History Main / SmartPeoplePlayChess

* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'': In the sixth episode, Lestat and Claudia's chess games are fundamentally about who is the superior strategist between the two of them. Lestat had previously won all of their matches, but then Claudia is finally victorious, and she interprets it as proof that she can now outmaneuver Lestat in the real world (i.e. liberating herself and Louis from his GildedCage). As showrunner Rolin Jones elaborates in the "Episode Insider" featurette:

Be sure to expect two intelligent {{worthy opponent}}s, often leaders with real-life "pieces" to command, talking about recent things to hit home [[TwoLinesNoWaiting the chess resembles plot developments]]. Of course, even if you've got two genius rivals playing, like [[ComicBook/XMen Professor X]] and ComicBook/{{Magneto}}, expect the brainiest to dramatically declare ''"[[SurpriseCheckmate ...checkmate!]]"'' while numerous pieces are left on the board - which in real life actually means one is ''awful'' at chess, not only because they left a fatal opening in their side, but also because they didn't realize and therefore didn't think to resign.

This trope is TruthInTelevision to a degree, as the game relies heavily on strategy and forethought, so it tends to attract and favor people who like an intellectual challenge. However, this is hardly a determiner, because as in most games, one's skill comes mostly from training and experience at said game instead of raw natural intelligence. In fact, the sheer amount of concentration required could make it difficult for the highest of [=IQs=] if they happen to [[AttentionDeficitOohShiny have focus problems]] or [[BrilliantButLazy are not invested enough in the game]]. Similarly, being smart at something with more practical application (science, engineering, math, buisness, even military strategu) does not necessarily translate into being smart at chess (or vice versa).

* Wyrd's tabletop game ''TabletopGame/{{Malifaux}}'' gives us a scene featuring [[OnlyInItForTheMoney Outcast]] [[WalkingWasteland Leveticus]] and his sort-of-apprentice [[CloudCuckooLander Rusty Alyce]] playing a game in their free time, which concludes in Leveticus placing Alyce in check after explaining that she is too rigid in her style and needs to adapt as the game goes on. Alyce then proceeds to [[TakeAThirdOption blow a hole in the board where Leveticus's checking piece had been placed]] with her [[HandCannon Clockwork Seeker]], asking if that was adaptable enough.
* The head of the Academy in ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}} Black Ops'' believes this, so chess is the primary mental challenge given to recruits. At the end of the second year, there is a giant chess tournament among all remaining recruits.

* In ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'', AIs play chess to test their relative intelligence, particularly Ennesby and Haban. You can tell when one of them is seriously outclassed because his opponent will be able to predict the entire game before the first move is played.

* In ''WebVideo/ATrailerForEveryAcademyAwardWinningMovieEver'', the smart glasses-wearing best friend is shown at one point studying a chessboard from board level shifting angles as he did.
* Website/{{Wikipedia}}'s page for [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alzheimer%27s#Prevention Alzheimer's disease]] states: "Intellectual activities ... have been linked to a reduced risk of AD in epidemiological studies, although no causal relationship has been found." Guess what they show a picture of to indicate "intellectual activities."

* In the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Unlimited'' episode "Wake the Dead", Shayera Hol and Aquaman are seen finishing a game of chess. Aquaman wins and taunts Shayera over both her loss and the quiet way she acquiesced, and the taunts themselves get no reaction. His dialogue reveals that the game itself was not the point, but that he is trying to get her to break out of the funk she had been in since the end of "Starcrossed", as she used to regularly beat Batman when they would play. Amazo, the super-intelligent evolving android that at this point in the series is nearly a god, also likes to play chess with Aquaman. Aquaman never actually ''beats'' Amazo, but is at least commended for taking longer to inevitably checkmate.
* {{Subverted}} in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "The PTA Disbands": Bart is seen in the park playing several games of chess at once; he loses all of them. A parody of a scene in ''Knight Moves''.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', Cyborg and Raven, generally portrayed as the two smartest team members, are shown playing chess with each other.
** The [[BigBad Brotherhood of Evil's boss]] and his [[TheDragon Dragon]] are seen playing chess as their minions engage the various international Titans.
* ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'': Raimundo shows a surprising knack for it while playing against [[RuleOfCool a talking dinosaur with a British accent.]]

* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'' when the ComicBook/{{MODOK}} CaptainErsatz Think Tank breaks into Dr. Venture's penthouse to challenge him to a game of chess, only for Venture to explain that he doesn't know how to play and that he's "more of a Parcheesi man".
* Done subtly on ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb.'' MadScientist [[MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate Dr.]] [[HerrDoktor Doofensmirtz]] seems to be a fan of chess. When he is bored, he suggests that he and Perry use his travel chess set. He even schemes to freeze every evil scientist nemesis and turn them into a live [[HumanChess Animal chess set.]]
* WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy: Brian/Stewie play chess during their cross-country trip with Quagmire.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse2002'' episode "The Roboto Gambit", Man-at-Arms builds Roboto to play chess with Man-e-Faces (because he can beat everyone too easily in his super-smart robot form). In later episodes, Roboto plays chess with Orko and Sy-Clone.

* In ''WesternAnimation/CentralPark'', Season 1 "[[Recap/CentralParkS1E7SquirrelInterrupted Squirrel, Interrupted]]", Paige and Molly both play chess together and Paige is surprised that Molly has actually beaten her since she's been letting her win. They go to the Chess House at the park where several other people are playing chess and Molly meets Danny and beats him in several matches. Then they meet Constantine, who is a chess master and is undefeated at the park, and they see him play against ten people at the same time while he's eating sushi. Molly knows she has no chance against him, but still plays against him so she can learn from it.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Bluey}}'', Bandit spends the episode "Chest" trying to teach Bluey to play chess [[InvokedTrope for precisely this reason]]. Unfortunately for him, Bluey and Bingo are still too young to really grasp the rules and instead turn the lesson into another one of their make-believe games, being easily distracted by the elaborate chess pieces. Chilli eventually takes over the game to teach Bandit how it's more important for them to raise their daughters to be good people rather than just focusing on making them smarter.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': Flipwart is an InUniverse game resembling chess. Marcy and King Andrias, two characters known for their brilliance, are perhaps the game's best players.

* [[TVGenius Sherman]] from ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeries'' often does this.
* Related to the Justice League entry below: [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3648035/1/ The Big Question.]]
* One ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' fanfic had a twist: [[GreatDetective Chip]] and [[GadgeteerGenius Gadget]] had some time to kill during a mission but did not have a chess set. So, they just announced their moves, and simply kept the board and the positions of all the pieces memorized through the entire game.

Be sure to expect two intelligent {{worthy opponent}}s, often leaders with real-life "pieces" to command, talking about recent things to hit home [[TwoLinesNoWaiting the chess resembles plot developments]]. Of course, even if you've got two genius rivals playing, like [[ComicBook/XMen Professor X]] and ComicBook/{{Magneto}}, expect the brainiest to dramatically declare ''"[[SurpriseCheckmate ...checkmate!]]"'' while numerous pieces are left on the board (which in real life actually means one is awful at chess, so much so they didn't even think to resign).

This trope is TruthInTelevision to a degree, as the game relies heavily on strategy and forethought, so it tends to attract people who like an intellectual challenge. However, this is hardly a determiner, because as in most games, one's skill at it comes mostly from training and experience instead of raw natural intelligence. In fact, the sheer amount of concentration required could make it difficult for the highest of [=IQs=] if they happen to [[AttentionDeficitOohShiny have focus problems]] or [[BrilliantButLazy are not invested enough in the game]]. Also being smart at something with more practical application (science, engineering, math, buisness) does not necessarily translate into being smart at chess (or vice versa). It is worth pointing out, that unlike other disciplines, traditional chess mastery is focused on deep absorption of a lot of existing lore, theory and systems that have been constantly written about but remain mostly unchanged since the game became a serious study in the 18th century. As a result, once you've memorized most of what's already out there, you can't help but beat most people who rate under you unless you're having a very bad day or intentionally make a blunder. So, unless you get into [[VariantChess weird chess variants]], after extreme grand mastery, the challenge and surprise potential of the game reaches a plateau.

* UsefulNotes/AlvaroDeBazan, a 16th century Spanish admiral that easily makes top 10 of the best naval commanders in history, reportedly loved chess, to the point it's claimed this is the reason he used a chessboard family crest.

* ''Literature/DoomsdayWarrior''. In ''American Nightmare'', Ted Rockson has been captured by the DirtyCommunists. Our hero manfully resists torture, but offers to talk if his Soviet torturer, who [[NationalStereotypes of course]] is a chessmaster can beat him in a chess game (as if!). Rockson cunningly hides the fact that he's a chess champion as well ([[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands he hid this from the audience as well in the nine previous novels]]). They play on a red and white chessboard (the DirtyCommunist plays red, of course) and Rockson beats him in six moves. Unfortunately the author actually sets out each move, [[InformedAbility making it clear that this duel of alleged chessmasters is anything but.]]

* Played with in ''Anime/{{Monster}}'': Hyper-intelligent Inspector [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Runge/Lunge]] tells some subordinates to not "waste time with such a boring game." In the manga, he says so... right after showing the winning move to one of them.

** Used in a fairly ridiculous way in the second pilot. Kirk defeats Spock by using an "illogical" tactic which catches him off guard. What makes it silly is that the tactic is simply sacrificing a piece, which leads to checkmate in the next turn. How this very basic part of the game is illogical is never explained.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Bluey}}'', Bandit spends the episode "Chest" trying to teach Bluey to play chess [[InvokedTrope for precisely this reason''. Unfortunately for him, Bluey and Bingo are still too young to really grasp the rules and instead turn the lesson into another one of their make-believe games. Chilli eventually takes over the game to teach Bandit how it's more important for them to raise their daughters to be good people rather than just focusing on making them smarter.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Bluey}}'', Bandit tries to teach Bluey to play chess, for precisely this reason. Unfortunately for him, Bluey and Bingo are too young to really grasp the rules and instead turn it into another one of their make-believe games. Chilli eventually takes over the game to teach Bandit how it's more important for them to raise their daughters to be good people rather than just focusing on making them smarter.

* In the first of episode of ''Series/{{Scorpion}}'', the team realize that Ralph is a budding genius when he beats Sylvester, a chess Grand Master; by the time Paige is alerted to what's going on, Ralph has Sylvester in checkmate in eight moves. ''Using sugar packets on a non-checkerboard counter top.''
** Mark Collins is also mentioned to be good at chess, but not so much because of being good at playing the game as because [[ManipulativeBastard he's good at mind games and forcing people into playing badly]].

* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': One of biology teacher Mr. Boynton's hobbies is chess. In the "Hobby Show", he tries to teach the game to Miss Brooks.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Bluey}}'', Bandit tries to teach Bluey to play chess, for precisely this reason. But Bluey and Bingo are too young to really grasp it and instead turn it into another one of their make-believe games.

[[TabletopGames Other strategy games]] can be substituted depending on the setting (for example, Japanese media generally show cerebral types playing Go, whereas more "hand-on" characters will play Shogi). To make it easier for the audience to identify with this trope, these games will be shown as very similar to chess, either by visual cues (checkerboard designs, chess-like pieces) or described outright as "[[VariantChess <X>-chess]]" (Wizard chess, Vulcan chess, etc.).

* ''Series/TeenWolf'': Stiles, the pack's resident [[{{TheSmartGuy}} researcher and strategist]], plays chess with his Dad and even uses it as a metaphor to explain the supernatural world. [[spoiler: When he's possessed by the nogitsune - a Japanese Fox Spirit - it's revealed the spirit keeps him trapped in his own mind by keeping him playing an endless game of "Go".]]

[[BunnyEarsLawyer Compare]] and contrast CrazyPeoplePlayChess and CunningPeoplePlayPoker. Chess may be looked at as a BookSmart type of game while poker is a StreetSmart game. However, it is not out of the question to find someone skilled in both.

* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' also had ''[[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Kal-toh kal-toh]]'', a Vulcan strategy game. It was played by Tuvok, Harry Kim, Icheb, and simulations of Socrates and T'Pau. Harry once called it "Vulcan chess", prompting Tuvok to claim that "Kal-toh is to chess as chess is to tic-tac-toe."

** ''Literature/{{Jingo}}'' uses a FictionalCounterpart of TabletopGame/{{Scrabble}} for much the same purpose; Leonard of Quirm, while undoubtedly a smart person (and the ''inventor'' of The Make-Words-With-Tiles-That-Have-All-Been-Mixed-Up Game), isn't as strategically minded as Vetinari, who ends up winning the game. As for [[ThoseTwoGuys Colon and Nobby]], they did terribly. (Although this might not be ''entirely'' because they're stupid; at one point Colon freaks out trying to think of a word he can use that ''doesn't'' give him a higher score than Vetinari.)

* It isn't enough that Charlie Eppes of ''Series/{{NUMB3RS}}'' could multiply four-digit numbers in his head when he was three, graduated from high school and entered Princeton at 13, completed his bachelors degree in three years and is a multiple Ph.D. No, just so we'll know he's ''really'' smart, he regularly beats his father and his former academic advisor (both portrayed as above average intelligence) at chess, too. (But he's [[DoWellButNotPerfect Not Too Perfect]]: he doesn't do so well at Scrabble.)

* In ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'' George Washington (who is viewed as a master tactician and leader throughout) makes a chess refernce during ''Right Hand Man''.