Knight Moves (film)

*'Knight Moves,* directed by Carl Schenkel and written by Brad Mirman, is an American film from 1992, the first movie adaptation of Chess, and theretby the founding film of the Chess Cinematic Universe.

The title refers to how there is a killer who moves in the night. They missed a trick by not making a Chess reference.

## Synopsis

Two boys in the 1970s play Chess. One beats the other, who then proceeds to beat him. This bad kid then watches his father leave and his mother die, then plays some Chess despite explicit warning not to, and vows to have issues throughout his life.

In the modern day on Roxbridge Island, Washington, Peter Sanderson is a vaguely European chessmaster whose sociopathic manner and a strategic fade-cut lead us to believe is the violent child. He's incompetent at forming sentences in English but shows no sign of fluency in any other languages — except that of Chess! He is a doting father to Erica and son-figure to father-figure Jeremy. He enjoys a booty call with someone who promptly dies, then some other people follow suit, and Peter is top suspect! This is like in Chess.

Cops accuse Peter of murder, but also need him to help with their investigation! What will happen?

## Trivia

As an adaptation of Chess, *Knight Moves* takes many liberties.

* *Knight Moves* is told as a defensive game from the perspective of Black. White's team is thereby underrepresented but the screenwriter has teased a follow-up from White's perspective.
* The Bishop is renamed Jeremy. Only one Bishop is present.
* The Pawns are all young women who recently moved to Roxbridge Island. Six pawns are taken.
* The Pawn Shop is adapted into *Roxbridge Rentals*.
* The Queen is psychologist Kathy Sheppard. Her deductive powers are retained, but she is held in low esteem by the rest of Black.
* The Rook is represented by Erica (*E-rook-a*). One Rook is present but it is suggested that Peter's wife was a former Rook (*B-rook-e Sanderson?)*, taken years ago in an upcoming prequel.
* Horseys are not present in any clear form but are thought to be represented by the two primary Police officers. One further police officer poses as a Pawn but is in fact a Horsey. She can be thought of as a reference to a Transmutated Horsey, assigned Pawn at birth.
* Peter himself is a loose adaptation of the King, initially sharing his character's powerlessness and lack of deductive skills, but eventually developing into a true victor who can take the opponent's computer guy. A significant difference to the character of King is that Peter has a gun.

Note: None of these character adaptations are addressed in the movie.

* The Chessboard is represented by *Roxbridge Island*, based on Bainbridge Island. Its map has 64 reference squares, arranged in an A-H, 1-8 fashion.
* Allusions to Timed Chess are made in the film's running time.
* Peter performs a Piranha Spindive.
* When Peter knows he's going to win, he says Checkmate. When he wins, he says Game's Over.

## Release

The film was released in two cuts: one which cut a lot of important plot points and lasted 105 or 116 minutes, and a 2020 revised edition that makes more sense and lasts 13:27. The latter is available online in full.