Chess King (1988)
棋王
In a small southern frontier town, an old man called “Nail Li” boasts about his chess skills by nailing a general piece to the board, challenging anyone to remove it. During this era, many young people moved to the countryside. The town’s new party secretary, played by Niu Ben, was angry after losing a game and sent his team to the city to find talents in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Wang Yisheng, a Beijing youth known as “The Chess Fool,” was mistakenly labeled a counter-revolutionary during the Cultural Revolution but was saved by those searching for him. Unconcerned about his destination, he was content with food and chess, saying, “What can relieve my worries? Only playing chess.” He became engrossed in the game, leaving memorable matches with various masters in the unfamiliar town.
- Date of release
- 1988-01-01
- TMDB
- 7.0 / 10 (3)
- Runtime
- 1h 28m
- Genres
- Drama
- Director
- Teng Wenji
Casting
- Xie Yuan — Wang Yisheng
- Zhao Liang — Tiehan
- Niu Ben — The Secretary
- Lee Fai
Recommended
- Hardball 2001 · ★ 6.5
- The Young One 1960 · ★ 7.0
- Queen of Katwe 2016 · ★ 7.2
- Vanya on 42nd Street 1994 · ★ 6.7
- Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault 1996 · ★ 7.1
- Blood Brothers 1973 · ★ 6.4
- Eleanor the Great 2025 · ★ 6.8
- Fast Girls 2012 · ★ 6.0
- One Second 2020 · ★ 7.3
- My Neighbor Adolf 2022 · ★ 6.6
- TalhotBlond 2012 · ★ 6.3
- Skin 2009 · ★ 6.4