Knights of the South Bronx
Encyclopedia
Knights of the South Bronx is a 2005 TV film about a teacher who helps students at a tough inner-city school to succeed by teaching them to play chess
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Then a student whose father is in jail sees Mason in the park playing a simultaneous exhibition
, and beating fourteen opponents at once. He asks to learn the game. One thing leads to another, and soon the entire class is interested in the game. Mason convinces them that on the chessboard
it doesn't matter how much money you have or what clothes you're wearing or where you come from, and that it's only the moves you make, then and there. The class forms a team to compete in ever-larger tournaments.
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
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Plot summary
The movie is based on the true story of David MacEnulty who taught schoolchildren of the Bronx Community Elementary School 70 to play at competition level, eventually winning New York City and the New York State Chess Championships . The screenplay portrays whistle-blowing and a mid-life crisis that combine to remove Richard Mason (played by Ted Danson) from his old life. He becomes a substitute teacher and is assigned to a fourth-grade class in a South Bronx school. In the class are students with parents who are drug addicts or in jail or just scrambling to pay the bills. Few of them see a purpose in school other than meeting society's requirements, and he struggles, mostly in vain, to reach them.Then a student whose father is in jail sees Mason in the park playing a simultaneous exhibition
Simultaneous exhibition
A simultaneous exhibition or simultaneous display is a board game exhibition in which one player plays multiple games at a time with a number of other players. Such an exhibition is often referred to simply as a "simul".In a regular simul, no chess clocks are used...
, and beating fourteen opponents at once. He asks to learn the game. One thing leads to another, and soon the entire class is interested in the game. Mason convinces them that on the chessboard
Chessboard
A chessboard is the type of checkerboard used in the board game chess, and consists of 64 squares arranged in two alternating colors...
it doesn't matter how much money you have or what clothes you're wearing or where you come from, and that it's only the moves you make, then and there. The class forms a team to compete in ever-larger tournaments.
Cast
- Ted DansonTed DansonEdward Bridge “Ted” Danson III is an American actor best known for his role as central character Sam Malone in the sitcom Cheers, and his role as Dr. John Becker on the series Becker. He also plays a recurring role on Larry David's HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm and starred alongside Glenn Close...
- Mr. Richard Mason - Malcolm David KelleyMalcolm David KelleyMalcolm David Kelley is an American teen actor. He starred in the 2004 film You Got Served as "Li'l Saint". He also appears in the television series Lost as the character Walt Lloyd. A regular cast member in the show's first season , he has appeared only occasionally since due to a dramatic...
- Jimmy Washington - Keke PalmerKeke PalmerLauren Keyana "Keke" Palmer is an American actress and singer who rose to fame for her performance in the 2006 film Akeelah and the Bee. She also starred as the title character in the Nickelodeon sitcom True Jackson, VP...
- Kenya Russell - Clifton PowellClifton Powell-Movie career:Powell is known for playing the role of Pinky in the 2000 comedy film, Next Friday and its 2002 sequel, Friday After Next. Powell stars also in the Indie thriller Chain Letter.In 2009 he played "Bowman" in the film Just Another Day...
- Cokey - Devon BostickDevon BostickDevon Bostick is a Canadian actor, best known for playing the lead role in the Atom Egoyan-directed film Adoration and Rodrick Heffley in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies.- Life and career :Bostick was born in Toronto, Ontario...
- Darren - Brian MarkinsonBrian MarkinsonBrian Markinson is a Canadian film and television actor. He has appeared as Police Chief Bill Jacobs on Da Vinci's Inquest and Da Vinci's City Hall...
- Arnie - Kate VernonKate VernonKate Vernon is a Canadian-born film and television actress. She is best known for her roles as Lorraine Prescott on the CBS soap opera Falcon Crest from , the stuck-up and popular Benny Hanson in the comedy film Pretty in Pink , Mary-John Lovejoy in The Lost Colony Feature of Lovejoy and...
- Richard's wife - Alex KarzisAlex KarzisConstantine Alexander Karzis is a Canadian film and television actor, voiceover artist, singer, and musician. He was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario....
- Kasparov - Karen LeBlanc - Dolly
- Philip AkinPhilip AkinPhilip Akin is a Canadian actor who has been active for over thirty years in stage, film, and television. He has had featured roles in major American films such as The Sum of All Fears, S.W.A.T., and Get Rich or Die Tryin’...
- Asst. Principal Hill - Yves Michel-BenecheYves Michel-BenecheYves Michel-Beneche , commonly known as Yves Beneche, is an American child actor.-Personal life:Yves was born in New York, where he currently resides. He was born to Haitian-American parents.-Career:...
- MD Duprais - Yucini Diaz - Renee
- Antonio Ortiz - Dawson
- Nicholas CarpenterNicholas CarpenterNicholas Andre Carpenter is an American film director. He worked as a set production assistant on TV and on films such as Thank You for Smoking before going on to direct the 2009 horror anthology The Telling.-Early life:...
- Dawson's Opponent