When disillusioned Swedish knight Antonius Block returns home from the Crusades to find his country in the grips of the Black Death, he challenges Death to a chess match for his life. Tormented by the belief that God does not exist, Block sets off on a journey, meeting up with traveling players Jof and his wife, Mia, and becoming determined to evade Death long enough to commit one redemptive act while he still lives.
After two American prisoners are killed by guards in the act of escaping from a German POW camp in World War II, barracks black marketeer J.J. Sefton is suspected of being an informer.
One-time Maori speed-chess champ, Genesis Potini, lives with a bi-polar disorder and must overcome prejudice and violence in the battle to save his struggling chess club, his family and ultimately, himself.
Based on the game of Chess that delves into the conflicts and confrontations of people between the rich and poor class and high and low strata of society. How does an ordinary boy, from the community of sanitation workers, become a grandmaster?
Elliott, a lonely young man with no family, learns of a deceased grandfather he never knew. Feeling robbed of such a connection, he decides to hire an actor, Frank, to play the role of his Grandad in his daily life.
A young man prefers to play chess rather than taking a swim. Only by moonlight does he go for a swim alone. Or so he thinks.
When Death wants to bring the plague to Württemberg in 1349, he has not reckoned with the two guard soldiers Volckel and Utz, who engage him in a heated argument about plague ordinances and entry regulations.
The plot revolves around three men waiting to be deported in a prison. To escape the monotony, they form chess pieces from their bread rations, with which they then play against each other. Grünstein, a Polish Jew, proves to be a real talent, because although he is a beginner, he manages to defeat even the experienced player Lodeck, a German sailor, with his "Grünstein Variant".
Just after World War II, an American takes a railway job in Germany, but finds his position politically sensitive with various people trying to use him.
Jewish family man Marvin leaves his wife and son for a male lover during the height of the AIDS crisis in 1980s New York City.
Every 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.
In 1934 Diego Padilla wins the Spanish Championship of Chess and meets a French journalist, Marianne Latour, and they fall in love. At the end of the Civil War, Marianne convinces Diego to live in France with their daughter, where shortly afterwards Diego will be accused of spying by the Nazis and imprisoned in an SS prison. In prison, Diego will try to survive in a hostile environment thanks to Colonel Maier's passion for chess.
Evil Chun Shan uses chess boxing and a five-element ninja style to terrorize the martial arts world until he is challenged in a series of battles, then destroyed.
A Baker and a Train Driver meet during a festival to play a game of chess. While playing the game, both exchange ideas about Life and Death and their future destinies.
Short TV film upon the story of Ludwik Niemojski of the same title, which was a part of his "Incredible Stories". It tells about Bartolomeo, brilliant chess player, who had ruined his private life because of his passion for chess.
Chess is Henry's obsession. Unfortunately, his determination in winning, plus his never-ending battle against mental health, causes Henry's life to unravel.
An inspiring creative documentary that follows the story of one of Uganda's unsung heroes - Robert Katende. Popularly known as 'Coach Robert', he was able to transform a little unknown slum in the outskirts of Kampala, into an internationally recognized army of Chess Champions.
Based upon the novel by Vladimir Nabokov, a chess grandmaster travels to Italy in the 1920s to play in a tournament and falls in love.
Hélène, a housekeeper at a ritzy hotel in Corsica, is devoted to her family but lacks any passion in her own life. When she sees a handsome couple play a passionate game of chess, she becomes inspired to play herself. Hélène's working-class husband and spoiled daughter are soon bewildered by her obsession with chess. They also grow suspicious of Hélène's close relationship with Dr. Kröger, her eccentric American expat tutor.
At a local chess tournament, estranged brothers Edward and Oliver Abbott reunite after many years apart, harbouring ill will and eagerness to win.