 Chess grandmaster Emmett Clayton s title, not to mention his ego, are threatened when an ex-girlfriend convinces retired Soviet player Tomlin Dudek to challenge him. Dudek is Clayton s superior in every way at chess, but Clayton refuses to accept defeat. He plots to murder his erstwhile rival before the match can take place. His only obstacle to unquestioned domination of chess: a police lieutenant who knows all the right moves to put Clayton behind bars.