The story is set in the 1920s and tells of the shy and taciturn chess genius Alexander Luzhin who arrives in Italy to play the most important game of his life. During a childhood marked by the separation of his parents, chess was his only passion, his refuge and whole universe. One day the young Russian aristocrat Natalia enters Luzhin’s life; Natalia’s parents are set on finding an advantageous match for her. Her mother has already selected a candidate in the wealthy Count Jean de Stassard who is evidently attracted to Natalia. The latter’s encounter with the eccentric Luzhin, however, changes everything. The urbane Stassard offers her romantic boat trips and spiritless superficial conversation. Luzhin’s impulsive behaviour is hardly romantic but Natalia is overwhelmed by his genius. With Natalia’s arrival, Luzhin discovers a completely new and unfamiliar world, a world far removed from his chess obsession. But it is also a world Luzhin is unprepared for, and its collision with his life thusfar, consisting solely of chess games, can only end in tragedy.