Chess Movies and Tv Series. Movies and Tv Series based around Chess.
Chess Movies. Movies based around Chess.
List activity
482 views
• 4 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
28 titles
- 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."Searching for Bobby Fischer" inspired a scholastic chess boom in the United States. With a star-studded cast of actors including Joe Mantegna, Ben Kingsley, Laurence Fishburne, and Joan Allen, the film was destined to deliver. The movie was based on the book "Searching for Bobby Fischer" by Fred Waitzkin which detailed his son Josh Waitzkin's journey though the world of chess. Josh went on to become a strong international master and eventually left chess to pursue martial arts.
- 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.This much anticipated 2014 drama "Pawn Sacrifice" is based on the story of Bobby Fischer's rise through chess all the way up to the world championship. Actor Tobey Maquire plays the role of Bobby Fischer, while Liev Scheiber plays Soviet World Champion Boris Spassky. The film explores the dark side of Fischer's paranoia. Part of the film visits Fischer's rise through chess as a young kid from Brooklyn, how he became obsessed with the game, and how he pushed to win every game he played. The mental stress Fischer put himself through leading up to winning the world championship is shown to have damaged him, and he disappears from the public into hiding.
- 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.
- 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.The 2012 book made into a movie "Queen of Katwe" is a 2016 film based on the life of Ugandan chess player Phiona Mutesi, a Ugandan girl growing up in the slums of Katwe. Phiona, played by actress Madina Nalwanga, would frequent the local center where chess is taught by Robert Katende, played by actor David Oyelowo. At first her motivation is that the students would receive a free meal for attending the class, and then it was realized that Phiona has talent for chess which evolves into a love for the game. After successes in local tournaments, Phiona is challenged playing chess on an international level and learns of life outside of Katwe.
- DirectorMarleen GorrisStarsJohn TurturroEmily WatsonGeraldine JamesTwo worlds collide when an eccentric genius falls in love with a strong-willed society beauty.The 2000 film "The Luzhin Defense" was a dramatic portrayal of a talented chess player named Aleksandr Ivanovich Luzhin played by actor John Turturro. The film is based on the book "The Defense" by author Vladimir Nabokov. Luzhin travels to Italy to compete in a prestigious tournament where he also meets and falls in love with Natalia Katkov played by award-winning actress Emily Watson. During this period, the film reflects back to the childhood of Luzhin and the family stresses that he endured. Luzhin's opponent Dottore Salvatore Turati, played by Fabio Sartor, is advised by Luzhin's old chess coach Leo Valentinov, played by Stuart Wilson, that he cannot handle pressure.
This works to Turati's advantage as the game is adjourned. Once the game was adjourned, Valentinov kidnapped Luzhin and abandoned him bringing back painful memories of his childhood. The trauma lands Luzhin in a hospital due to mental exhaustion where doctors forbid him to play chess. Luzhin's stress and exhaustion drives him to leap from a window committing suicide. His fiancée Natalia finds Luzhin's notes to the adjourned game and finishes the winning moves against Turati. - 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorÉlodie NamerStarsMichelangelo PassanitiLou de LaâgeMagne-Håvard BrekkeBudapest International Chess Tournament. The most likely winner: Cal Fournier (22), French champion, immature genius, socially awkward, compulsive player. But this time, an unusual 9-years-old Hungarian opponent disrupts this smooth-running routine.
- DirectorEvan OppenheimerStarsF. Murray AbrahamRalph MacchioOlympia DukakisA young girl finding her way around the city and her own life through chess lessons. This is also about being open to all the clues about your life and your options that surround you everyday.
- 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.
- DirectorKatie DellamaggioreStarsRochelle BallantyneOghenakpobo EfekoroPatrick JohnstonAmidst financial crises and unprecedented public school budget cuts, Brooklyn Castle takes an intimate look at the challenges and triumphs facing members of a junior high school's champion chess team."Brooklyn Castle" came out in 2012 and was an instant hit with chess fans, educational professionals, and parents. The documentary film follows the successful Intermediate School 318 (I.S. 318) along with head chess teacher Elizabeth Spiegel in Brooklyn, New York over the course of a year though the ups and downs of competitive chess. I.S. 318 overcame budget cuts to become the most successful chess program in the country, winning more championships than any other schools in the country. I.S. 318 was the first middle school team to win the National High School championships! A must watch!
- DirectorAndrew RossiStarsElizabeth ArmstrongRichard ArumJamshed BharuchaA documentary that questions the cost -- and value -- of higher education in the United States.
- DirectorCaroline BottaroStarsSandrine BonnaireKevin KlineFrancis RenaudA chambermaid on Corsica is obsessed with chess after seeing a US expat play it lovingly with l'Américaine. She cleans his house and now also plays with him on Tuesdays.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorEsmé LammersStarsMaja van den BroeckeLisa de RooyCas EnklaarA fairytale about a young girl who learns to play chess and at the same time finds her father.
- 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.
- DirectorBoaz YakinStarsSean NelsonGiancarlo EspositoSamuel L. JacksonDeath and violence anger a twelve-year-old drug courier, who sets his employers against each other.
- 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.
- DirectorRichard DemboStarsMichel PiccoliAlexandre ArbattLiv UllmannDuring the Cold War, the World Chess Championship clashed complete opposites - personal and political.