Actors and Chess

by Bill Wall

Claude Akins (1926-1994) was an

enthusiastic chess player. He
learned how to play chess in
college and played chess with
friends and actors throughout his
life. During the making of the 1959
movie Rio Bravo (he played Joe
Burdette), he played chess
constantly with John Wayne, Dean
Martin, and Ricky Nelson. Akins
said that he taught Dean Martin
how to play chess. In 1973, Claude Bill Wall
starred in Battle for the Planet of
the Apes (he was Aldo). Between
takes, Claude was always playing
chess in a gorilla costume. Claude
played in one of Walter Browne's
blitz tournaments and was a Chess holds its master in its own
spectator (along with Morgan bonds, shaking the mind and
Fairchild and Gene Scherer) with a brain so that the inner freedom of
front row seat at the 1988 World the very strongest must suffer. —
Action Chess Championship in Einstein
Mazatlan, Mexico. One of his
regular chess partners was actor
William Windom (1923-Aug 16,
2012). There is a photo of Claude
Akins and William Windom
playing chess in the March 1988
issue of Chess Life.

Actor Alan Alda (born in 1936) is a

chess player. He usually plays
chess on his computer. In the 1977
CBS TV movie, Kill Me if You
Can, Alda played Caryl Chessman
(1921-1960), who spent 12 years
on death row before being executed
in 1960. Chessman played chess
while on death row. In the 2011
movie, Tower Heist, he plays chess
online. Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda),
as a crooked businessman, talks to
Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller) about the
Marshall chess swindle involving
Frank Marshall and Lewitsky in a
World Championship game in 1912
in Helsinki. Alda called the swindle
as the greatest move in the history
of chess. Alda should have known
better. It was a real game, but not a
world championship game, and not
in Helsinki (it was played in
Breslau, now called Wroclaw).
Alan's father, Robert Alda (1914-
1986), may also have been a chess
player. Robert Alda played a chess
hustler (Bruce Conrad) in the 1946
movie, Beast with Five Fingers. His
opponent was Francis Ingram
(Victor Francen). (source: Chess
Life, Mar 1988, p. 32)

Film comedian Woody Allen

(1935- ) plays chess on occasion,
and taught his stepson, Moses
Farrow, how to play.

American stage, screen and voice

actor Michael Ansara (1922-2013)
played chess.

British stage and film actor George

Arliss (1868-1946) played chess
and collected chess sets. Arliss
played chess in the 1933 film,
Voltaire.

Actor James Arness (1923-2011)

played chess.

Actor Lew Ayres (1908-1996)

played chess. He was on the
executive board of the Hollywood
Chess Club, along with Douglas
Fairbanks, Jr., in the 1930s. In the
1946 movie, The Dark Mirror,
psychiatrist Scott Eliot (Lew Ayres)
studies a chess position at home.
(source: Chess Life, Sep 1988, p.
30)

Actor Adam Baldwin (1962- )

plays chess. In 1987, he starred in
Full Metal Jacket. While on the set,
he played about 50 games of chess
with Stanley Kubrick. When
Baldwin was asked if he had a great
memory from Full Metal Jacket, he
responded, "Beating Stanley
Kubrick at chess." There is a photo
of him playing blitz chess with
William Windom in 1988. In the
1992 movie, Deadbolt, Alec (Adam
Baldwin) plays chess with Marty
Hiller (Justine Bateman) and Jordan
(Chris Mulkey).

Actor Alec Baldwin (1958- ) plays

chess. In 2013, he donated $2,500
to help the chess team at Central
Falls High School in Rhode Island
defray the cost of traveling to a
national scholastic chess event. The
team took 8th place out of 63 teams
at the Supernationals in Nashville,
Tennessee.

Actor Antonio Banderas (1960- )

plays chess. In the 1995 movie,
Assassins, Miguel Bain (Antonio
Banderas) plays chess with Robert
Rath (Sylvester Stallone). In the
2008 movie, The Other Man, Ralph
(Antonio Banderas) plays chess
with Paul (Liam Neeson).

John Barrymore (1882-1942) was

perhaps the strongest chess player
in Hollywood, according to Fritz
Feld. He played chess with Herman
Steiner. John's older brother, Lionel
Barrymore (1878-1954), was also a
chess player. (source: Chess Life,
Mar 1988, p. 32)

Actor Dan Blocker (1978-1972),

who played Hoss Cartwright on
Bonanza, played chess. He and
Michael Landon played chess while
on the set of Bonanza.

Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957) is

perhaps the most well-known
chess-playing actor. He learned
chess as a teenager in New York
City. In 1929, after the stock
market crashed, he hustled chess
players for money in New York
City parks and at Coney Island. He
was known to have played chess
and hustle in Times Square as late
as 1933. In the 1942 movie,
Casablanca, Rick Blaine
(Humphrey Bogart) played chess
with Captain Louis Renault
(Claude Rains). All the chess
playing scenes were his idea. He
wanted a character that was a chess
player that drank too much. There
were some chess scenes of Bogart
studying a chess game while Peter
Lorre looked on, but these scenes
did not make the final cut in the
film. During the making of
Casablanca, Bogart played several
games with Paul Henreid (1908-
1992), who played Victor Laszlo in
Casablanca. According to Henreid,
Bogart didn't win a single game
from him. During World War II,
Bogart played correspondence
chess with sever GIs overseas. One
of his chess postcards to one of the
troops sold for $2,500 in a recent
Hollywood auction. In 1944, during
the making of Passage to Marseille,
Bogart played many of the actors
and film crew during breaks. In the
June-July 1945 issue of Chess
Review, Bogart and his new wife,
Lauren Bacall, appeared in the
cover while Bogart played Charles
Boyer a game of chess during a
break in the making of The
Confidential Agent. Bogart showed
up on the set almost every lunch
hour in the set to play Boyer a
game of chess. In the 1949 movie,
Knock on Any Door, attorney
Andrew Morton (Humphrey
Bogart) is playing chess with Susan
Perry (Candy Toxton) and Mr.
Elkins (Curt Conway). During
breaks of his films, Bogart played a
lot of chess with his make-up artist,
Karl Silvera. In the early 1950s,
Marlon Brando would drive over to
Bogart's elegant mansion in
Holmby Hills, and the two would
play chess for hours. In the 1955
movie, The Left Hand of God, Jim
Carmody/Father O'Shea
(Humphrey Bogart) checkmates Dr.
Dave Sigmond (E.G. Marshall). In
1956, Bogart, as Black, drew
former U.S. chess champion
Sammy Reshevsky in a 70 board
simultaneous exhibition in Los
Angeles. The game lasted 28 moves
in a bishop and pawns vs knight
and pawns endgame. A few years
earlier, Bogart lost to George
Koltanowski in a blindfold
exhibition in San Francisco. When
Bogart was dying of cancer, his
only activity with friends was
playing chess. His most common
chess partner in his last days was
screenwriter and film director
Richard Brooks, who probably was
Bogart's last chess opponent in late
1956.

Actor Charles Boyer (1899-1978)

played chess. In June-July 1945, he
appeared on the cover of Chess
Review magazine playing a game
of chess with Humphrey Bogart. He
played chess with Dr. Walter O.
Cruz, chess champion of Brazil
between scenes of Confidential
Agent. (source: CHESS, April
1946)

Actor Marlon Brando (1924-2004)

played chess. Chess was a lifelong
passion with Brando. He learned
chess as a teenager and tried to
teach his friend, Wally Cox (1924-
1973), how to play chess. Brando
later moved to New York City and
continued to play chess. He was
not a strong player and a poor
loser. Whenever he lost, he would
knock all the pieces off the board
and say, "I'm bored."Â He did play
a lot of chess anc would call his
friends at all hours to invite them
over to play some chess. Sondra
Lee, an actress and Brando's
girlfriend during his theater days,
played chess and was able to beat
Marlon Brando in most of the
games they played. Marlon
Brando almost always played chess
between scenes and during breaks
on the movie sets. In 1953,
Marlon Brando played chess
between scenes while filming Julius
Caesar. A Hollywood reporter
wanted to get an interview with
Brando. Brando agreed if the
reporter would play a game of
chess with him. The reporter did
play a game of chess against
Brando and won. Brando later
said about the interview, "That was
the worst interview I ever
gave."Â Brando played many
chess games with Humphrey
Bogart. When Brando died, his
chess sets were auctioned by
Christie's in Los Angeles in 2005
(purchased by Neville Tuli, an art
collector).

Actor George Brent (1889-1979)

was a strong chess player. (source:
Chess Review, Apr 1940, p. 60)

Writer, director, actor and

comedian Mel Brooks (1926- )
played chess. International Master
Kim Commons gave him chess
lessons. He incorporated chess-
playing scenes in many of his
movies.

Actor Peter Brown (1935-2016)

played chess.

Nigel Bruce (1895-1953), who was

best known for his portrayal of Dr.
Watson, played chess. He was a
member of the Hollywood Chess
Group and the Herman Steiner
Chess Club. He played in several
Hollywood chess tournaments. In
the 1940 movie, Susan and God,
Hutchie (Nigel Bruce) plays chess
with Amos (Sam Harris). In the
1943 movie, Sherlock Holmes
Faces Death, Dr. Watson (Nigel
Bruce) helps Sherlock Holmes
(Basil Rathbone) solve a mystery
by playing a living chess game
from moves found in a family
ritual. (source: Chess Life, Nov
1992, p. 23)

British actor Richard Burton (1925-

1984) played chess. He played
chess in several movies.

Actor James Caan (1940- ) plays

chess. He played chess with John
Wayne. James Caan's son, Scott
Caan, also plays chess.

Sid Caesar (1922-2014) played

chess. In Who's Who, it mentions
that chess was his leisure activity.

Actor Nicolas Cage (1964- ) plays

chess and is a member of the
Internet Chess Club (ICC). In 1999,
he sent his son, Weston, to a chess
master to take chess lessons.

Actor Rory Calhoun (1922-1999),

best known for starring in a large
number of Westerns in the 1950s
and 1960s, played chess. (source:
Modern Screen, Mar 1958, p. 39)

Actor and comedian Drew Carey

(1958- ) plays chess.

Actor Jeff Chandler (1918-1961),

best remembered for playing
Cochise in Broken Arrow, played
chess. (source: Chess Review, Apr
1950, p. 97)

Silent screen comedian Charlie

Chaplin (1889-1977) occasionally
played chess. In 1921, he was one
of 20 players to play
simultaneously against Sammy
Reshevsky at the Los Angeles
Athletic Club. (source: Chess Life,
Dec 1992, p. 37)

Actor Lee J. Cobb (1911-1976)

played chess. In the 1939 movie,
Golden Boy, Mr. Bonaparte (Lee J.
Cobb) plays chess with Mr. Carp
(William Strauss). In the 1948
movie, The Dark Past, Dr. Andrew
Collins (Lee J. Cobb) plays chess
with Al Walker (William Holden).
Cobb played Wally Look of the Los
Angeles Times in an off-hand game
during a break in the shooting of
the movie Call Northside 777.
Jimmy Stewart (1908-1997)
kibitzed during the game. (source:
Chess Review, Feb 1949, p. 4)

Actor Charles Coburn (1877-1961)

was a strong chess player. (source:
Chess Life, Mar 1988, p. 32)

From 1958 to 1963, actor John

Connell (1923-2015) played Dr.
David Malone in the TV series
"Young Doctor Malone." Connell
was a chess player and played chess
with his family. Another chess
player on the show was actor Peter
Brandon (1926-1983), who played
Dr. Ted Powell. (source: Radio TV
Mirror, Jul 1960, p. 51 and Dec
1960, p. 53)

Actor Sean Connery (1930- ) plays

chess. As a young man, he was a
keen chess player. There are
photographs of him playing Patrick
McGoohan on the set of Hell
Drivers. (source: Bray, Sean
Connery: A Biography)

Jackie Coogan (1914-1984) played

chess. He received some chess
coaching from Sammy Reshevsky
(Rzeszewski). (source: Visual
Education, Feb 1923, p. 61).
Coogan played chess in the 1923
film Daddy. Later, Coogan played
chess with John Aston during the
filming of the TV series Addams
Family.

Bill Cosby (1937- ) played chess.

Actor Tom Cruise (1962- ) plays

chess. He played chess with Stanley
Kubrick on the set of Eyes Wide
Shut.

Macaulay Culkin (1980- ) plays

chess.

Actor Timothy Dalton (1944- ),

who played James Bond, plays
chess. In the past, he has visited the
London Chess Centre and
purchased an expensive wooden
chess set.

Matt Damon (1970- ) plays chess.

Ted Danson (1947- ), best known

for his acting in Cheers, plays chess
and has played Woody Harrelson in
the past (Harrelson is the better
player). In the 1980 TV film, Lethal
Games, Jack Chenault (Ted
Danson) plays chess with a
computer. In the 2005 TV film,
Knights of the South Bronx,
Richard (Ted Danson) is a chess
teacher and coach.
Actor Helmut Dantine (1918-1982)
was a good chess player. He played
a refugee in Casablanca. Helmut
played chess with Humphrey
Bogart between scenes in the 1944
movie "Passage to Marseille."
Helmut called chess his favorite
diversion. Helmut and Bogart were
just about even in chess skill. After
the movie, the two continued to
play chess over the telephone.
Helmut always carried a portable
chess board in the glove
compartment of his car, just in case.
(source: Modern Screen, Jun 1944,
p. 91)

Bobby Darin (1936-1973) was an

American singer and actor who
loved to play chess. In 1973, he
was about to sponsor one of the
largest chess tournaments in the
United States when he died after
heart surgery. The Darin Classic
would have been a $25,000 prize
tournament. Darin often played
chess on his weekly TV show, the
Bobby Darin Show. He was
playing chess just before he went
into surgery. His wife, Sandra Dee,
also played chess. Bobby Darin's
son, Dodd, runs a chess publishing
house.

Henry Darrow (1933- ) plays chess.

He once held former world chess
champion Boris Spassky to a draw
and says he played Bobby Fischer.
In an interview, he said he won
many chess championships when
he was young. (source: Chess Life,
Mar 1988, p. 32)

Larry David (1947- ) plays chess.

Actor James Dean (1931-1955)
played chess. He played chess
when on breaks during the filming
of Rebel Without a Cause.

Danny DeVito (1944- ) plays

chess.

Actor Dustin Diamond (1977- ) is a

chess player. In 2001, he made a
video called Dustin Diamond
Teaches Chess. His father taught
him how to play chess. He said he
was master strength, but his highest
USCF rating was 1369 in 1999.

The American actor and producer

Leonardo DiCaprio (1974- ) has
been seen in public playing chess
with a chess clock with some of his
friends.

Scottish actor James Donald (1917-

1993) played chess. He played
chess with actor David Farrar
(1908-1995) between takes of Cage
of Gold.

Actor Tony Dow (1945- ) plays

chess. (source: Radio TV Mirror,
Aug 1958, p. 18)

Clint Eastwood (130- ) plays

chess.

Actor Erik Estrada (1949- ) plays

chess. He used to play chess against
William Windom and has played in
a celebrity chess tournament. An
online article says that Estrada
played in several USCF-rated
tournaments, maintaining a rating
of 1400, but the present USCF
rating lookup shows no Erik
Estrada. (source: Chess Life, Sep
1988, p. 30)

Douglas Fairbanks, Jr (1909-2000)

played chess. In 1931, Douglas
fired a night watchman to guard
their home in Brentwood. The first
night he was on duty, Douglas went
out and began to chat with him. He
discovered that the watchman
played chess. Soon, they were
playing every evening in the
garage. Douglas's wife, Joan
Crawford, wasn't very happy about
this. He was the president of the
Hollywood Chess Club in 1932.
(source: Photoplay, June 1931, p.
112)

Peter Falk (1927-2011) played

chess. He took chess lessons from
master Dennis Waterman and
visited chess tournaments. (source:
ChessBase News, July 4, 2011 -
https://en.chessbase.com/post/peter-
falk-death-of-a-che-player)

Mike Farrell (1939- ) plays chess.

He played Alan Alda on the set of
M*A*S*H and was the stronger
player. (source: Chess Life, Mar
1988, p. 32)

Character actor Fritz Feld (1900-

1993) played a lot of chess. He had
a collection of over 300 photos of
himself playing chess with other
actors and actresses. His collection
was exhibited at the Library of the
Performing Arts at the Lincoln
Center in New York. In the 1940s,
U.S. chess champion Herman
Steiner and International Master
(later honorary grandmaster)
George Koltanowski would visit
his home in the evenings and they
would play chess until 6 am the
following morning. He played
chess with Janet Leigh. He
considered John Barrymore as the
strongest chess player in
Hollywood, followed by Humphrey
Bogart, Charles Boyer, Charles
Coburn, and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
(source: Chess Life, Mar 1988, p.
32)

Jose Ferrer (1912-1992) was an

avid chess player. He played a
game with Sammy Reshevsky and
met Bobby Fischer. He acted as
master of ceremonies during the
1961 Fischer-Reshevsky match
potion that was held in Los
Angeles. He took chess lessons
from Herman Steiner and master
Bob Jacobs. (Chess Life, Mar 1988,
p. 32)

Actor Errol Flynn (1909-1959)

played chess. He played chess with
Olivia de Havilland on the set of
the film 'They Died with Their
Boots On.' Errol also played
correspondence chess. (source:
CHESS, Nov 14, 1937, p. 79)

Glenn Ford (1916-2006) was a

chess player. He played many
games with Marlon Brando. He
played correspondence chess with a
Marine buddy stationed in China.
(source: Modern Screen, Feb 1947,
p. 53)

The Fonda family all played chess

in real life and in film. In 1966,
Henry Fonda (1905-1982) attended
the second Piatigorsky Cup chess
tournament in Santa Monica. In the
1976 movie, Futureworld, Chuck
Brown (Peter Fonda) played chess
with Traly Ballard (Blythe Danner).
In the 1978 file, The Greatest
Battle, General Foster (Henry
Fonda (1905-1982)) had a
chessboard and chess position in
front of him in one of the scenes.
When she was 21, Jane Fonda
(1937- ) played chess with Susan
Strasberg on the beach in Malibu. It
was during these chess games that
Jane was encouraged to take acting
lessons and become an actress. Jane
Fonda encourages chess playing
among children and teenagers at
risk. Jane played chess with her ex-
husband, Roger Vadim (1928-
2000) in the 1960s.

Glenn Ford (1916-2006) played

chess. He played chess with Marlon
Brando. (source: Peter Ford, Glenn
Ford: A Life, 2011, p. 274)

Actor Jamie Foxx (1967- ) plays

chess. He started playing chess at
age 7 from his biological father. He
played chess between scenes in the
movie, Jarhead.

Clark Gable (1901-1960) played

chess. There is a photo of him
playing chess with Van Johnson
during World War II. He also
greeted Max Euwe, Sammy
Reshevsky, and Herman Steiner
when they visited him on set in
1949.

Paul Giamatti (1967- ) plays chess.

He played chess on the set of
Billions, filmed in Washington
Square Park in Manhattan.

Actor Cuba Gooding, Jr (1968- )

plays chess. He was the main
character in Life of a King, about a
chess player.

Cary Grant (1904-1986) played

chess. He played chess in the 1942
movies, Talk of the Town.

Sydney Greenstreet (1879-1954)

played chess. He played chess with
Humphrey Bogart.

Actor Woody Harrelson (1961- )

plays chess. He played Garry
Kasparov to a draw in 1999. He
was at the 2018 World Chess
Championship between Magnus
Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana in
London. He made the first move for
Fabiano Caruana. He accidently
knocked over the king.

Rex Harrison (1908-1990) played

chess. (source: Wapshott, Rex
Harrison: A Biography, p. 13)

Actor Paul Henreid (1908-1992)

played chess. He played Victor
Laszlo in Casablanca. Paul was
considered an excellent chess
player, along with Humphrey
Bogart. They both played chess
between scenes. (source: Modern
Screen, Jul 1946, p. 41)

Actor Charlton Heston (1923-2008)

played chess. He played chess on
his high school chess team at New
Trier High School in Chicago.
Dustin Hoffman (1937- ) plays
chess.

Actor William Holden (1918-1981)

played chess. (source: Screenland,
Jul 1951, p. 59)

Welsh actor Anthony Hopkins

(1937- ) plays chess.

Actor Bob Hoskins (1942-2014)

played chess.

Actor Leslie Howard (1893-1943)

played chess.

Actor and director Ron Howard

(1954- ) plays chess. He lists chess
as his hobby. He taught his three
daughter how to play chess.
(source: Scouting Magazine, Oct
1997, p. 37)

Rock Hudson (1925-1985) played

chess. He played chess with Sandra
Dee between takes of the movie
Come September. He played chess
at his New Port Beach home and
his Hollywood Hills home during
the 1950s. He was a chronic
browser for antiques and purchased
several chess sets. (source: Life
magazine, Feb 16, 1962)

Actor Rick Jason (1923-200)

played chess. He was a member of
the Beverly Hills Chess Club and
visited various chess clubs in the
Los Angeles area. He played chess
with fellow chess players in the
crew of the movie Prescription for
Murder.
Actor Van Johnson (1916-2008)
played chess. He played June
Allyson during takes on The Bride
Goes Wild. He played Clark Gable
during World War II.

Actor Harvey Keitel (1939- ) plays

chess.

Actor Jack Kelly (1927-1992), who

played Bart Maverick in the TV
series Maverick, was a chess
player. (source: Radio TV Mirror,
Oct 1958, p. 46)

Kevin Kline (1947- ) plays chess.

He improved his chess game for the
2009 film Queen to Play.

Actor Michael Landon (1936-1991)

played chess. Landon played chess
a lot between takes on Bonanza,
including chess games with actor
Dan Blocker (1928-1972). (source:
TV Radio Mirror, Jan 1962, p. 29)

Actor Jude Law (1972- ) plays

chess. He oftentimes will play
chess when taking a break during
the shooting of a film. He was a
keen chess player in primary
school.

Martin Lawrence (1965- ) plays

chess.

Australian actor Heath Ledger

(1979-2008) was an avid chess
player. He learned chess at an early
age and said he played at least one
game of chess a day. He used to
play almost every day at the
Washington Square Park in New
York. He won the Western
Australia Junior Chess
Championship at the age of 10.

Actor and comedian Harold Lloyd

(1893-1971) listed chess as one of
his hobbies. (source: Movie
Classic, Feb 1936, p. 34)

Actor Peter Lorre (1904-1964)

played chess.

Actor Tobey Maguire (1975- )

plays chess. He plays Bobby
Fischer in the 2014 movie, Pawn
Sacrifice.

French actor and mime Marcel

Marceau (1923-2007) played chess
to relax.

English actor Herbert Marshall

(1890-1966) played correspondence
chess with a British schoolmate as
he made movies in Hollywood.
Later, he made numerous
appearances on the Armed Forces
Radio Service, hosting a variety of
shows. (source: Modern Screen,
Oct 1941, p. 9)

Singer and actor Dean Martin

(1917-1995) played chess. He
played chess with John Wayne and
Claude Akins. (source: Chess Life,
Mar 1988, p. 32)

Actor and comedian Steve Martin

(1945- ) plays chess. He played
chess with director Stanley Kubrick
when he visited his house in
England. Steve was in the audience
during the 1990 Kasparov-Karpov
world championship match in New
York.
The Marx brothers may have
played chess.

Actor Jerry Mathers (1948- ), who

played Beaver in 'Leave It To
Beaver,' is a chess enthusiast.
(source Chess Life, Mar 1988, p.
32)

Walter Matthau (1920-2000)

played chess. (source: Chess Life,
Mar 1988, p. 32)

Patrick McGoohan (1928-2009)

played chess.

Actor Ray Milland (1907-1986)

played chess. He played chess
during breaks on the film Hostile
Witness. He usually had two chess
sets in his dressing room at the
studios. He used one to play on,
and another for a correspondence
game he was involved with.
(source: Chess Review, Aug 1938,
p. 182)

Actor Robert Mitchum (1917-1997)

played chess. He used to play chess
with John Wayne.

Yves Montand (1925-1991) played

chess. Actor Robert Montgomery
(1904-1981) and father to actress
Elizabeth Montgomery, was a chess
player.

Rick Moranis (1954- ) plays chess.

He was a spectator at the 1990
World Chess Championship in
New York.

Frank Morgan (1890-1949), best

known for playing the Wizard in
The Wizard of Oz, played chess.
(source: Chess Review, Jan 1938,
p. 2)

Actor Barry Morse (1918-2008)

played chess.

Sam Neill (1947- ) plays chess.

Actor Paul Newman (1925-2008)

played chess but wasn't very good
at it. He played George C. Scott on
the set of The Hustler in 1961.
(source: Levy, Paul Newman: A
Life, 2009, p. 156)

Fred Niblo (1874-1948) was an

American pioneer film actor,
appearing in films from 1916 to
1932. He was a member of the
Beverly Hills Chess Club in the
1930s.

Leonard Nimoy (1931-2015)

played chess.

Actor David Niven (1910-1983)

played chess. He played on the set
of 'The Guns of Navarone' after
Anthony Quinn organized a chess
tournament for the actors, which
included Gregory Peck and James
Darren. David Niven's son was also
played chess and was a strong
player.

Chuck Norris (1940- ) plays chess.

Edward Norton (1969- ) plays

chess.

Actor Carroll O'Connor (1924-

2001) played chess.
Donald O'Connor (1925-2003)
played chess. (source: Chess
Review, April 1950, p. 97)

Sir Laurence Olivier (1907-1989)

played chess.

Actor Al Pacino (1940- ) plays

chess. He played chess on the set of
Righteous Kill. He said he was
always looking for chess players to
play chess when he traveled.

Gregory Peck (1916-2003) played

chess. He taught Polly Bergen how
to play chess during the making of
Cape Fear in 1962. He played chess
with others on the set of The Guns
of Navarone in 1961. He often
played chess with his wife,
Veronique Passani. (source:
Modern Screen, Aug 1946, p. 31)

George Peppard (1928-1994)

played chess.

Walter Pidgeon (1898-1984) played

chess.

William Powell (1892-1984)

played chess.

Canadian-American actor Jason

Priestley (1969- ) plays chess.

Actor Bill Pullman (1953- ) plays

chess.

Actor Dick Purcell (1908-1944)

listed chess as one of his indoor
activities. (source: Silhouettes of
Stars, 1937, p. 142)
Dennis Quaid (1954- ) plays chess.

Anthony Quinn (1915-2001) played

chess. He played chess with
Gregory Peck on the set of The
Guns of Navarone. Quinn
sometimes visited the Manhattan
Chess Club in New York to play
chess. (source: Chess Life, Mar
1988, p. 32)

Tony Randall (1920-2004) played

chess. He appeared with Bobby
Fischer in 1972 on the Dick Cavett
Show. (source: Chess Life, Mar
1988, p.32)

Basil Rathbone (1892-1967) played

chess. (source: Chess Life, Nov
1992, p. 23)

Charles Ray (1891-1943) was a

silent film actor who starred in over
a dozen silent movies. He usually
portrayed young, wholesome
country boy in silent comedy films.
He was a great chess fan and often
sat by himself figuring out chess
moves. (source: Film Fun, Jul
1917)

Actor Keanu Reeves (1964- ) is a

strong chess player. He learned
chess as a boy. He played on his
high school chess team and hustled
chess for a dollar a game in
Toronto. To unwind, he says he
plays chess with his computer.

Chris Rock (1965- ) plays chess.

He played chess in the 2002 movie,
Bad Company.

Kurt Russell (1951- ) plays chess.

(source: Chess Life, 2002, p. 565)

George Sanders (1906-1972)

played chess.

Gene Scherer (1937-2015) played

chess. (source: Chess Life, Sep
1988, p. 30)

Arnold Schwarzenegger (1947- ) is

an avid chess player. In 2002, he
played a friendly game with Garry
Kasparov.

Actor George C. Scott (1927-1999)

played chess. He played chess with
director Stanley Kubrick during
breaks on the set of Dr.
Strangelove. He played chess with
Marlon Brando on the set of 'The
Formula.'

Actor Steven Seagal (1952- ) plays

chess. While visiting the Republic
of Kalmykia, he played chess with
FIDE president Kirsan
Ilyumzhinov.

Milton Sills (1882-1930) was an

American stage and film actor of
the early 20th century. He was a
chess player and member of the
Beverly Hills Chess Club. He was
one of the strongest chess players in
Hollywood who played chess
blindfolded and never lost to
anyone in Hollywood or Beverly
Hills.

Frank Sinatra (1915-1998) played

chess. There is a picture of him
playing former 6-time U.S. chess
champion, Walter Browne. There is
another picture of him sitting at the
chess board with former world
chess champion Anatoly Karpov.

Actor Will Smith (1968- ) plays

chess. His father taught him how to
play at age 7. Will Smith endorsed
the Millionaire Chess Tournament
held in Las Vegas in 2014. He took
some chess lessons from Chicago's
National Master Marvin Dandridge
and GM Maurice Ashley.

Actor Kevin Spacey (1959- ) plays

chess.

Sylvester Stallone (1946- ) plays

chess. He plays chess with his
daughter.

Jimmy Stewart (1908-1997) played

chess. In 1954, he and Wendell
Corey (1914-1968) played chess
between scenes of "Rear Window."
Grace Kelly (1929-1982) was also
a chess player and kibitzed during
their games.

Actor Kiefer Sutherland (1966- )

plays chess. He is a big fan of the
game of chess. There is a photo of
him playing chess at a pub in
London, taken in 2007. He plays
chess with his daughter.

Actor Lawrence Tierney (1919-

2002) was a strong chess player.

Actor Franchot Tone (1905-1968)

played chess and always carried a
miniature chess set to the studio
with him. He was a leading man in
many films. He was one of the
strongest chess players in
Hollywood.
Spencer Tracy (1900-1967) played
chess. He played chess with
Humphrey Bogart.

Silent screen start Rudolph

Valentino (1895-1926) played
chess.

Rudy Vallee (1901-1986) played

chess. (source: Chess Life, Mar
1988, p. 32)

Conrad Veidt (1893-1943) played

chess.

Actor Allen Vincent (1903-1979)

was a chess player and a frequent
opponent to Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

Actor Jesse Vint (1952- ) plays

chess and won the World Celebrity
Chess Championship in 1988, held
at the Century Plaza in Los
Angeles. He has played chess
against Anatoly Karpov.

Christopher Walken (1943- ) plays

chess.

Ray Walston (1914-2001) played

chess.

Actor Burt Ward (1945- ) plays

chess. He was the strongest
member of his high school's chess
team. He played chess in college.

Actor John Wayne (1907-1979)

played chess well. He had a chess
board permanently set up on his
136-foot boat, The Wild Goose.
When he took friends for boat
rides, he played chess.
Richard Widmark (1914-2008)
played chess.

Actor Cornel Wilde (1912-1989)

played chess. (source: Modern
Screen, Aug 1947, p. 58)

Actor Guy Williams (1924-1989)

played chess. He played chess
between takes during Lost in Space.
Living in New York, he used to go
to Central Park to play chess and
visited the Manhattan Chess Club.
A biography says that he competed
in chess tournaments.

Robin Williams (1951-2014)

played chess.

Veteran actor William Windom

(1923-2012) was an enthusiastic
chess player. He was a life member
of the United States Chess
Federation (USCF) and rated 1540,
last playing in 1991. He was
profiled twice in 'Chess Life'
magazine. He used to play and beat
John Wayne.

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