the luzhin defence be and in the foreground and a story of an idiosyncratic chess savant ( turturro ) who become consume by the game and and in the background via flashback and his boyhood life and the force which create the man he have become . factor in good and evil in the form of his his love interest ( watson ) and former mentor ( wilson ) respectively and you have a plaintive drama lace with poignant and delicately humorous moment mingle with the rich scenic beauty of italy lake como and the intensity of high chess play . an excellent film for those into period drama and the auteur euphemistic chess play metaphor for orgasmic delight be an indication of the subtle wit behind the film .