To play chess requires strategy, foresight, analytical powers, and the ability to cross-correlate large numbers of variables and learn from experience.
— Carl Sagan on why chess robots are impressive, Broca's Brain
“Mammals of every species indulge in play. Games are Nature's way of preparing us to face difficult realities.”
— Daniel Suarez, Daemon
This chess game is civilized and dignified, yet with an undertone of strong competition and battle, much like our typical interactions.
— Magneto to Professor X in X-Men: the Abridged Script
Charlie Wilson: How old are you?
Mike Vickers: I'll be 30 next week.
Charlie Wilson: This is CIA's weapons expert?
Gust Avrakotos: One of them.
Chess Player #1: Mike!
Mike Vickers: Yeah, bishop to queen's knight 7.
Gust Avrakotos: See, he's playing without even looking at the board.
Charlie Wilson: That's a useful skill... if Afghanistan's ever invaded by Boris Spassky.
Mike Vickers: I'll be 30 next week.
Charlie Wilson: This is CIA's weapons expert?
Gust Avrakotos: One of them.
Chess Player #1: Mike!
Mike Vickers: Yeah, bishop to queen's knight 7.
Gust Avrakotos: See, he's playing without even looking at the board.
Charlie Wilson: That's a useful skill... if Afghanistan's ever invaded by Boris Spassky.
I never know what to think about policemen, although I know what they want me to think—they want everyone to think that they run a tip-top organization and that all of them are chess enthusiasts and MENSA members. The ones I meet are the mouth organs assigned to the press, but still they wouldn't know a queen's gambit from a transvestite.
— Eveless Eden by Marianne Wiggins
"Anyone who looks on the world as a game of chess deserves to lose."
— Harold Finch, Person of Interest, "If-Then-Else"
Fenric: Where is the Time Lord?
Millington: Time Lord?
Fenric: The one you call Doctor.
Millington: I had him shot.
Fenric: I can see you've never been handicapped by great intelligence. For seventeen centuries I was trapped in the shadow dimensions because of him. He pulled bones from the desert sands and carved them into chess pieces. He challenged me to solve his puzzle! I failed.
— Doctor Who, "The Curse of Fenric"
You see, I'm practicing some chess, a game only played by the most dedicated of smart people!
Henry: Stalemate.
Chris: What?
Henry: "Stalemate".
Chris: I'm sorry, I don't understand.
Henry: Neither the black nor the white can move. See, a fine thing. I know the game so well; I can't even beat myself.
