Lessons From Movies and TV: Chess

In movies and on TV no one ever  plays chess just for the enjoyment of it. Chess is only played because...

The player is a genius.

The player feels obligated to not let down a chess playing father or grandfather.

The player is a spy and the moves are actually codes.

The player is missing/has been murdered/is a serial murderer and the game on the player's (or the victim's) chess board is actually a secret message. (If it's not a secret message it's a an extremely valuable clue.)

The chess game is actually a metaphor for war/the interaction between rivals/life, the universe, and everything.