"Le Tournoi", French movie on chess coming soon

by Albert Silver
2/21/2015 – Chess is clearly in fashion, and you had better put a note in your calendars, since on April 29, a new film based on chess will be released in France and then worldwide. The French film “Le Tournoi” or “The Tournament” will depict a young champion who enjoys playing games even off the board, until he meets a player untouched by them. Here are pictures, the synopsis, and teasers.

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The official tournament poster

Written and directed by Elodie Namer, the cast brings Michelangelo Passaniti, Lou de Laâge, the Norwegian Magne-Hàvard Brekke and Adam Corbier as the main protagonists.

The story takes place at the Budapest International Open, where Cal Fournier, played by
Michelangelo Passaniti, 22 years old and French Champion, battles his opponents with incredible
strength, following the stratagems laid out by his trainer Viktor (Magne-Hàvard Brekke).

Michelangelo Passaniti spent months studying the behaviour and mannerisms of chess players,
and was influenced by the charismatic non-chalance of Magnus Carlsen

Here is the protagonist Cal Fournier

He spends his offtime playing games of all kinds with his acolytes Fabien, Anthony, Mathieu, and Lou (Lou de Laâge). However, an opponent unlike any other will derail his well-oiled routine: Max (Adam Corbier), a young 11-year-old Hungarian player, iconoclastic and irreverent.

There were more than a few extras who are genuine chess players, such as GM Fabien Libiszewski
shown here in the center holding a deck of cards

Here is Fabien being prepared behind the scenes

In the film, he plays one of the friends of Cal Fournier's entourage

He was not the only chess player to appear. If you look closely at the second player to the left...

...you will recognize top French player GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave!

As he becomes more and more obsessed by the unexpected challenger, Cal tries to find a way to beat him at all costs.

The Goliath, Cal Fournier, meets his David, in the 11-year-old Max

Teasers

 

Video teaser showing the scene of the simul

 

A more eclectic teaser showing a wide variety of imagery from the movie

If you would like the follow the movie's development be sure to check out the official Facebook page.

Source for report: Fabrice Wantiez

Photos by Matthieu Ponchel

Born in the US, he grew up in Paris, France, where he completed his Baccalaureat, and after college moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He had a peak rating of 2240 FIDE, and was a key designer of Chess Assistant 6. In 2010 he joined the ChessBase family as an editor and writer at ChessBase News. He is also a passionate photographer with work appearing in numerous publications.