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There is a sweet, albeit brief, chess-themed scene, early in the new 'Conclave' film!
The story is about a papal conclave in the Vatican, Rome, called for an assembly of Cardinals, upon the death of the Pope, to elect a new Pope. It is a fictional story.
As the film begins, the Pope has just died. The character played by actor Stanley Tucci, Cardinal Bellini, an American progressive, asks the character played by actor Ralph Fiennes, English Cardinal Lawrence, Dean of the College of Cardinals and manager of the conclave, if he can now have the chess set which had belonged to the late Pope (who is not named). The Dean approves the request. The set is a nice wooden one, wooden pieces, wooden box, which folds up in the middle, and encloses the set. A game position is on the board, and it is set up correctly, with a white square in the bottom right! (Some films don't get this right.) Cardinal Bellini explains that he would play regular games with the Pope, over many years, and almost always lose, as the Pope could see eight moves ahead! The Pope played chess to relax, Cardinal Bellini states.
Later in the film, the set shows up again in the chambers of Cardinal Bellini, as he discusses papal balloting with the Dean.
[In real life, the late Pope John Paul II, Carol Woytila, of Krakow, Poland, was a chess player and composer of some note.]
The movie is excellent, and I highly recommend it! Strong performances by Fiennes, Tucci, and also veteran actress Isabella Rosselini, who plays a senior nun, providing much of the drama with important revelations, which impact the story enormously. It is a deep, serious story, of the type rarely filmed these days.
The story is about a papal conclave in the Vatican, Rome, called for an assembly of Cardinals, upon the death of the Pope, to elect a new Pope. It is a fictional story.
As the film begins, the Pope has just died. The character played by actor Stanley Tucci, Cardinal Bellini, an American progressive, asks the character played by actor Ralph Fiennes, English Cardinal Lawrence, Dean of the College of Cardinals and manager of the conclave, if he can now have the chess set which had belonged to the late Pope (who is not named). The Dean approves the request. The set is a nice wooden one, wooden pieces, wooden box, which folds up in the middle, and encloses the set. A game position is on the board, and it is set up correctly, with a white square in the bottom right! (Some films don't get this right.) Cardinal Bellini explains that he would play regular games with the Pope, over many years, and almost always lose, as the Pope could see eight moves ahead! The Pope played chess to relax, Cardinal Bellini states.
Later in the film, the set shows up again in the chambers of Cardinal Bellini, as he discusses papal balloting with the Dean.
[In real life, the late Pope John Paul II, Carol Woytila, of Krakow, Poland, was a chess player and composer of some note.]
The movie is excellent, and I highly recommend it! Strong performances by Fiennes, Tucci, and also veteran actress Isabella Rosselini, who plays a senior nun, providing much of the drama with important revelations, which impact the story enormously. It is a deep, serious story, of the type rarely filmed these days.