When I previously wrote about a Tatort episode, I quietly passed over the fact that that was episode one thousand three hundred and two of the show — an absolutely ridiculous number. It is safe to say, I think, that Tatort is the granddaddy of the German krimis. It started all the way back in 1970 and, as of 2026, it is still running.1 Our current subject is from 1993. When I spotlight a movie or an episode of a television series, I usually give a short summary of the plot. I can dispense with that custom here, because the chess scene is right at the beginning.
The main character of the show, inspector Fichtl, is at home playing with himself. That, in and of itself, is perfectly normal behaviour. The weird thing is that he’s using a clock. I can understand playing chess alone — hell, I’ve done that myself — but why would you ever use a clock then?
My instinct was that he perhaps wanted to obscure the chessboard, but he uses his glass for that. Not very successfully, though. The following reconstruction is pretty reliable: 2
Fichtl has to think for a little, but then he does find the worst move in the position: Kf2. Before he can finish himself off, though, an intruder starts threatening him with a gun.3
Frankly, I can understand that. You have to be really perverted to keep playing with yourself in such a position. And time it, too! Nevertheless, perversion is not enough reason to be threatened by a gun. And it is certainly not reason enough to shoot at the completely innocent chessboard, as the gunman proceeds to do. After that sacrilege, he obviously commits suicide.
Realism: 3/5 I guess that maybe something like this could occur if both players — well, the one player — wasn’t very good at chess or severely pressed for time.
Probable winner: Fichtl, for sure. His dark side, to be precise.
1. [But we’ll get it some day!] ↩
1. [This is my Tatort for diagram editing.] ↩
3. [How considerate: the Tatort came to him.] ↩