Checkmate (2026 Lifetime Movie)
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Cast: Joyce Glenn, Dorien Wilson, Andra Fuller
Director: Jamal Hill
Writer(s): Patrice Escoto
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Synopsis (via Lifetime)
A detective teams up with her estranged father, a chess master, to stop a serial killer who uses the game to select his victims.
Recap/Wine Thoughts
The movie starts with chess. So check that off! (Sorry, I had to!)
Brittney is a former chess champ turned police detective. Don’t worry, she still plays chess with AI on a fancy app that moves the pieces on an actual board. It is how she copes with some on-the-job PTSD. Her boyfriend, Brad, who is also the DA, wants to help, but Brittney pushes him away.
Lorenzo Lamas plays the police chief and needs help when a lady in red is found in the park with “C4” written on her forehead and a chess piece on her body. There is a chess killer on the loose, and who is better to solve the crime than Brittney! So what is she on administrative leave for firing her weapon? Brittney gets partnered with newbie cop Rodriguez, who is misogynistic.
A second victim is found in the horse stables. He is a hunk with the white knight piece in his mouth. The chess killer strikes again! Brittney can’t figure out who the killer is playing chess with; is it her?
Then a homeless guy is found in an alley. Brittney reports to the scene, notices a guy wearing a red hat, and arrests him. He isn’t the killer because he is right-handed and probably bad at chess.
Brittney goes to her father, a chess prodigy, for help. They run through the chess moves that the killer has made because if you are going to catch a killer, you’ve got to think like one. The moves don’t really make logical sense for a game of chess, but the pieces match the victims. They learn the next victim is going to be… a white bishop. They better check the churches!!!
Oh no! Brad is the next victim, and Brittney isn’t as upset as I thought she would be, but she honestly didn’t seem that into him. The movie also wanted me to think he was the chess killer, but he wasn’t even interested in chess when Brittney was playing on her app.
Brittney reviews some security footage and learns her partner is not just a misogynist; he is gay! He was sleeping with the White Knight and met up in the horse stables the night of the murder. Officer Rodriguez is taken into custody, but is later cleared.
Brittney’s dad is taken and could be the next victim. Brittney needs to solve this case ASAP, but is she too close to see what she needs to? We learn that Brittney’s therapist has been plotting the whole thing in an elaborate and convoluted act of revenge.
The therapist’s father was put away 15 years ago and was on death row. Brittney’s dad was the judge on the case. The therapist goes into an overlong villain monologue, and it is so hilarious because Brittney’s dad has no recollection of the case.
Brittney and Lorenzo Lamas finally put everything together after Brittney remembers her therapist is left-handed. There is a shootout, which got Brittney into this whole mess in the first place.
Eventually, the therapist is taken down, and Brittney is free to play chess in the park with her father. So what if she lost all trust in psychotherapy, her boyfriend died, and she outted a co-worker?
STRAY Thought
How does Lifetime pick which Tubi movies to acquire?
She DID say the title of the movie, so technically that is an automatic pour it up!
Overall rating
Number of Kills: 🔪🔪🔪🔪( 4 knives)
Enjoyment Level (1-5 scale)
🍷🍷 (2 Glasses of Wine)
Should you watch it?
Pour it up (Give it a shot)
Put a Cork in It (Skip It!)
What did you think of the movie? Let me know in the comments or on social media at @LifetimeUncorked and @patrickmiguel.
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*Photo Credit: © 2026 A&E Television Networks, LLC
Let me know what you thought of the movie in the comments below or @lifetimeuncorked
I saw this on Tubi a week and a half ago.
It started out very well done, had interesting characters (despite some wooden acting) and kept me guessing during the first half.
Unfortunately it fell apart during the second and third acts. It was easy to figure out the killer (sharp-eyed viewers will pick up some clues) and the finale was ridiculous. Our seasoned detective made some choices that no trained law enforcement officer would ever do.