The Most Dangerous Match
- Episode aired Mar 4, 1973
- Not Rated
- 1h 14m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
2.8K
YOUR RATING
A chess player murders his opponent before a big match. Lt. Columbo must out-maneuver this crafty, but craven, killer.A chess player murders his opponent before a big match. Lt. Columbo must out-maneuver this crafty, but craven, killer.A chess player murders his opponent before a big match. Lt. Columbo must out-maneuver this crafty, but craven, killer.
Photos
Heidi Brühl
- Linda Robinson
- (as Heidi Bruhl)
Oscar Beregi Jr.
- Proprietor
- (as Oscar Beregi)
Richard Drout Miller
- 1st Reporter
- (as Drout Miller)
Ray Ballard
- Mr. Williams
- (uncredited)
Benjie Bancroft
- Chess Match Observer
- (uncredited)
Richard Boyer
- Chess Match Observer
- (uncredited)
Robert Buckingham
- Diner Patron
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAlthough Clayton is one of the best chess players in the world, during his simultaneous exhibition, one of the people he is playing beats him after playing only two moves, a losing combination known as the "Fool's Mate" and notorious for being the fastest possible way for a player to be checkmated. This, presumably, is meant to demonstrate how much Columbo is unnerving him.
- GoofsThe list that Clayton is re-creating from memory shows digitalis and digoxin as the first two items on the list. These two are the same thing, and if a person was to take double a life-saving dose, it would be fatal.
- Quotes
Emmett Clayton: Well, chess *is* the ultimate test of the human mind, isn't it?
Tomlin Dudek: You think so? I always thought it was women.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 25th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1973)
Featured review
Only a big jerk would kill someone over a chess game!
Emmett Clayton (Laurence Harvey) is the world champion chess player. However, when he earned this title, the previous champion, Dudek, was retired. Now Dudek has come out of retirement to see if he can beat the great Clayton. However, when Clayton realizes Dudek IS better, he decides to kill the man in order to preserve his precious ego as well as his reputation.
Someone watching this show today might not understand the context for the show. Just a year before, there was a huge match between Bobby Fischer and the Soviet champion, Boris Spassky. During this match as well as before it even began, Fischer's extremely neurotic behavior made newspaper headlines all over the world. His antics were so bad, many Americans were rooting for Spassky! Clearly the match and odd behaviors in "Columbo" are highly reminiscent of this well-publicized match...though, of course, no one tried to murder Spassky...and Fischer actually won.
Laurence Harvey was excellent here as the highly strung and neurotic champion. This didn't surprise me at all, as Harvey was AMAZING at playing scum-bags and did so in many movies. Sadly, this handsome and talented man died shortly after this episode...and he was only 45 years old.
Overall, this is a fascinating and well written episode. Well worth seeing and full of great twists and turns. Very well done.
Someone watching this show today might not understand the context for the show. Just a year before, there was a huge match between Bobby Fischer and the Soviet champion, Boris Spassky. During this match as well as before it even began, Fischer's extremely neurotic behavior made newspaper headlines all over the world. His antics were so bad, many Americans were rooting for Spassky! Clearly the match and odd behaviors in "Columbo" are highly reminiscent of this well-publicized match...though, of course, no one tried to murder Spassky...and Fischer actually won.
Laurence Harvey was excellent here as the highly strung and neurotic champion. This didn't surprise me at all, as Harvey was AMAZING at playing scum-bags and did so in many movies. Sadly, this handsome and talented man died shortly after this episode...and he was only 45 years old.
Overall, this is a fascinating and well written episode. Well worth seeing and full of great twists and turns. Very well done.
helpful•123
- planktonrules
- Aug 17, 2019
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Schach dem Mörder
- Filming locations
- 3803 Riverside Dr, Burbank, California, USA(Paul's French Cuisine, demolished)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 14 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 4:3
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