Movies Like Pawn Sacrifice (2015)

Pawn Sacrifice is a 2015 drama, thriller film from Edward Zwick with a MovieMagicScore of 6.7/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Searching for Bobby Fischer and Magnus.

Drama Thriller

Searching for Bobby Fischer

1993

A seven-year-old chess prodigy refuses to harden himself in order to become a champion like the famous but unlikable Bobby Fischer.

7.1

MagicScore

Magnus

2016

From a young age Magnus Carlsen had aspirations of becoming a champion chess player. While many players seek out an intensely rigid environment to hone their skills, Magnus’ brilliance shines brightest when surrounded by his loving and supportive family. Through an extensive amount of archival footage and home movies, director Benjamin Ree reveals this young man’s unusual and rapid trajectory to the pinnacle of the chess world. This film allows the audience to not only peek inside this isolated community but also witness the maturation of a modern genius.

6.8

MagicScore

Bobby Fischer Against the World

2011

The first documentary feature to explore the tragic and bizarre life of the late chess master Bobby Fischer.

6.9

MagicScore

Critical Thinking

2020

Based on a true story from 1998, five Latino and Black teenagers from the toughest underserved ghetto in Miami fight their way into the National Chess Championship under the guidance of their unconventional but inspirational teacher.

6.6

MagicScore

The World Champion

2021

Some sporting victories are about more than just claiming a title. Some of them go down in history. The film follows the most dramatic and legendary showdown in the history of chess – the match between Anatoly Karpov, then world champion, and Viktor Korchnoi, a recent emigrant from the USSR. In this battle between two outstanding chess players, a duel of personalities under immense psychological pressure, the stakes are incomprehensibly high.

6.2

MagicScore

The Luzhin Defence

2000

Based upon the novel by Vladimir Nabokov, a chess grandmaster travels to Italy in the 1920s to play in a tournament and falls in love.

6.2

MagicScore

Knight Moves

1992

A chess grandmaster is in a big tournament, and when his lover is found painted up and the blood drained out of her body he becomes a chief suspect. After he gets a call from the killer urging him to try and figure out the game, he cooperates with police and a psychologist to try and catch the killer, but doubts linger about the grandmaster's innocence as the string of grisly murders continues.

5.8

MagicScore

Computer Chess

2013

At the American Computer Chess Convention, enthusiasts gather to pit their programs against other computer chess programs and human players in a tournament for a grand prize of $7500.

6.0

MagicScore

Jack Strong

2014

Poland, 1970. Firmly determined to fight against Soviet tyranny and prevent the destruction of the world, the high-ranking officer of the Polish army Ryszard Kukliński makes a serious decision that will put his life, his family and the fate of an entire nation at risk.

6.5

MagicScore

#10

Rocky IV

1985

Rocky Balboa holds the world heavyweight championship, but a new challenger has stepped forward: Drago, a six-foot-four, 261-pound fighter who has the backing of the Soviet Union. This time, Rocky's training regimen takes him to Siberia, where he prepares for a globally televised match in the heart of Moscow. But nothing can truly prepare him for what he's about to face – a fight to the finish, in which he must defend not only himself, but also the honor of his country!

7.1

MagicScore

#11

The Coldest Game

2019

Warsaw, Poland, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962. Josh Mansky, a troubled math genius and former US chess champion, is recruited to hold a dangerous public match against the Soviet champion, while playing the deadly game of espionage hidden in the darkest shadows of a hostile territory.

6.2

MagicScore

#12

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

2011

In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet mole within his former colleagues at the heart of MI6.

6.6

MagicScore

#13

Queen of Katwe

2016

A young girl overcomes her disadvantaged upbringing in the slums of Uganda to become a Chess master.

7.2

MagicScore

#14

Firebird

2021

At the height of the Cold War, a troubled soldier forms a forbidden love triangle with a daring fighter pilot and his female comrade amid the dangerous surroundings of a Soviet Air Force Base.

7.3

MagicScore

#15

The Falcon and the Snowman

1985

The true story of a disillusioned military contractor employee and his drug pusher childhood friend who became walk-in spies for the Soviet Union.

6.4

MagicScore

#16

The Man Who Saved the World

2014

The Man Who Saved the World is a feature documentary film about Stanislav Petrov, a former lieutenant colonel of the Soviet Air Defence Forces.

6.8

MagicScore

#17

I Remember You

2017

After an older lady hangs herself in a church, a new psychiatrist discovers she was obsessed with the disappearance of his eight-year-old son, who vanished three years earlier. Meanwhile, three city dwellers are restoring a house when they realize it is haunted.

6.1

MagicScore

#18

Black's Game

2012

In the mid to late '90s, the Reykjavik crime and drug scene saw a drastic change from a relatively small and innocent world into a much more aggressive and violent one.. The film tells the story of this change through the fictional gang of pushers that took control of Iceland's underworld.

6.0

MagicScore

#19

Gotti

2018

John Gotti rises to the top of the New York underworld to become the boss of the Gambino crime family. His life takes a tumultuous turn as he faces tragedy, multiple trials and a prison sentence.

5.3

MagicScore

#20

Rocky

1976

Rocky Balboa is a Philadelphia club fighter who seems to be going nowhere. But when a stroke of fate puts him in the ring with a world heavyweight champion, Rocky knows that it's his one shot at the big time — a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go the distance and come out a winner!

7.8

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Pawn Sacrifice?

The top films similar to Pawn Sacrifice by MovieMagicScore are Searching for Bobby Fischer (7.1), Magnus (6.8), Bobby Fischer Against the World (6.9). Each shares drama/thriller themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Pawn Sacrifice worth watching?

Pawn Sacrifice holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.7/10 from 1,013 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Pawn Sacrifice?

Pawn Sacrifice (2015) is a drama, thriller film directed by Edward Zwick, starring Tobey Maguire, Peter Sarsgaard, Liev Schreiber.

Where can I find more recommendations like Pawn Sacrifice?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more drama recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Searching for Bobby Fischer Movies like Magnus Movies like Bobby Fischer Against the World Movies like Critical Thinking Movies like The World Champion Movies like The Luzhin Defence

About movies like Pawn Sacrifice

This ranked list pairs Pawn Sacrifice (2015), a drama and thriller film from Edward Zwick, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Tobey Maguire take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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