The Ultimate Chess List
by thx-16429 | created - 28 Feb 2021 | updated - 30 Aug 2021 | PublicThe Game of the Kings depicted in films
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. The Queen's Gambit (2020)
TV-MA | 57 min | Drama
Orphaned 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.
Stars: Anya Taylor-Joy, Chloe Pirrie, Bill Camp, Marcin Dorocinski
Votes: 551,397
2. Queen of Katwe (2016)
PG | 124 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
A Ugandan girl sees her world rapidly change after being introduced to the game of chess.
Director: Mira Nair | Stars: Madina Nalwanga, David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong'o, Martin Kabanza
Votes: 18,669 | Gross: $8.81M
3. Endgame (I) (2015)
Not Rated | 90 min | Biography, Drama
HD. A troubled middle-school boy from a poor Texas border town finds himself through his school's chess team.
Director: Carmen Marrón | Stars: Dimitri Agado, Cassie Brennan, Ivan Cisneros, Ivonne Coll
Votes: 376
4. Pawn Sacrifice (2014)
PG-13 | 115 min | Biography, Drama, History
Set 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.
Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Tobey Maguire, Liev Schreiber, Peter Sarsgaard, Michael Stuhlbarg
Votes: 49,234 | Gross: $2.44M
5. The Dark Horse (2014)
R | 124 min | Biography, Drama
A brilliant but troubled New Zealand chess champion finds purpose by teaching underprivileged children about the rules of chess and life.
Director: James Napier Robertson | Stars: Cliff Curtis, James Rolleston, Kirk Torrance, James Napier Robertson
Votes: 6,581 | Gross: $0.06M
6. Endgame (2011)
60 min | Crime, Drama
The death of his fiancee has left chess master Arkady Balagan agoraphobic and unwilling to step outside of his hotel. This debilitation, however, doesn't stop him from solving difficult crimes.
Stars: Shawn Doyle, Patrick Gallagher, Katharine Isabelle, Carmen Aguirre
Votes: 3,744
7. Knight Moves (1992)
R | 116 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
During a chess tournament, grand master Peter is suspected of murdering Debi after sex. He helps the police as the murders continue.
Director: Carl Schenkel | Stars: Christopher Lambert, Tom Skerritt, Codie Lucas Wilbee, Joshua Murray
Votes: 9,157 | Gross: $0.92M
8. Blade Runner (1982)
R | 117 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
A blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos
Votes: 822,315 | Gross: $32.87M
9. The Chess Players (1977)
Not Rated | 129 min | Comedy, Drama, History
In 1856, two obsessed noblemen ignore everything while playing chess and fail to notice British rule extending into their Indian province.
Director: Satyajit Ray | Stars: Sanjeev Kumar, Saeed Jaffrey, Shabana Azmi, Farida Jalal
Votes: 4,058
10. Queen to Play (2009)
Unrated | 101 min | Drama
A 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.
Director: Caroline Bottaro | Stars: Sandrine Bonnaire, Kevin Kline, Francis Renaud, Jennifer Beals
Votes: 3,190 | Gross: $0.48M
11. The Seventh Seal (1957)
Not Rated | 96 min | Drama, Fantasy
A 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.
Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Max von Sydow, Gunnar Björnstrand, Bengt Ekerot, Nils Poppe
Votes: 198,275
12. Game Over (2003)
PG | 90 min | Documentary
In 1997, chess champion Garry Kasparov goes head-to-head against IBM's computer, Deep Blue, and accuses IBM of cheating its way to victory. Interviews with Kasparov, his manager and members of the Deep Blue team illuminate the controversy.
Director: Vikram Jayanti | Stars: Marc Ghannoum, Joel Benjamin, Michael Greengard, Anatoli Karpov
Votes: 1,393
13. The Luzhin Defence (2000)
PG-13 | 109 min | Drama, Romance
Two worlds collide when an eccentric genius falls in love with a strong-willed society beauty.
Director: Marleen Gorris | Stars: John Turturro, Emily Watson, Geraldine James, Stuart Wilson
Votes: 4,703 | Gross: $1.05M
14. Final Move (2006)
R | 91 min | Thriller
A psychic and a cop track a serial killer who is copying a killer who just got executed.
Director: Joey Travolta | Stars: Matt Schulze, Lochlyn Munro, David Carradine, Daniel Baldwin
Votes: 470
15. Dangerous Moves (1984)
100 min | Drama, Sport, Thriller
During the Cold War, the World Chess Championship clashed complete opposites - personal and political.
Director: Richard Dembo | Stars: Michel Piccoli, Alexandre Arbatt, Liv Ullmann, Leslie Caron
Votes: 1,472
16. Knights of the South Bronx (2005 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 89 min | Drama
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.
Director: Allen Hughes | Stars: Ted Danson, Malcolm David Kelley, Brian Markinson, Kate Vernon
Votes: 1,116
17. Glory to the Queen (2020)
82 min | Documentary
Against the backdrop of Cold War, Glory to the Queen reveals stories of four legendary female chess players from Georgia who revolutionized women's chess across the globe and became Soviet icons of female emancipation.
Directors: Tatia Skhirtladze, Anna Khazaradze | Stars: Nana Ioseliani, Nana Alexandria, Maia Chiburdanidze, Milunka Lazarevic
Votes: 74
18. Chess Story (2021)
110 min | Drama, Thriller, War
To withstand the psychological torture of the Gestapo, a lawyer imprisoned by the Nazis finds refuge in the world of chess.
Director: Philipp Stölzl | Stars: Oliver Masucci, Dieter Bernhardt, Elias Gabele, Birgit Minichmayr
Votes: 4,600
19. Fahim (2019)
107 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
The story of Fahim Mohammad, world junior chess champion, born in Bangladesh in 2000, and currently playing in France.
Director: Pierre-François Martin-Laval | Stars: Assad Ahmed, Gérard Depardieu, Mizanur Rahaman, Isabelle Nanty
Votes: 1,803
Tell Your Friends