A chess grandmaster (Emmett Clayton) becomes increasingly uncomfortable and anxious on the run-up to a chess match with a Soviet player (Tomlin Dudek) who has come out of retirement especially to play him. When the two meet on the evening before the match and Clayton suffers defeats in both a spontaneous game at a restaurant and a pre-arranged game at the hotel, he decides to take matters into his own hands...<br /><br />The chess environment serves as a particularly appealing and suitably competitive back-drop to this episode for it facilitates an individualised battle of wits between Columbo and murderer.<br /><br />Laurence Harvey (in one of his last performances) is remarkably superb as the multi-faceted Emmett Clayton, whose increasingly disturbing mental state is temporarily overcome by a remarkable assuredness to murder the only threat to his supremacy as a chess champion.<br /><br />The plot is refreshingly original and well-thought-out and the script adds different dimensions to those found in the usual Columbo story, particularly as the murderer has to have two separate attempts at killing off his rival.<br /><br />The whole episode is reasonably well-paced after it carefully sets up the necessary plot information/murder scenario as Columbo tries to unravel the real truth whilst at the same time undermine a very self-confident murderer.<br /><br />The climax contains some of the best scenes: Columbo's harassment of the murderer with damning accusations whilst he tries to play numerous chess games at once; and then in the basement of the hotel as Columbo perpetrates a crafty plot to confirm his suspicions.<br /><br />Two minor gripes:<br /><br />(1) At two key moments Emmett Clayton is able to gain access to Tomlin Dudek's hotel room (once to pack his bag for him and the other time to tamper with his medicines). This happens all too easily: how does Clayton manage to time it when the cleaning lady is/has been in Dudek's room and how does he avoid being seen?<br /><br />(2) Columbo can only perfectly test out his theory at the end when Clayton removes his hearing aid? How did he know he was going to do that?<br /><br />These two gripes aside, this is a well above-average, strong addition to the series.