A millionaire, who was among the passengers on a cruise ship bound for Buenos Aires from New York, offers to the arrogant world chess champion Mirko Czentovic to play a paid party of chess. When watching the game of the two, Austrian Dr. B. can't help but interfere with their game. Then he is recommended to face the champion.
Placed in solitary captivity for months in a hotel room by the Gestapo years ago, Dr. B. remained alone in this room for a long time, with nothing to hold on. Removed from this room only for questioning, one day, Dr. B. learns all the details of the games of chess from a book he secretly got his hands on.
He starts to play the games in the book in his own mind without the chessboard. About to go crazy with boredom in the cell, chess saved Dr. B's life. However, after learning all the games in the book, which he called the dead point, by heart, he caught a brain fever.
He will not play chess again after he is freed and cured. Until that day…
