The Last Of Us Part 2 Has A Chess Reference You Might Have Missed

The Last Of Us Part 2 may have received mixed reactions but is still one of the most hauntingly beautiful games to date. The story and visuals and on par with a big-budget Hollywood movie, if not better. Fans were definitely angry at Naughty Dog for killing off Joel in the first few hours of the sequel. Director Neil Druckmann has also responded to all the hate the fans are giving to the game and the actors.

The original TLOU was released seven years ago and set a benchmark so high that others have been struggling to make a game as good as that one. No wonder TLOU part 2 was PlayStation’s best-selling exclusive that sold around 4 million copies in 3 days.

Also Read: The Last Of Us 2 Actor Responds To Fan Hate

The Last Of Us 2 Chess Reference

The makers definitely poured their heart and soul into the game but some references require a little more knowledge about chess. In TLOU 2, there is a chessboard where the pieces are placed in a particular manner as a set up to reference the ‘Game of the Century’. This was discovered thanks to a Subreddit post made almost 6 years ago.

In 1956, 13-year-old Bobby Fischer went up against Donald Bryne in the Rosenwald Memorial Tournament in New York. Bryne was already a veteran and one of the greatest players of his time and against him was a 13 something prodigy who was about to shock the world. As the game progressed, some of the masters observing the game mentioned that Black’s(Fischer) position was lost. But the very next move Fischer made is considered to be one of the greatest plays of all time.

Bryne was threatening Fischer’s queen. But instead of saving her, Fischer chose to sacrifice his queen which was an absolute surprise. But, it also forced or rather tempted Bryne to make a move he hadn’t expected. This unknowingly turned things in favor of Fischer has he went on the win the game.

Connection to the game

Now that you know your history, what does this have to do with TLOU? Well, when Ellie and Joel first met Bill at his diner hideout, Ellie tries to touch his chessboard where Bill yells at her and says “Hey Bobby Fischer, don’t touch that!”

Ellie also makes a chess reference while reading some of here puns where she says the word ‘stalemate’. Poor Ellie had no idea what it meant.

This was in the original TLOU. But the sequel has a chessboard where the pieces are set in a position of Fischer’s win over Bryne. It is always nice to see the writers make an effort to include such h tiny details in the games