Best chess movies and TV shows

17 items • 11062 views • 84 votes • updated Apr 29, 2026
Best chess movies and TV shows

Discover the best chess movies and TV shows, ranked from best to worst.

Based on 84 votes, the TV show The Queen's Gambit, released in 2020, came in first as the best chess movie, followed by Searching for Bobby Fischer and Pawn Sacrifice from 2015. Scroll down for the top 10 chess movies and TV shows, recommended by movie fans in 2026.

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Recommend the best chess movie

1
85.13404740930952%
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The Queen's Gambit 1
The Queen's Gambit
2020 - 2020. Drama. Anya Taylor-Joy, Chloe Pirrie, Bill Camp
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22
0
In a Kentucky orphanage in the 1950s, a young girl discovers an astonishing talent for chess while struggling with addiction.
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2
83.18156344044903%
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Searching for Bobby Fischer 2
Searching for Bobby Fischer
1993 - Max Pomeranc, Joe Mantegna, Joan Allen, Ben Kingsley, Laurence Fishburne, Michael...
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19
0
A boy's family hires a chess coach for him. The coach, a very strict man, wants to turn the boy into a new Bobby Fischer.
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3
70.0847246511602%
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Pawn Sacrifice 3
Pawn Sacrifice
2015 - Tobey Maguire, Lily Rabe, Peter Sarsgaard, Liev Schreiber, Sophie Nélisse, Michael...
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9
0
American chess champion Bobby Fischer prepares for a legendary match-up against Russian Boris Spassky.
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4
56.5508505247919%
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Critical Thinking 4
Critical Thinking
2020 - John Leguizamo, Rachel Bay Jones, Michael Kenneth Williams, Corwin C. Tuggles, Jorge...
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5
0
Inspired by a true story from 1998, the film follows five black and Latino teenagers in Miami's toughest deprived neighborhood. They fight their way to the National Chess Championship •••
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5
45.25833438405084%
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Magnus 5
Magnus
2016 - Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand, Henrik Carlsen, Espen Agdestein, Ellen Carlsen...
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7
2
Magnus Carlsen, the Norwegian chess prodigy, becomes a grandmaster at the age of 13 and world champion in 2013.
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6
43.84939193227452%
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The Luzhin Defence 6
The Luzhin Defence
2000 - John Turturro, Emily Watson, Geraldine James, Stuart Wilson, Fabio Sartor, Peter Blythe...
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3
0
In this adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's novel, a chess grandmaster travels to Italy in the 1920s to play in a tournament and falls in love.
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Best Sports MoviesBest Sports Movies
7
34.23719528896193%
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Queen of Katwe 7
Queen of Katwe
2016 - Madina Nalwanga, David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong'o, Martin Kabanza, Taryn Kay Kyaze, Esther...
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2
0
A young girl overcomes her disadvantaged upbringing in the slums of Uganda to become a chess master.
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8
34.23719528896193%
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Queen to Play 8
Queen to Play
2009 - Sandrine Bonnaire, Kevin Kline, Valérie Lagrange, Francis Renaud, Alexandra Gentil...
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2
0
A Corsican maid becomes obsessed with chess after watching an American couple play a passionate game.
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9
34.23719528896193%
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The Coldest Game 9
The Coldest Game
2019 - Bill Pullman, Lotte Verbeek, Nicholas Farrell, Corey Johnson, Robert Więckiewicz, James...
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2
0
During 1962's Cuban missile crisis, a troubled math genius finds himself drafted to play in a U.S.-Soviet chess match -- and a deadly game of espionage.
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10
20.654329147389294%
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A Little Game 10
A Little Game
2014 - Ralph Macchio, Janeane Garofalo, F. Murray Abraham, Fatima Ptacek, Kimberly Quinn...
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1
0
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 an irascible chess master, who uses the •••
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How do the rankings work?

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Frequently asked questions

Which movie is in first place?

The Queen's Gambit is currently ranked first on TopFaves, with 22 votes for and 0 votes against in this list.

What are the top three spots?

The top three spots are held, in order, by The Queen's Gambit, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Pawn Sacrifice. The ranking can change as votes are added.

What are the most recent movies in this list?

Among the titles with a known release year, the most recent are: Critical Thinking (2020), The Coldest Game (2019), Magnus (2016).

Which movies from 2010–2019 are included?

Titles released in this period include The Coldest Game (2019), Magnus (2016), Queen of Katwe (2016).

How many votes have been recorded?

In total, 84 votes have been recorded. The total refers to the whole list and is not the number of different people who voted.

How do I vote and how is the ranking decided?

Press the up arrow if you recommend an option or the down arrow if you do not. You can use the search box in the list to quickly find a name and vote directly. The order takes into account both positive and negative votes and how many there are, and positions can change as votes are added.