The best movies about chess
The top 3 according to 0 votes from people: The Queen's Gambit (2020) · The Champion of the World (2021) · Pawn Sacrifice (2014). (Updated Aug 15, 2026.)
Title matches, child prodigies and even a game against Death: the best chess films as picked by grandmasters (Sport-Express, Rambler) and Chess.com.
Automatically translated (original in Русский). See the original
Top 10
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1
The Queen's Gambit (2020)
Miniseries about orphan Beth Harmon conquering the chess world.
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2
The Champion of the World (2021)
The 1978 Karpov–Korchnoi match in Baguio.
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3
Pawn Sacrifice (2014)
Bobby Fischer and the match of the century against Spassky.
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4
Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993)
Young prodigy Josh Waitzkin.
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5
The Luzhin Defence (2000)
A chess genius, from Nabokov's novel.
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6
Chess Fever (1925)
Vsevolod Pudovkin's silent comedy, featuring Capablanca.
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7
Queen of Katwe (2016)
A girl from a Ugandan slum becomes a chess player.
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8
The Seventh Seal (1957)
A knight plays chess with Death, by Ingmar Bergman.
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9
Life of a King (2013)
A former prisoner teaches teenagers chess.
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10
The Chess Players (1977)
Two aristocrats in Lucknow, by Satyajit Ray.
Candidates
They don't make it into the top 10… yet. Vote for them to move them up.
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11
Black and White Like Day and Night (1978)
A German drama about a chess player on the edge of madness.
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12
Bobby Fischer Against the World (2011)
A documentary on Fischer's life.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
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