Chess movies and TV shows
The list contains the best, new and most relevant chess movies ordered by relevance. The recommendation service has sorted out realistic, serious, captivating, psychological, tense and suspense films and TV shows about / with chess, ambition, rivalry, youth, coming of age, prodigy, obsession, mentor, storytelling and underdog plots mostly in Drama, Sport and Thriller genres shot in USA, France, Canada and other countries.
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TOP 10 movies tagged as chess: The Queen's Gambit (2020), Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993), The World Champion (2021), Knight Moves (1992), Critical Thinking (2020), Queen of Katwe (2016), The Luzhin Defence (2000), Pawn Sacrifice (2014), Knights of the South Bronx (2005), Fresh (1994).
Best films
New films
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
In a Kentucky orphanage in the 1950s, a young girl discovers an astonishing talent for chess while struggling with addiction.
Style:
period piece, psychological, captivating, tense, historical drama ...
Plot:
chess, genius, addiction, coming of age, female protagonist, prodigy, child prodigy, competition, champion, girl power, adoptive mother, girl ...
Time:
60s, 1950s, 50s, 2020s, 20th century
Place:
europe, usa, kentucky, las vegas, paris france ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min.
Story:
A prepubescent chess prodigy refuses to harden himself in order to become a champion like the famous but unlikable Bobby Fischer.
Style:
inspirational, touching, uplifting, feel good, intelligent ...
Audience:
family outing, kids, teen drama
Plot:
chess, mentor, child prodigy, children, genius, prodigy, teacher, child, competition, childhood, coming of age, tournament ...
Time:
year 1993, 20th century, 90s
Place:
usa, new york
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, History, Sport
Country: Russia
Duration: 145 min.
Story:
Some sporting victories are about more than just claiming a title. Some of them go down in history. The film follows the most dramatic and legendary showdown in the history of chess – the match between Anatoly Karpov, then world champion, and ...
Style:
tense, psychological, suspense, disturbing, contemplative ...
Plot:
chess, genius, child prodigy, rivalry, heroes, competition, tournament, championship, champion, ambition, snake, bad news ...
Time:
year 1978
Place:
russia
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Germany, Canada, USA
Duration: 116 min.
Story:
A psychologist falls for a world-class chess player suspected of odd murders linked to his game.
Style:
tense, detective, suspenseful, psychological, scary ...
Audience:
girls' night
Plot:
serial killer, chess, sex scene, murder, childhood trauma, revenge, psychopath, mind game, murder suspect, framed for murder, police officer, murder mystery ...
Time:
90s, year 1992
Is relevant?
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Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min.
Story:
Based on a true story from 1998, five Latino and Black teenagers from the toughest underserved ghetto in Miami fight their way into the National Chess Championship under the guidance of their unconventional but inspirational teacher.
Style:
contemplative, thought provoking, captivating, psychological, independent film ...
Plot:
chess, social problems, misfit, high school, life is a bitch, society, dedicated educator, human relationship, teacher, city, unconventional method, youth ...
Place:
miami
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 124 min.
Story:
A young girl overcomes her disadvantaged upbringing in the slums of Uganda to become a Chess master.
Style:
inspirational, sincere, captivating, disturbing, emotional ...
Audience:
teens, kids, family outing, family friendly
Plot:
poverty, chess, child protagonist, widow, rise to the top, mentor, small town, biopic, mother daughter relationship, contests and competitions, team, african american ...
Time:
year 2016, 2000s, 2010s, 1950s, future ...
Place:
uganda, africa, indiana
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: UK, France
Duration: 109 min.
Story:
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.
Style:
atmospheric, sincere, melancholic, bad ending, touching ...
Plot:
chess, asperger's syndrome, obsession, love story, relationships, prodigy, genius, eccentricity, loneliness, mentally unstable, contests and competitions, supportive spouse ...
Time:
1920s, 20th century
Place:
italy
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Drama, History, Sport, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min.
Story:
American chess champion Bobby Fischer prepares for a legendary match-up against Russian Boris Spassky.
Style:
realistic, inspirational, captivating, political, factual ...
Plot:
chess, cold war, biopic, genius, mental illness, politics, destiny, obsession, eccentricity, rivalry, contests and competitions, anti semitism ...
Time:
70s, 1950s, 20th century, year 1951, year 1959 ...
Place:
new york, canada, former yugoslavia, israel, reykjavik iceland ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min.
Story:
A 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.
Style:
touching, realistic, serious, spiritual, uplifting
Audience:
family outing
Plot:
chess, teacher, school teacher, misfit, youth, hardcase students, high school life, juvenile delinquency, elementary school, lifestyle, hopes, life is a bitch ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
new york, bronx new york city
Is relevant?
16K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, France
Duration: 114 min.
Story:
Michael is a 12-year-old drug pusher who lives in a crowded house with his cousins and aunt. His father has become a street bum,but still meets with Fresh on occasion to play chess. Fresh is rather quiet in a crazy world. Fresh's sister is a ...
Style:
hood, realistic, bleak, suspenseful, neo noir ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
chess, childhood trauma, coming of age, drug dealing, drug lord, african american, ghetto, father son relationship, drug, hip hop, urban ghetto, blaxploitation ...
Time:
90s, year 1994
Place:
new york, brooklyn new york city, usa, new jersey, africa
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Sport
Country: France
Duration: 83 min.
Story:
Budapest 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.
Style:
captivating, realistic, serious, sincere, entertaining
Audience:
teens
Plot:
chess, genius, youth, competition, prodigy, ambition, misfit, rivalry, contests and competitions, coach, bet, sport competition ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
hungary, budapest
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: New Zealand
Duration: 124 min.
Story:
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.
Style:
realistic, captivating, serious, emotional, depressing ...
Plot:
chess, brother brother relationship, hopes, teenager, illness, friendship, compassion, boy, uncle nephew relationship, underdog, contests and competitions, dedicated educator ...
Time:
20th century, year 2016, future
Place:
new zealand, oceania
Is relevant?
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Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, Spain, France
Duration: 103 min.
Story:
While restoring a fifteenth-century painting Julia reveals a hidden Latin phrase. A series of murders begin to rock her small world of art experts, patrons and restorers, and she finds that the mystery of the painting is interwoven with the mystery ...
Style:
sexy, serious, psychological, suspenseful, tense ...
Plot:
chess, inheritance, murder, investigation, amateur detective, art, uncover truth, danger, mind game, dishonesty, race against time, prostitute ...
Time:
medieval times, middle ages, 20th century, 90s, year 1993
Place:
barcelona
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Sport, Thriller
Country: France, Liechtenstein, Switzerland
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
World Chess Champion Akiva Liebskind (Michel Piccoli) faces his former pupil Pavius Fromm (Alexandre Arbatt), who defected to the West from the Soviet Union five years earlier, for the World Chess Championship in Geneva, Switzerland. The tension and ...
Style:
suspenseful, captivating, psychological, realistic, serious ...
Plot:
chess, prodigy, politics, rivalry, contests and competitions, state affairs, kgb, moral dilemma, cold war, professor, mathematician, scientist ...
Time:
80s
Place:
switzerland, ussr, moscow russia, israel, geneva switzerland ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
Endgame is a Canadian drama television series that premiered on the Showcase Television network on Monday, March 14, 2011. The series is developed and produced by Thunderbird Films. The series follows former World Chess Champion Arkady Balagan, a ...
Style:
detective, serious, suspenseful, realistic, exciting ...
Plot:
talented, investigation, law enforcement, chess, eccentricity, prodigy, hotel, murder mystery, mental illness, hotshot, propaganda, team ...
Time:
future, 21st century
Place:
russia, vancouver
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: France, Germany
Duration: 101 min.
Story:
In a small Corsican village, the life of Hélène, ordinary and single, She works as a maid in a hotel and is married happily with her Husband Ange and her fifteen year-old daughter. Her modest and monotonous life seems to be predetermined... One ...
Style:
semi serious, realistic, touching, humorous, feel good ...
Plot:
chess, midlife crisis, hopes, family relations, island, couples, follow your dream, self discovery, dull life, parents and children, obsession, couple relations ...
Time:
year 2009, 21st century
Place:
europe, france, corsica
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Country: Canada
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
The Canadian teen comedy Hatley High sends up high school sports rituals by placing a most unlikely competitive game at the center of its story: that of chess. Tommy (Nicholas Wright) is a new arrival in his parents' hometown of Hatley, whose ...
Style:
semi serious, humorous, light, captivating, realistic ...
Plot:
cheerleader, chess, teenage love, love and romance, rivalry, teenage life, ambition, small town life, school, wizards and magicians, teenager, high school ...
Time:
21st century
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
Life of a King is the true story of one man's mission to give inner city kids of Washington DC something he never had - a future. After being incarcerated for eighteen years, Eugene Brown established the Big Chair Chess Club to get kids off the ...
Style:
sincere, rough, touching, psychological, captivating ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
chess, dedicated educator, hardcase students, ex convict, teenage life, ambition, gain trust, bad attitude, society, contests and competitions, youth, redemption ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
cuba, washington d.c., usa
Is relevant?
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408
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
Since he was 5 yrs old, Jose's abuelita taught him to play chess like his grandfather who was a champion in Mexico. Now as part of the Brownsville school team, Jose has the chance to use his skills and for once in his life, finds himself in the ...
Style:
semi autobiographical, psychological, captivating, disturbing, heartfelt ...
Plot:
chess, self discovery, coming of age, teamwork, personal growth, perseverance, ambition, contest, schoolboy, teenage life, direction and purpose, teenager ...
Place:
texas
Is relevant?
Genre: Adventure, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min.
Story:
Ostracized at her posh new uptown school and shaken by the death of her beloved grandmother, a 10 year-old downtown girl finds an unlikely mentor in the form of an irascible chess-master, who uses the game to teach Max lessons in resilience, ...
Style:
captivating, entertaining, emotional, inspirational, reflective
Audience:
family outing, kids
Plot:
chess, girl, coming of age, high school friend, teenage girl, child, friendship, schoolgirl, children, child protagonist, friends, lifestyle ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 105 min.
Story:
A Jewish woman, Dr. Michele Wolf, interred in a Nazi concentration camp during WWII returns to her Paris home after the war's end. She's unaware that her husband, the handsome gigolo and chess master Stanislaw Pilgrin, has been having an ...
Style:
crime drama, psychological thriller, noir, serious, psychological ...
Plot:
chess, femme fatale, inheritance, mistaken identity, murder by drowning, murder, female nudity, murder mystery, sociopath, marriage, doctor, wealth ...
Time:
1940s, year 1945, 60s
Place:
paris france, poland, europe, france
Is relevant?
2K
Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 107 min.
Story:
Fahim Mohammad, a Bangladeshi immigrant, becomes a world junior chess champion in France.
Style:
tense, disturbing, feel good, clever, humorous ...
Audience:
family outing, family friendly
Plot:
chess, talented, biopic, perseverance, social problems, follow your dream, against the odds, stranded, prodigy, life is a bitch, refugee, competition ...
Place:
bangladesh, paris france
Is relevant?
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: Netherlands
Duration: 118 min.
Story:
A fairytale about a young girl who learns to play chess and at the same time finds her father.
Style:
fairy tale, emotional, inspirational, uplifting, dramatic ...
Plot:
chess, self discovery, heartwarming, coming of age, personal growth, father daughter relationship, game, perseverance, family reunited, determination, childhood, courage ...
Is relevant?
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Genre: Drama, Family, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 57 min.
Story:
Inner city kids are given new direction when they are convinced to join the school chess team.
Style:
learning
Plot:
chess, education, teacher student relationship, junior high school, dedicated teacher, rules, bad influence, new teacher, teenage angst, assault, urban setting, high school life ...
Time:
80s
Is relevant?
Genre: Thriller
Country: Spain
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
Nico Albert is a very peculiar character teenager, with exceptional intelligence and a single obsession: chess. His parents, concerned about the anomalous attitude of his son, child psychologist hired Julio Beltran. Through therapy and common hobby ...
Style:
psychological, serious, suspenseful, realistic, suspense ...
Plot:
chess, emotional manipulation, parents and children, murder, family relations, psychologist, teenager, teenage life, family in crisis, mind game, dishonesty, danger ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
spain
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min.
Story:
Follows Helen "Nana" Lewis, a feisty chess master, and her grandsons, as they embark on a road trip to support her rise to state championships.
Style:
feel good, mockumentary, satirical, captivating, semi serious ...
Plot:
chess, heartwarming, road trip, support group, relationships, family relations, ambitious, ambitious woman, satire, support, ambition, family drama ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Horror, Mystery
Country: France
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
A young pianist is shocked when she witnesses a strange chess tournament with a robot. Could there be a gruesome secret behind this exhibition?
Style:
suspense, psychological thriller, tense, period piece, horror musical ...
Plot:
chess, robot, piano, investigation, female protagonist, murder mystery, mind game, dark secret, obsession, haunting, identity, cat and mouse ...
Time:
70s
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 115 min.
Story:
The film tells the story of Russian emigree and the only survivor from ship crash Yanko Goorall and servant Amy Foster in the end of 19th century. When Yanko enters a farm sick and hungry after the shipwreck, everyone is afraid of him, except for ...
Style:
romantic, scenic, captivating, touching, sad ...
Audience:
girls' night
Plot:
beautiful scenery, chess, sea, immigrant, bullying, passion, social differences, fall in love, human nature, society, countryside, sea disaster ...
Time:
19th century, 1880s, year 1997, victorian era
Place:
cornwall, england, wales, europe, hamburg germany ...
Is relevant?
44K
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 97 min.
Story:
Cube Zero is the third film in the trilogy yet this time instead of a film about people trapped in a deadly cube trying to get out we see it from the eyes of someone who is controlling the cube and the torture of the victims inside. When the nerd ...
Style:
clever, surreal, surprise ending, psychological, suspense ...
Audience:
boys' night, adult
Plot:
trap, parallel world, survival, torture, mathematics, chess, elevator, video surveillance, time machine, isolation, escape room, rescue ...
Time:
future, 2000s
Place:
canada
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Drama, Sport
Country: Soviet Union
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
Chess Grandmaster Sergei Khlebnikov is a highly talented and unusual person, living in the 1970s Soviet Union. His is obsessed with making a beautiful game. But his emotional and irrational way is the reason why he never won a major competition. At ...
Style:
intellectual, dramatic, emotional, tense, melancholic ...
Plot:
chess, competition, ambition, obsession, genius, character study, tournament, rivalry, loneliness, irrational behavior, underdog, cold war era ...
Time:
70s
Place:
soviet union, russia
Is relevant?
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