Lost Cause

A seven-year-old chess prodigy refuses to harden himself in order to become a champion like the famous but unlikable Bobby Fischer.

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.

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.

A Marine travels to Louisiana after serving three tours in Iraq and searches for the unknown woman he believes was his good luck charm during the war.

Two brothers, raised by a chess master, must battle head to head in the world's most competitive chess tournament.

After his wife is assaulted, a husband enlists the services of a vigilante group to help him settle the score.

A world-famous chess grandmaster is led into a game of psychological cat and mouse when he accepts a challenge from an overzealous fan.

1938. While the Nazi troops march into Vienna, the lawyer Josef Bartok hastily tries to escape to the USA with his wife but is arrested by the Gestapo. Bartok remains steadfast and refuses to cooperate with the Gestapo that requires confidential information from him. Thrown into solitary confinement, Bartok is psychologically tormented for months and begins to weaken. However, when he steals an old book about chess it sets him on course to overcome the mental suffering inflicted upon him, until it becomes a dangerous obsession.

At a local chess tournament, estranged brothers Edward and Oliver Abbott reunite after many years apart, harbouring ill will and eagerness to win.

Chess is Henry's obsession. Unfortunately, his determination in winning, plus his never-ending battle against mental health, causes Henry's life to unravel.

Schachmatt

At the American Computer Chess Convention, enthusiasts gather to pit their programs against other computer chess programs and human players in a tournament for a grand prize of $7500.

An obsession with chess leads a boy to a nightmare where he realizes that his life must change.

The thrilling, inside story of the psychology of sporting winners. Filmed during the world's strongest open chess tournament ever, "King's Gambit" reveals the tension, jubilation and heartache of professional chess and top-level sports competitors.

Several days in the lives, and profiles of, the owners and players of the open air street chess tables in downtown San Francisco. An informative and insightful portrait of a freely public, yet effectively anonymous, subculture: a unique and colorful patch of eccentric americana in the urban quilt of an international city. —Anonymous

Two chess champions have a secret match to decide once and for all which of them is the better player.

In a dimly lit room, two boys engage in an intense chess match. As tension rises and strategies unfold, the game becomes a battleground of wits and wills, leading to an unexpected climax that goes beyond the boundaries of the board.

Filmic essai on different chess methods combined with an adapted sound setting made in collaboration with chess grandmaster Alberic O'Kelly de Galway. Voted for in the Sight & Sound 2022 Greatest Films of All Time poll.