Reedle Откройте в мобильном приложении
Понятно
Понятно
Для того чтобы воспользоваться закладками, необходимо
Войти или зарегистрироваться
Отмена
Для того чтобы воспользоваться озвучкой предложений, необходимо
Войти или зарегистрироваться
Отмена
Озвучка предложений доступна при наличии PRO-доступа
Купить PRO-доступ
Отмена
They
were
in
some
kind
of
anteroom
with
a
closed
door
on
the
far
side
.
Beth
could
hear
a
distant
wave
of
sound
,
and
when
the
director
walked
over
and
opened
the
door
the
sound
became
louder
.
Nothing
was
visible
except
a
dark
curtain
,
but
when
she
could
see
around
it
,
she
sucked
in
her
breath
.
She
was
facing
a
vast
auditorium
filled
with
people
.
It
was
like
the
view
from
the
stage
of
Radio
City
Music
Hall
might
be
with
every
seat
filled
.
The
crowd
stretched
back
for
hundreds
of
yards
,
and
the
aisles
had
folding
chairs
set
up
in
them
with
small
groups
clustered
together
talking
.
As
the
players
came
across
the
wide
carpeted
stage
,
the
sound
died
.
Everyone
stared
at
them
.
Up
above
the
main
floor
was
a
broad
balcony
,
with
a
huge
red
banner
draped
across
it
,
and
above
this
was
row
after
row
of
more
faces
.
On
the
stage
were
four
large
tables
,
each
the
size
of
a
desk
,
each
clearly
new
and
inlaid
with
a
large
chessboard
on
which
the
pieces
were
already
set
up
.
To
the
right
of
each
position
for
Black
sat
an
oversized
,
wooden
-
cased
chess
clock
,
and
to
White
s
right
,
a
large
pitcher
of
water
and
two
glasses
.
The
high
-
backed
swivel
chairs
were
set
up
so
the
players
would
be
visible
in
profile
from
the
audience
.
Behind
each
of
them
stood
a
male
referee
in
a
white
shirt
and
black
bow
tie
,
and
behind
each
referee
was
a
display
board
with
the
pieces
in
their
opening
position
.
The
lighting
was
bright
but
indirect
,
coming
from
a
luminous
ceiling
above
the
playing
area
.
Отключить рекламу
The
director
smiled
at
Beth
,
took
her
by
the
hand
and
led
her
out
to
the
center
of
the
stage
.
There
was
no
sound
at
all
in
the
auditorium
.
The
director
spoke
into
an
old
-
fashioned
microphone
on
a
stand
at
center
stage
.
Although
he
was
speaking
in
Russian
,
Beth
understood
the
words
chess
and
the
United
States
and
finally
her
name
:
Elizabeth
Harmon
.
The
applause
was
sudden
,
warm
and
thunderous
;
she
felt
it
as
a
physical
thing
.
The
director
escorted
her
to
the
chair
at
the
far
end
and
seated
her
at
the
black
pieces
.
She
watched
as
he
brought
out
each
of
the
other
foreign
players
for
a
short
introduction
and
applause
.
Then
came
the
Russians
,
beginning
with
Laev
.
The
applause
became
deafening
,
and
when
he
got
to
the
last
of
them
,
Vasily
Borgov
,
it
went
on
and
on
.
Her
opponent
for
the
first
game
was
Laev
.
He
was
seated
across
from
her
during
the
ovation
for
Borgov
,
and
she
glanced
at
him
while
it
was
going
on
.
Laev
was
in
his
twenties
.
There
was
a
tight
smile
on
his
lean
and
youthful
face
,
his
brow
was
heavy
with
annoyance
and
with
the
fingers
of
one
slim
hand
he
was
drumming
inaudibly
on
the
table
.
When
the
applause
died
down
,
the
director
,
flushed
with
the
excitement
,
went
to
the
table
where
Borgov
was
playing
the
white
pieces
and
smartly
punched
the
clock
.
Then
he
walked
to
the
next
table
and
did
the
same
thing
,
and
to
the
next
.
At
Beth
s
he
smiled
importantly
at
the
two
of
them
and
crisply
pushed
the
button
on
Beth
s
side
,
starting
Laev
s
clock
.
Laev
sighed
quietly
and
moved
his
king
pawn
to
the
fourth
rank
.
Beth
without
hesitation
moved
her
queen
bishop
pawn
,
relieved
to
be
just
playing
chess
.
The
pieces
were
large
and
solid
;
they
stood
out
with
a
comforting
clarity
on
the
board
,
each
of
them
exactly
centered
in
its
home
square
,
each
sharply
outlined
,
cleanly
turned
,
finely
burnished
.
The
board
had
a
matte
finish
with
a
brass
inlay
around
its
outer
perimeter
.
Her
chair
was
substantial
and
soft
,
yet
firm
;
she
adjusted
herself
in
it
now
,
feeling
its
comfort
,
and
watched
Laev
play
the
king
s
knight
to
bishop
three
.
She
picked
up
her
queen
s
knight
,
enjoying
the
heaviness
of
the
piece
,
and
set
it
on
queen
bishop
three
.
Laev
played
pawn
to
queen
four
;
she
took
with
her
pawn
,
setting
his
to
the
right
of
the
clock
.
The
referee
,
his
back
to
them
,
repeated
each
move
on
the
big
board
.
There
was
still
a
tightness
in
her
shoulders
,
but
she
began
to
relax
.
It
was
Russia
and
it
was
strange
,
but
it
was
still
chess
.
Отключить рекламу
She
knew
Laev
s
style
from
the
bulletins
she
had
been
studying
,
and
she
felt
certain
that
if
she
played
pawn
to
king
four
on
the
sixth
move
,
he
would
follow
the
Boleslavski
Variation
with
his
knight
to
bishop
three
and
then
castle
on
the
kingside
.
He
had
done
that
against
both
Petrosian
and
Tal
,
in
1965
.
Players
sometimes
broke
into
strange
new
lines
at
important
tournaments
,
lines
that
might
have
been
prepared
for
weeks
in
advance
,
but
she
felt
the
Russians
would
not
have
taken
that
trouble
with
her
.
As
far
as
they
knew
,
her
level
of
play
was
roughly
that
of
Benny
Watts
,
and
men
like
Laev
would
not
devote
much
time
to
preparation
for
playing
Benny
.
She
was
not
an
important
player
by
their
standards
;
the
only
unusual
thing
about
her
was
her
sex
,
and
even
that
wasn
t
unique
in
Russia
.
There
was
Nona
Gaprindashvili
,
not
up
to
the
level
of
this
tournament
,
but
a
player
who
had
met
all
these
Russian
grandmasters
many
times
before
.
Laev
would
be
expecting
an
easy
win
.
He
brought
the
knight
out
and
castled
as
she
had
expected
.
She
felt
sanguine
about
the
reading
she
had
done
over
the
past
six
months
;
it
was
nice
to
know
what
to
expect
.
She
castled
.
The
game
gradually
began
to
slow
as
they
moved
past
the
opening
without
any
errors
and
into
a
poised
middle
game
with
each
of
them
now
minus
one
knight
and
one
bishop
,
and
with
the
kings
well
protected
and
no
holes
in
either
position
.
By
the
eighteenth
move
the
board
had
a
dangerous
equilibrium
.
This
was
not
the
attack
chess
she
had
made
her
American
reputation
with
;
it
was
chamber
-
music
chess
,
subtle
and
intricate
.