AllMovie

A Cuban, José Raúl Capablanca (1888-1942) was the world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. In chess circles, he is still a great legend, and he developed many original and complex strategies that are still studied today. In this Cuban-USSR co-production, the great man has agreed to participate in the World Chess Championship in Moscow in 1925. His friends have urged him not to go, fearing that this passionate and complex man will suffer from his experiences there. While in Russia, he renews an old affair and starts a new one with a dancer. Bored with the competition, the great chess master pulls all sorts of stunts, and even deliberately loses some games so as to leave the chess hall early and meet his new girlfriend.