciate even more how the writers used chess as a way for both Spock and Kirk to get each other and the crew out of tough situations and even to admit that are limits as well greatness to seeing a situation through a chess lens. In the Corbomite Maneuver, Spock essentially admits that logic has failed: Spock: "In chess, when one is outmatched, the game is over. Checkmate." Kirk is clearly p!ssed saying is that your "best" recommendation? To which a defeated Spock says that he regrets that he can see no logical alternative. Kirk saves the day in what appears to be a hopeless situation (checkmate) by realizing that a Poker metaphor (bluff) is the winning play. By contrast, in "Courtmartial," it is Kirk who seems defeated when all apparent evidence is against him. And it is Spock who suspects that chess will save Kirk. Lessons for leadership: keep the chess and poker metaphors handy depending on the situation.
Well thank you. I'm always glad to hear one of my videos has had a positive effect. I like the contrast you made between "The Corbomite Maneuver" and "Court Martial." I hadn't considered that before, but it is a great point. You too have had a positive effect! Thanks for posting.
Great video. I always loved the tri-dimensional go in Gene Rodenberry's Andromeda TV show. It manages to be a tip of the hat to Star Trek while giving the show its own cultural backdrop.
Thanks for the info! I tried to get into _Andromeda_ but it never really resonated with me. I know that they also gave a tip of the hat to Roddenberry's failed pilots _Genesis_ _II_ and _Planet_ _Earth_ by naming the main character Dylan Hunt. Probably other tips of the hat to Roddenberry's other work in that series, and probably some in _Earth:_ _Final_ _Conflict._
I remember having a 3 level tic tac toe game with marbles as a kid in the early 70s, it was pretty cool . I always thought it was strange how Kirk beat Spock , a bit of kobayashi maruing or showing the limits of pure logic ? Wasn't there a chess episode with Data ? Any chance for a Let That Be Your Last Battlefield episode soon ? There is a stray cat with a half black/white face that hangs around my house, must be a sign .
I think that Kirk beating Spock at chess has a deeper implication. I've come to believe that Kirk represents intuition, and Kirk winning chess against Spock would indicates that intuition trumps pure logic. There's a scene in TNG where Data plays a game of chess with Troy, and if you pay close attention, you'll see one of the chess pieces looks an awful lot like the Robot from Lost In Space! I actually used a clip from LTBYLB at the end of this video. I'm sure I'll be discussing the episode more in the future . . .
You know, the more I think about your video, the more it does put Spock in a pretty bad light when it comes to gaming and sportsmanship. Let's see... Game 1: Spock loses to Kirk and experiences "irritation." ("Where No Man..") Game 2: Spock again loses to Kirk (this is probably the point where Spock decides not to play against Kirk again, but instead to only play opponents he can beat) ("Charlie X") Game 3: Spock plays a teen who is the only survivor of a doomed expedition. Has Charlie ever played chess before??? Result: Spock crushes Charlie. ("Charlie X") Game 4: Spock plays multiple games against a computer that he "programmed" for chess, and during the only game we get to see a small part of--Spock cheats. Result: Spock "wins" every game. ("Court Martial") Game 5: Spock plays chess against an alien from the Andromeda galaxy--yes, that's right, an opponent from a different galaxy--who also happens to be distracted and jealous. BTW: has Rojan ever played chess before??? Result: Spock completely dominates. ("By Any Other Name") Hmmmm...not necessarily a flattering picture.... (tongue, of course, firmly planted in cheek) :)
That's quite a take on Spock's sportsmanship! (And a well thought out argument I might add.) Let me add one thought to it; Spock crushes Charlie to soothe his own bruised ego (yes, he has one of those too!), having just been beaten by Kirk in front of Charlie. Well, no one's perfect, not even Spock!
Kind of hard to tell, but I think the only time the pieces are arranged to depict an actual checkmate was when Spock beats the computer. Kirk cheats too! At 0:57, Kirk moves what appears to be a black bishop horizontally along the lower board's 2nd rank to checkmate Spock. Perhaps Spock would have done better against Kirk if they instead played Madden 2269, Call of Duty, or ST Fleet Command,
Yes, you're right. But in Kirk's defense, there were no established rules for tri-dimensional chess during Star Trek's initial run. The ever-resourceful fans developed them later. However, taking two turns in a row, as Spock does, is a universal no-no. Good eye on spotting that though!
@@MetaTrek What do you mean that Spock takes two turns in a row….I play chess myself and I have used the same piece(in Spock’s turn he used the Knight which is perfectly legal in chess) to put my opponent in check a couple of times during a game before he resigned. Kirk made a move, Spock made his, Kirk made another move and Spock did the same then Kirk checkmated Spock in one move. I have talked to a friend who is a GrandMaster of the game and he said its possible to not only move your King out of check and but at the same time to Checkmate your opponent.
"it's safe to say that, if you move two of your own pieces in a row, you're probably cheating ..." Actually, there is a move in regular chess, quite common, called CASTLING, where you do, in fact, move two of your own pieces in a row. And, believe it or not, one of those pieces IS a rook.
Thanks for your comment about how Star Trek Tri-Dimensional Chess was derived from Space Tic Tac Toe & Space Checkers!! THANKS!!! Most Tri-Dimensional Chess enthusiasts are not too keen on the red Nobel Games set as the boards are not overlapping correctly. The blue Franklin Mint set is better, but both the Nobel & the Franklin Mint are 1/2 scale which is awkward. Anyways I may be able to make a full scale set now!!! Thanks! IMHO
I'm pleased to hear that the video might help you create an accurate replica of Star Trek's Tri-Dimensional Chessboard. If you do make one, I'd love to see pictures of it. Cheers!
Ok in the video you showed Kirk and Spock playing in one scene from the episode Where No Man Has Gone Before and you dubbed in Kirk saying “Check” when in reality he never said that line. In the episode Court-Martial Spock was able to beat the computer at chess because the program bank was changed by Lt. Com. Finney when he faked his own death and deliberately changed the computer records to incriminate Kirk and therefore changed the rest of the ships computer records. Spock did not cheat but was able to beat the computer because of the alteration in the computer records by Lt. Com. Finney which in turn changed the ability of the computer to play a game of chess.
Yes, I did dub Kirk saying "Checkmate" over the "WNMHGB" footage to convey the fact that Kirk did checkmate Spock, since I didn't show the scene in the turbolift where they make it clear that Kirk won. I used the exact same take that you hear right before it for a sense of symmetry.
@@MetaTrek You should have left as it was because after Kirk made his move Spock was contemplating his response when Kelso from the bridge chimed in so Kirk didn’t checkmate Spock and the game was in suspension when they left the room. In the turbo lift Spock didn’t acknowledge that the game was over but only pointed out that Kirk played illogically….his next move should have been the rook, so Spock never said the game was over and that Kirk won…..you only assumed it was.
TV resolution in the 1960s was nowhere near today's quality. One can pick apart just about any old show frame by frame and find inaccuracies. Just like "what is a catch" in today's NFL with hi-def frame by frame "reviews" of what would have been slam dunk plays of yesteryear.
One could probably find as many inaccuracies picking apart modern shows too! They're everywhere in film and on tv, but most of the time we never notice.
I wonder if it is possible his first move of his knight was him resetting and replaying... did he back the game up a step or two to demonstrate it to McCoy? so the computer was just repeating it's next move the first time but out of order? dono... grasping at straws to see if we can save Spock from his cheating ways.
I think it all comes down to Nimoy focusing on his acting, and not on the pieces he was moving. Here's what I find the most interesting, that the editors chose to dub in the computer giving its countermove twice. It seems like they noticed what Nimoy had done, and played it up as an in-joke.
Basically yes. He had executed the move that won the fourth game, then reset the pieces to the position just before that to demonstrate how he'd "win" the alternative move as well with the computer bungling the response since its programming had been corrupted. But that sort of thing happens a lot in club chess when the ranking expert wants to analyse the endgame between opponents and demonstrate alternatives if they existed.
Since Spock was playing against a computer he logically deduced had been compromised, he was not cheating but proving out his hypothesis that the computer had been tampered with. Even if he did commit illegal moves, if the computer did not notice them then that would be only further proof that the programme bank was corrupted, since of course the computer should have caught those and disallowed them. In any event, he wasn't actually playing chess but testing the programme integrity of the computer, so by definition he could not have been cheating.
Great video mate. I hope REDLETTERMEDIA one day does a video of them selves playing Tri Dimensional chess and or the vintage Star Trek Next Gen chess board ;)
For that matter, how are chess matches handled in the mirror universe? By rules we might be familiar with or by "mirror rules"? It seems to me that every chess match in that universe would end with someone dying or being imprisoned.
The fact that Kirk beat Spock in chess is more a reflection of Americans' lack of understanding of chess. The scene is used to demonstrate Kirk's illogical approach is superior to Spock's logic. It plays to American's tendancy towards anti-intellectualism. The problem with the scene is, if Spock is even remotely familiar with chess, he would have been able to see Kirk's "mate in one" move easily. There are therefore two possibilities… One: Spock lost on purpose… Or Two: This was purely a story telling device to give Kirk some character development, as being a think-outside-the-box type of Guy.
In all fairness about your video you are completely wrong about Spock cheating…..a Vulcan is all the time honest and cheating is illogical therefore you are in the wrong. Spock would never cheat!!
While I understand the sentiment, and I don't believe that it was intended for Spock to cheat within the context of "Court Martial," I believe that he would indeed cheat at something as trivial as a chess game if it meant saving Kirk's life, or, as in this case, his career.
@@MetaTrek Obviously you don’t know anything about Vulcans….their entire lives are based totally on a non emotional philosophy and rigid upbringing with dedication to logic and non violence. To cheat or any form of dishonesty is not only illogical but totally unacceptable to any Vulcan even Spock who is also half human……to say that Spock would be dishonest (even to the point of cheating in a chess game) just to save even Kirks career is both wrong and insulting to Spock. 🖖
@@MetaTrek As Spock said in the episode he was completely logical about the whole thing and indeed he was…..and by the way Starfleet Command agreed with him.
I totally agree. It's hard to write a character that is truly without emotion. It would make him a psychopath. The fact that he cared about his fellow officers is proof of emotion.
@@MetaTrek I meant like a buddha or zenmaster, the perfection of the human minus the human condition, a bodhisattva spy. Right when I said that Data flashed on my TV, small world.
