There was nothing Anatoly could say in response to that so he simply remained quiet and watched. It had made a difference to him but that hardly helped Freddie. He needed to know what the Anatoly in his world had done.

The more he watched, the more he became convinced that winning the game was the only option. This Florence hardly seemed to understand the pressures he was facing and Svetlana would always despise him for choosing chess over family. Losing to some nobody clearly under Molokov's thumb was unthinkable.

Win and return home. It was the only way this could be played.