World Chess Champion Akiva Liebskind (Michel Piccoli) faces his former pupil Pavius Fromm (Alexandre Arbatt), who defected to the West from the Soviet Union five years earlier, for the World Chess Championship in Geneva, Switzerland. The tension and strategies between the players draw parallels to the political conflicts and ideologies between East and West during the Cold War.
CountryFrance / Liechtenstein / Switzerland
Runtime1 hour 50 minutes
Production year1984
World premiere15 April 1984
Release date
25 April 1984
France
15 April 1984
Germany
12
24 May 1985
USA
Also known as
La diagonale du fou, Dangerous Moves, Diagonala nebunului, Duell ohne Gnade, Epikindyna paihnidia, Farlig trekk, Fora de Controle, Gefährliche Züge, Jogadas Perigosas, Juegos peligrosos, La diagonal del loco, Mosse pericolose, Mutări periculoase, Przekątna gońca, Vaaralliset siirrot, Veszélyes lépések, Диагональ слона, Діагональ слона, Опасни ходове