It was a scene straight out of a science-fiction movie.
There they were, floating and trying to remain stationary. From the International Space Station, Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner made quite a picture — especially when the microphone went away on its own after the cosmonauts finished speaking.
Meanwhile, on Earth, Sergey Karjakin could afford not to worry about things like gravity, as he sat in front of the chessboard at the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics. He did have to think about his reputation, and of the planet. He was representing Earth in the chess game against Space being held on the 50th anniversary of the first such game.
That game in 1970, in which Andrian Nikolayev and Vitaly Sevastyanov took on Viktor Gorbakto and Nikolai Kamanin, was drawn.
History repeated itself on Tuesday, as Karjakin’s draw offer was accepted by his rivals from Space.
“It was a sharp, quality game,” said Karjakin, acknowledging the fine effort from his fellow Russians.
“Space seemed to be ready for this specific, very sharp line,” he added.
Space was obviously pleased. “It felt great not to lose,” said Ivanishin.
