8/24/2018 – One of the most famous chess scenes in a film is the game between the knight Antonius Block and Death from Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal" (1957). Bergman's film inspired the German director Margarethe von Trotta to become a director herself, and as a homage to Bergman she now made a documentary about her idol: "Searching for Ingmar Bergman", a film in which the chess scene from "The Seventh Seal" also plays a role.
new: ChessBase Magazine 225
Chess Festival Prague 2025 with analyses by Aravindh, Giri, Gurel, Navara and others. ‘Special’: 27 highly entertaining miniatures. Opening videos by Werle, King and Ris. 10 opening articles with new repertoire ideas and much more. ChessBase Magazine offers first-class training material for club players and professionals! World-class players analyse their brilliant games and explain the ideas behind the moves. Opening specialists present the latest trends in opening theory and exciting ideas for your repertoire. Master trainers in tactics, strategy and endgames show you the tricks and techniques you need to be a successful tournament player! Available as a direct download (incl. booklet as pdf file) or booklet with download key by post. Included in delivery: ChessBase Magazine #225 as “ChessBase Book” for iPad, tablet, Mac etc.!
Everyone uses ChessBase, from the World Champion to the amateur next door. Start your personal success story with ChessBase 14 and enjoy your chess even more!
Along with the ChessBase 14 program you can access the Live Database of 8 million games, and receive three months of free ChesssBase Account Premium membership and all of our online apps! Have a look today!
This interactive video course of over 8 hours, provides an in-depth exploration of the Pirc Defence, a favoured opening for people looking to play for the win with the black pieces.
€49.90
Searching for Ingmar Bergman
"And when the Lamb had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them." (Revelation)
One of the most famous chess images is not from a tournament but from a film: Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal". The game in the film takes place at a rocky shore and is about more than winning in chess. Life itself is at stake.
Bergman's black-and-white movie plays in the late Middle Ages. After a crusade the knight Antonius Block, played by Max von Sydow, returns to his home country Sweden which is ravaged by the plague. At the sea the knight encounters the personification of death (played by Bengt Ekerot), who came to take Antonius away. But the knight declares that he is not yet ready to die and negotiates to play a game of chess for his life against death. The knight proceeds with the drawing of colours and is to play with White. "That is good," death comments. "I love Black."
In the form of a mystery play "The Seventh Seal" thematises the search of man for God, with death as the only certain thing in life. The film was released in 1957 and its depth and its powerful images made it an international success. For its Swedish director, Ingmar Bergman, it was a breakthrough.
Bergman was born July 14th, 1918 in Uppsala and died July 30th, 2007 on Fårö, where he is buried together with his wife Ingrid Bergman, née von Rosen (not to be confused with the actress Ingrid Bergman who has the same name).
The Seventh Seal: The Chess Scene
The title of the movie refers to the Book of Revelation, the last chapter of the New Testament, in which the apocalypse is announced. The apocalypse takes place in seven steps. The "Book with the Seven Seals" is described in the second part of the prophetic visions:
1. The first four seals (the four horsemen of the apocalypse) 6.1–8.1.
1. The first seal 6.1–2 A white horse appears, the rider (the winner) has a bow.
2. The second seal 6.3–4 A fiery-red horse appears, the rider has a sword.
3. The third seal 6.5–6 A black horse appears, the rider has a balance.
4. The fourth seal 6.7–8 A pale horse appears, the rider is called "death" and comes to have power about one quarter of the earth.
2.The last three seals 6.9–8.5
1. The fifth seal 6.9–11 The souls of the martyrs appear and ask for judgment.
2. The sixth seal 6.12–17 After an earthquake and cosmic appearances "mankind hides themselves in the caves and mountains.
3. The saving of the parish 7.1–17 One hundred and forty-four thousand servants from the twelve tribes of Israel are sealed. A great multitude present themselves with palm branches in their hands.
4.The seventh seal 8.1–5 There is half an hour of silence in heaven. After that the seven angels get seven trumpets.
You meet interesting people at the chess board
The German director Margaretha von Trotta ("Two German Sisters", 1981) saw "The Seventh Seal" in the early 1960s in Paris and later said that Bergman's movie was the initial spark for her own artistic career. Now she finished a documentary about her idol: "Searching for Ingmar Bergman" which she presented at the Film Festival in Cannes.
The chess scene in "The Seventh Seal" is crucial in the documentary which reveals that Bergman himself had ordered his own coffin a long time before his death and that he also drew up the guest list for his funeral.
Ater the death of the director the chess set used in the film was sold in 2009 for 1 million Swedish crowns (about 100,000 Euros) at an auction at Bukowski's, a Swedish auction house. The auction attracted 8,000 visitors.
In this insightful video course, Grandmaster David Navara shares practical advice on when to calculate deeply in a position — and just as importantly, when not to.
The Trompowsky is especially suited for faster time controls as you don‘t have to memorise endless lines of theory, and you push your opponent out of their comfort zone after your second move.
Trompowsky Powerbook 2025 is based on 53,000 computer games from the engine room of playchess.com as well as 49,000 games from Mega and correspondence chess.
Trompowsky Powerbase 2025 is a database and contains a total of 8727 games from Mega 2025 and the Correspondence Database 2024, of which 316 are annotated.
2025 European Championship with a German double victory and analyses by Bluebaum, Svane, Rodshtein, Yuffa, Navara and many more. Opening videos by Engel, King and Marin. Training sections “The Fortress”, “The Trap” and “Fundamental Endgame Knowledge" etc.
In this dynamic and practical video course, IM Andrew Martin arms you with powerful antidotes to White’s most annoying sidelines.
€34.90
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.
Pop-up for detailed settings
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies, analysis cookies and marketing cookies. You can decide which cookies to use by selecting the appropriate options below. Please note that your selection may affect the functionality of the service. Further information can be found in our privacy policy.
Technically required cookies
Technically required cookies: so that you can navigate and use the basic functions and store preferences.
Analysis Cookies
To help us determine how visitors interact with our website to improve the user experience.
Marketing-Cookies
To help us offer and evaluate relevant content and interesting and appropriate advertisement.