Computer Chess

Computer Chess is set at a convention where programmers gather to enter their chess-playing programs in a tournament, competing against one another and against human players for a cash prize. The event brings together an odd assortment of hobbyists and eccentrics in a hotel, and tensions build among them as the competition unfolds, with the arrival of a woman adding to the awkward dynamics of the group. The story unfolds as a comedy about people trying to teach machines to outthink humans at a time when computers still seemed clumsy.

Andrew Bujalski wrote and directed the film, which was produced by Houston King and Alex Lipschultz. It followed three earlier features by Bujalski, Funny Ha Ha, Mutual Appreciation and Beeswax, and preceded Support the Girls. The cast includes Patrick Riester, Myles Paige, James Curry, Robin Schwartz, Gerald Peary and Wiley Wiggins, among a credited ensemble of forty-three performers.

The film runs ninety-one minutes. On IMDb it holds a rating of 6.2 from around five thousand votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.1 from a much smaller number of votes. A critics' rating of 7.4 from eighty-one reviews places it noticeably higher with reviewers than with general audiences.