columbo often play a kind of chess game with his opponent and but this time his adversary be an actual chess champion . emmett clayton ( laurence harvey and with echo of his tormented character in the manchurian candidate ) have a nightmare before an important chess match and a nightmare the director helpfully visualize for u a a giant fog fill chess board and on which clayton and his opponent be chess piece . clearly and he worry about his match with tomlin dudek ( jack kruschen and who look a bit like captain kangaroo ) and a kindly old fat russian . later and the two meet and not coincidentally and in a french restaurant and where they begin use the salt and pepper shaker and other object on the table a chess piece . the game continue in clayton apartment secretly and because both dudek doctor and his coach would throw fit if they know the diabetic russian be out late and eat rich food with his opponent . clayton lose the impromptu game and have a nervous fit and from which dudek try to calm him down . meanwhile and columbo appear before there even a murder represent dudek coach have panic and call the police when the champion do not show up in his hotel room on time . so columbo be aware of this man even before something serious happens . the next day something do . clayton decides he must murder dudek before the match . he concoct a scheme that make it look a if dudek meet with an untimely accident in the hotel trash compactor . but our rumpled and seemingly disorganize lt. columbo be on the case . clayton make for an interesting adversary . he refuse to play along with columbo pretense and force our resourceful detective into some quicksilver improvisation . clayton would not pretend for a moment that columbo be just interested in clear a few thing up and and he call him on it immediately . he also would not stand for columbo usual forgetful routine . wonderfully and he demonstrate his own superior memory in a way i will leave for you to discover . clayton be also nearly deaf and a handicap that have both unusual advantage and unexpected peril . the script be not as quite a sure and deft a the great columbo episode and like murder by the book and a stitch in crime . but it come very close . i particularly love the scene where clayton play chess with a series of fawn opponent a columbo grill him . and then there the end and which be very satisfactory . this be a must see for columbo fan and good entertainment for anyone else .