Chess movies
Memorable chess references in films
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- DirectorVsevolod PudovkinMykola ShpykovskyiStarsJosé Raúl CapablancaVladimir FogelAnna ZemtsovaWith an international chess tournament in progress, a young man becomes completely obsessed with the game. His fiancée has no interest in it, and becomes frustrated and depressed by his neglect of her, but wherever she goes she finds that she cannot escape chess. On the brink of giving up, she meets the world champion, Capablanca himself, with interesting results.
- DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsMax von SydowGunnar BjörnstrandBengt EkerotA knight returning to Sweden after the Crusades seeks answers about life, death, and the existence of God as he plays chess against the Grim Reaper during the Black Plague.
- DirectorGerd OswaldStarsCurd JürgensClaire BloomHansjörg FelmyIn 1938 Austria shortly after the Nazi occupation, a prominent Viennese intellectual, Werner von Basil, is arrested for smuggling art treatures out of the country and imprisoned by the Gestapo in a hotel room without any mental sustence of any kind to break him down to make him talk while a young ballerina, named Irene Adreny whom is the lover of the SS officer Berger playing mind games on von Basil, tries to intervene and help the poor intellectual keep his mind intact.
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsMaximilian SchellSamantha EggarIngrid ThulinIn Paris, a Polish gigolo marries a rich Jewish doctor and stands to inherit her estate when she is deported to Dachau by the Nazis.
- DirectorZvonimir BerkovicStarsStevo ZigonMilena DravicRelja BasicEvery Sunday, lonely bachelor and refined judge Mladen goes to play chess with his friend, sculptor Fedji. Slowly, he engages in a love affair with Neda, Fedia's wife, and almost invisibly, a love triangle forms. Chess board is the central part of the film, as moves on the board reflect emotions of the characters.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSanjeev KumarSaeed JaffreyShabana AzmiIn 1856, two obsessed noblemen ignore everything while playing chess and fail to notice British rule extending into their Indian province.
- DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsBruno GanzGila von WeitershausenLjuba TadicA scientist who swore off playing chess after a nervous breakdown as a boy wunderkind, creates an undefeated chess program. But the Russian world champ beats Tommy Rosemund's masterwork in a televised match. So the West German mathematician becomes a top chess pro himself, which the West German media boast will prove the superiority of Germany and democracy. The jowly, white-faced Rosemund believes that the entire Red Communist bloc is out to stop him from vanquishing their atheist pretty boy, Stefan Koruga, to become the next Bobby Fischer and a symbol that capitalism is preferable to socialism.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsHarrison FordRutger HauerSean YoungA blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.
- DirectorRichard DemboStarsMichel PiccoliAlexandre ArbattLiv UllmannDuring the Cold War, the World Chess Championship clashed complete opposites - personal and political.
- DirectorWenji TengStarsDahong NiBen NiuYuan XieA xiangqi (Chinese Chess) genius is discovered by a group of youths during the "Down the Countryside" movement of the Cultural Revolution.
- DirectorHo YimHark TsuiStarsTony Ka Fai LeungJohn ShamLin YangHong Kong ad man Ching (John Shum) is recruited by an old friend to boost the rating of a tv game show in Taiwan. After discovering a child with psychic abilities, he sets up a televised chess tournament between the boy and a power hungry champion. However, as the competition heats up, many ethical and moral issues begin to surface within this market and media driven environment. At the same time, Ching reminisces about his faithful encounter with a tragic chess master (Tony Leung Ka Fai) during the turbulent days of the Cultural Revolution in 1960s China.
- DirectorCarl SchenkelStarsChristopher LambertTom SkerrittCodie Lucas WilbeeDuring a chess tournament, grand master Peter is suspected of murdering Debi after sex. He helps the police as the murders continue.
- DirectorSteven ZaillianStarsJoe MantegnaBen KingsleyMax PomerancA prepubescent chess prodigy is encouraged to harden himself in order to become a champion like the famous but unlikable Bobby Fischer.
- DirectorJim McBrideStarsKate BeckinsaleJohn WoodSinéad CusackWhile restoring an old painting showing a woman and two men playing chess, Julia discovers the text "Who killed the knight?" underneath the paint. The painting's owner tells her that one of his forefathers was killed and the painting might identify the murderer. When Julia's friend is killed, she understands that there is more to it. She consults Domenec, a chess genius who reconstructs the game from the painting. With any piece he takes, somebody dies.
- DirectorJan PinkavaStarsBob PetersonGeri sets up a chess game to play his greatest opponent - himself.
- DirectorMarleen GorrisStarsJohn TurturroEmily WatsonGeraldine JamesTwo worlds collide when an eccentric genius falls in love with a strong-willed society beauty.
- DirectorAllen HughesStarsTed DansonMalcolm David KelleyBrian MarkinsonA business man decides that he wants to teach school in the inner city and chooses a tough school in the South Bronx. He teaches the children how to play the game of chess, and along the way they learn a lot about life.
- DirectorAdam TraynorStarsChilly GonzalesTiga SontagPeachesHershell and Thadeus, two chess-playing brothers and their unhealthy rivalry over both the chessboard and a woman. Hershell is a chess purist, the prodigal son, Thadeus a disciplined, ruthless competitor. After 4 nomadic years in Europe, in quixotic pursuit of 'Jazz Chess' (chess for chess' sake, no winner, no loser, only beautiful positions), Hershell returns home.
- DirectorJesús MonllaóStarsJulio ManriqueJose CoronadoDavid SolansA wealthy Spanish family whose teenage son is very troubled, they hire a psychologist to help him, but nothing is what it seems like in the beginning.
- DirectorJake GoldbergerStarsCuba Gooding Jr.Dennis HaysbertGeorge DickEx-felon, Eugene Brown, establishes a Chess Club for inner city teenagers in Washington, D.C.
- DirectorAndrew BujalskiStarsKriss SchludermannTom FletcherWiley WigginsA 1980s-set story centered around a man vs. machine chess tournament.
- DirectorEdward ZwickStarsTobey MaguireLiev SchreiberPeter SarsgaardSet during the Cold War, American chess prodigy Bobby Fischer finds himself caught between two superpowers and his own struggles as he challenges the Soviet Empire.
- DirectorJames Napier RobertsonStarsCliff CurtisJames RollestonKirk TorranceA brilliant but troubled New Zealand chess champion finds purpose by teaching underprivileged children about the rules of chess and life.
- DirectorMira NairStarsMadina NalwangaDavid OyelowoLupita Nyong'oA Ugandan girl sees her world rapidly change after being introduced to the game of chess.
- DirectorLuis OliverosStarsMarc ClotetMelina MatthewsAlejo SaurasLeaping from Spain's civil war to German occupied France, this period drama follows a chess master who is falsely accused of being a spy and sent to an SS prison in Paris.
- DirectorLukasz KosmickiStarsBill PullmanLotte VerbeekJames BloorDuring 1962's Cuban missile crisis, a troubled math genius finds himself drafted to play in a U.S.-Soviet chess match -- and a deadly game of espionage.
- DirectorJohn LeguizamoStarsJohn LeguizamoRachel Bay JonesMichael Kenneth WilliamsThe true story of the Miami Jackson High School chess team which was the first inner city team to win the U.S. National Chess Championship.
- CreatorScott FrankAllan ScottStarsAnya Taylor-JoyChloe PirrieBill CampOrphaned at the tender age of nine, prodigious introvert Beth Harmon discovers and masters the game of chess in 1960s USA. But child stardom comes at a price.
- DirectorPhilipp StölzlStarsOliver MasucciDieter BernhardtElias GabeleTo withstand the psychological torture of the Gestapo, a lawyer imprisoned by the Nazis finds refuge in the world of chess.