Checkmate is a one Act ballet choreographed by Ninette de Valois with composer Arthur Bliss, originally performed in 1937. The story is a chess match between Love and Death, with the former playing with red pieces and the latter with black. The pieces come to life and act out the drama of the chess match, with the main focus being the conflict between the Red Knight and the Black Queen.
Checkmate provides examples of
- Action Girl: The Red Queen. She gets captured early on, but she puts up one hell of a fight against both Black Knights, and is willing to challenge the Black Queen if necessary.
- Dark Action Girl: The Black Queen. She might have elements of the Vamp (see below) but she's willing to duel the Red Knight to death if seduction doesn't work.
- All Love Is Unrequited: The Red Knight falls pretty hard for the Black Queen after she tosses him a black rose. Unfortunately, she uses this against him. His love means he cannot kill her, but she has no qualms about stabbing him in the back while his guard is down.
- Anthropomorphic Personification: Love and Death, naturally as they represent the forces of life and death.
- The Big Guy: The Red Castles/Rooks. They march across the stage, stamping their feet, and carry dumbbells around with them. The Black Castles are a bit more downplayed, as they tend not to be as loud on stage, and carry actual weapons instead of dumbbells.
- Chess with Death: The very premise of the ballet.
- Combat Pragmatist: The Black Knights. While they are happy with a two on two battle with their red counterparts, as soon as the Red Queen gets involved in the match, they gang up on her.
- Despair Event Horizon: The death of the Red Knight causes Love, and most of the red pieces to give up, with only the Red King still having the will to keep playing.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Once she's killed the Red Knight, and the other red pieces have gone to mourn him, the Black Queen does a solo variation, gloating to the Red King. Part of her variation looks suspiciously like goose-stepping. (This ballet was originally performed in 1937. Make of that what you will.)
- Downer Ending: The Red King is eventually caught in checkmate, and thus dies.
- Due to the Dead: The red pieces carry the Red Knight off stage after he's killed by the Black Queen. Too bad the chess game is still going and they've left the Red King all but defenseless.
- Easily Forgiven: The Red King holds no ill will towards the Red Knight for refusing to kill the Black Queen, and the other pieces carry the knight off with the utmost respect and reverence, despite his choice leading to the red side's downfall. Then again, this might be because they are all personifications of love and compassion.
- Evil Gloating: Once she's killed the Red Knight and the rest of the red pieces are either captured (the Red Queen) or in mourning (all of the others), the Black Queen happily starts dancing around and sharpening her swords in front of the Red King, rather than killing him straight away.
- Face Death with Dignity: The Black Queen more or less admits defeat when the Red Knight disarms her and won't let her retrieve her sword. She kneels on the floor and awaits the final blow. Too bad he couldn't go through with it.
- Fatal Flaw: The Red Knight letting his emotions govern his actions. His infatuation with the Black Queen causes him to throw the fight with her, leading to his death.
- Force and Finesse: The Black Knights and the Red Queen are the Force, with their battle being more about punches, kicks and manhandling. The Red Knight and the Black Queen are the Finesse, as their battle is a sword fight.
- God Save Us from the Queen!: The Black Knights are terrified of their queen, and, despite her red counterpart being kinder, they take no chances and team up to take her down.
- Good Is Not Soft: The Red Queen, while generally shown to be sweet and gentle with the Red King, is just as powerful as the Black Queen and does not go down without a fight. It takes both Black Knights to capture her.
- Averted with the Red Knight. He's fallen for the Black Queen and spares her when she's at his mercy. This does not end well for him.
- Lady and Knight: Both versions appear, but not as you expect.
- The first is a gender inversion with the Red King being the Bright Lord, with the Red Queen supporting and protecting him until she's captured as his White Knight.
- The Black Knights are, well, Black Knights, to the Black Queen who is their Dark Lady.
- The Red Knight is conflicted between his duty as White Knight to the Red King's Bright Lord, and following his desire to be the Black Knight to the Black Queen's Dark Lady. Choosing the latter leads to his downfall.
- Love Makes You Dumb: Dumb enough to throw a fight with your strongest opponent because you're in love with her (a fight you are on the verge of winning, no less), only for her to literally stab you in the back.
- Please Spare Him, My Liege!: The Red Queen pleads with her black counterpart for the Red King's life. It doesn't work.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red pieces are the Red, naturally, representing emotions such as love, compassion and protectiveness. The black pieces are the Blue, being more stoic and far more ruthless in their playing of the game.
- Ironically, Love wears blue while Death wears red.
- Stupid Good: What do the red pieces do after the Red Knight is killed? Walk off to give him a funeral, leaving the Red King at the mercy of the Black queen, and then the rest of the black pieces.
- The Red Knight would have delivered a crippling blow to the black side if he had simply killed the Black Queen when she was at his mercy, but he lets his emotions get the better of him and spares her.
- Throwing the Fight: The Red Knight spares the Black Queen right when he has her beaten because he's fallen for her. It does not end well for him.
- The Vamp: The Black Queen takes advantage of the fact the Red Knight is unable to kill her. She appears to show some tenderness towards him before stabbing him in the back. She also throws him a black rose at the very start of the match to entice him.
