Chess

Wazed Ali Shah is the ruler of one of the last independent kingdoms of India. The British, intent on controlling this rich country, have sent general Outram on a secret mission to clear the way for an annexation. While pressure is mounting amidst intrigue and political manoeuvres, Ali Shah composes poems and listens to music, secluded in his palace. The court is of no help, as exemplified by nobles Mir and Mirza, who, ignoring the situation of their country and all their duties towards their families, spend their days playing endless parties of chess.

In 1977's The Chess Players, Satyajit Ray, India's "extraordinary filmmaker", turned his celebrated eye for everyday life on his own country's troubled history. Made during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's era of press censorship and curtailed constitutional rights, The Chess Players dared to examine India's future through its past.

Wazed Ali Shah is the ruler of one of the last independent kingdoms of India. The British, intent on controlling this rich country, have sent general Outram on a secret mission to clear the way for an annexation. While pressure is mounting amidst intrigue and political manoeuvres, Ali Shah composes poems and listens to music, secluded in his palace. The court is of no help, as exemplified by nobles Mir and Mirza, who, ignoring the situation of their country and all their duties towards their families, spend their days playing endless parties of chess.

In this feature documentary on the game of chess, the international chess match is cast as a classic Western shoot-out. Three chess greats dominate the film: Russia's Anatoly Karpov; Viktor Korchnoi, a Russian defector; and American Bobby Fischer. Chess aficionados Camille Coudari and Fernando Arrabal analyze the personalities and strategies of the players and comment on the interplay of politics and chess.

In this feature documentary on the game of chess, the international chess match is cast as a classic Western shoot-out. Three chess greats dominate the film: Russia's Anatoly Karpov; Viktor Korchnoi, a Russian defector; and American Bobby Fischer. Chess aficionados Camille Coudari and Fernando Arrabal analyze the personalities and strategies of the players and comment on the interplay of politics and chess.

Many people know the basic rules of chess, but few can play really well. This programme offers some essential tips on how to raise our game. British grandmasters Dan King and Ray Keene go through a special demonstration game from opening gambit to checkmate, revealing the key moves that can lead to victory. They explain the opening, middle and end games, and how to outwit an opponent with techniques such as forks, pins and skewers. Along the way the colourful and diverse world of British chess playing is celebrated, including speed chess and chess boxing, and useful advice is offered on how not to be humiliated by a child prodigy.

Elevate your game At age 22, Garry Kasparov became the youngest world chess champion. After beating Bobby Fischer’s peak rating, he outranked his fiercest competitors for over twenty years. Now, Garry is ready to share the chess strategy that made him a six-time world champion. Through detailed lessons, including his favorite openings and advanced tactics, you will develop the instincts and philosophy to become a stronger player.

Many people know the basic rules of chess, but few can play really well. This programme offers some essential tips on how to raise our game. British grandmasters Dan King and Ray Keene go through a special demonstration game from opening gambit to checkmate, revealing the key moves that can lead to victory. They explain the opening, middle and end games, and how to outwit an opponent with techniques such as forks, pins and skewers.

Director: Ho Yim, Hark Tsui
In Taipei, Taiwan, a television executive is helping the emcee of a television show about child prodigies prepare for a segment featuring a young chess prodigy. While he does this, he remembers a visit to the mainland at the time of the Cultural Revolution to visit a cousin. While traveling by train, he encountered another chess player who was on his way to a prison camp. As he wonders what happened to him, the film cuts back and forth between the two different stories. One is about the cutthroat competition the prodigy must face in 1980s Taipei, the other is about tournament competition in Chinese labor camps in the 1960s. This film looks like two films cobbled together, because that's exactly what it is. After the director of the prison-camp chess match film walked off the job, the film sat on the shelf until the producer could think up a way to finish it. His solution was to shoot a parallel, contemporary story and intercut between the two.