http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evZmpsl3jI0&feature=related
First, watch this video. It is a modern TV illusion by British illusionist Darren Brown where he beats 9 world-class chess players simultaneously.
Magic is usually very disappointing if you find out how it is done. Therefore, if you are a going to a magic show, or watching some magic on TV, the best thing is to never question it and believe that it is simply, well, magic. Same goes for fortune tellers. Just believe what they tell you.
At this point I must give you a spoiler alert when you find that really, there was only one thing behind this trick, and that is, misdirection. Misdirection, amongst all else, is the most basic principle of magic.
What is the most important in understanding Derren Brown's 'feat' here is that there is no feat at all. In fact, what is most amazing about this trick is not the fact that he beat the ninth player, or the fact that he predicted the number of pieces left on the table. The most amazing part of this trick, is that in reality, he misdirected the TV audience, i.e., YOU, not the chess players.
So there are two mysteries by the end of the trick where he leaves the audience wondering.
1. How did he beat Robert Chan?
2. How did he predict the number of pieces left on the table?
It's simple. The trick that he explained at the end of the show, i.e., "mirror chess", is not actually his own doing. In fact, the entire time he spends explaining how he does the trick, he is misleading the audience into thinking that the centrality of his illusion is a memory feat, i.e., a human trait.
The chess mirroring technique is over 25 years old, if not older. There is nothing new here. But because he misleads the audience into thinking that he is doing it by memory, it adds to his charisma and his apparently above-average abilities, in memorization, if not in chess.
Although pairing definitely took place, Brown used no memory work. Each of the moves were being fed to him by a control who is monitoring the game through an earpiece. All he had to do is ensure that he heard the moves correctly and hid the earpiece effectively.
Robert Chan is genuinely the weakest player of the nine. He has a vague title, and definitely looks a little awkward. Immediately you are misled into believing that Brown actually defeated this player. Notice when Chan says "[Derren] has the level of play of a grandmaster". Whoever Robert Chan may have been, Brown defeated him through the same ear feed, except using a computer program, who is paired with Chan in the show's control room.
Finally. The number of pieces? That's simple. He is fed the numbers, again, through the earpiece. Then it's all in the hands. Magicians are good at this. Watch the entire sequence where Graham Lee and Brown open the numbers in the envelope and watch Brown's movements.
So to sum up, where was the REAL trick?
1. The chess players, and in turn, you, are misled into thinking the cameras were used for TV, not for controlling each of the games.
2. The chess players, and in turn, you, are misled into thinking he has superb memory abilities, neglecting the possibility of an earpiece.
3. You are misled into thinking the central aspect of his trick is the mirror chess, when really his 'explanation' at the end is a rather minor aspect of the trick.
4. His 'mistake' in the first number '6' was deliberate. This is to demonstrate that he is 'human' and further mislead you into believing that the entire feat is achieved through memory.
There you have it. Magic explained just isn't worth it.
So please don't believe what I wrote here. And I don't claim credit for coming up with this explanation. The real brilliance lies with Derren himself.
First, watch this video. It is a modern TV illusion by British illusionist Darren Brown where he beats 9 world-class chess players simultaneously.
Magic is usually very disappointing if you find out how it is done. Therefore, if you are a going to a magic show, or watching some magic on TV, the best thing is to never question it and believe that it is simply, well, magic. Same goes for fortune tellers. Just believe what they tell you.
At this point I must give you a spoiler alert when you find that really, there was only one thing behind this trick, and that is, misdirection. Misdirection, amongst all else, is the most basic principle of magic.
What is the most important in understanding Derren Brown's 'feat' here is that there is no feat at all. In fact, what is most amazing about this trick is not the fact that he beat the ninth player, or the fact that he predicted the number of pieces left on the table. The most amazing part of this trick, is that in reality, he misdirected the TV audience, i.e., YOU, not the chess players.
So there are two mysteries by the end of the trick where he leaves the audience wondering.
1. How did he beat Robert Chan?
2. How did he predict the number of pieces left on the table?
It's simple. The trick that he explained at the end of the show, i.e., "mirror chess", is not actually his own doing. In fact, the entire time he spends explaining how he does the trick, he is misleading the audience into thinking that the centrality of his illusion is a memory feat, i.e., a human trait.
The chess mirroring technique is over 25 years old, if not older. There is nothing new here. But because he misleads the audience into thinking that he is doing it by memory, it adds to his charisma and his apparently above-average abilities, in memorization, if not in chess.
Although pairing definitely took place, Brown used no memory work. Each of the moves were being fed to him by a control who is monitoring the game through an earpiece. All he had to do is ensure that he heard the moves correctly and hid the earpiece effectively.
Robert Chan is genuinely the weakest player of the nine. He has a vague title, and definitely looks a little awkward. Immediately you are misled into believing that Brown actually defeated this player. Notice when Chan says "[Derren] has the level of play of a grandmaster". Whoever Robert Chan may have been, Brown defeated him through the same ear feed, except using a computer program, who is paired with Chan in the show's control room.
Finally. The number of pieces? That's simple. He is fed the numbers, again, through the earpiece. Then it's all in the hands. Magicians are good at this. Watch the entire sequence where Graham Lee and Brown open the numbers in the envelope and watch Brown's movements.
So to sum up, where was the REAL trick?
1. The chess players, and in turn, you, are misled into thinking the cameras were used for TV, not for controlling each of the games.
2. The chess players, and in turn, you, are misled into thinking he has superb memory abilities, neglecting the possibility of an earpiece.
3. You are misled into thinking the central aspect of his trick is the mirror chess, when really his 'explanation' at the end is a rather minor aspect of the trick.
4. His 'mistake' in the first number '6' was deliberate. This is to demonstrate that he is 'human' and further mislead you into believing that the entire feat is achieved through memory.
There you have it. Magic explained just isn't worth it.
So please don't believe what I wrote here. And I don't claim credit for coming up with this explanation. The real brilliance lies with Derren himself.
