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Alexander Molokov, sometimes known as Ivan Molokov, is the main antagonist of Chess He is a KGB agent who serves as Anatoly Sergievsky's chess-playing second in the first act, and is more transparent about his real job in the second. He spends much of the second act as a metaphorical chessmaster manipulating the literal ones into doing his bidding.
Biography[]
In the first act, Molokov serves as Anatoly's advisor. The chess championship seen in the first act of Chess is incredibly politically charged, as Anatoly is a Soviet chess player challenging an American champion during the height of Cold War tensions. It’s implied that Molokov himself is not a talented chess player, and is only present as Anatoly's second due to the political overtones of the match.
In the second act, Molokov is more apparently a villain. Anatoly defects to the West after cinching a victory at the tournament, and Molokov wants revenge on him for betraying his country. The player challenging Anatoly is a loyal, non-defecting Soviet, and Molokov is willing to do whatever it takes to assure Soviet victory on the chessboard to save face for the superpower at large. This includes threatening Anatoly's wife and children, manipulating Anatoly's mistress into hoping her long-dead father who his agency killed is actually alive, and conspiring with an American CIA agent for further manipulative reach (as the CIA agent drags the former American champion into the mess as well).
There are many iterations of Chess, but according to the original concept album's plot, which was made once again canon by the lyricist in 2008, Molokov does not get what he wants, as Anatoly refuses to throw the match in spite of everything on the line.