The death of his fiancee has left chess master Arkady Balagan agoraphobic and unwilling to step outside of his hotel. This debilitation, however, doesn't stop him from solving difficult crimes.
The peaks and the valleys. Find the essential episodes — and the ones to skip.
A boisterous reunion between Balagan and his longtime buddy, a Russian cosmonaut, is interrupted when an aerospace engineer plunges to his death and Balagan's friend is accused of the murder.
Smitten by a beautiful Chinese cryptologist, Sam convinces Balagan to try to solve an intricate puzzle involving a vital secret and an attractive, conniving female journalist.
Balagan is forced to match his chess skills against a computer when his anonymous online opponent reveals that he is playing for lethally high stakes - the lives of a group of innocent hostages.
A daring robbery during a high-stakes poker game forces Hugo to ask Balagan for help, prompting the chess master to create his own complex plot to trap the culprit.
Each point is an episode, plotted in order. Colored bands mark season boundaries. Look for the rise, the plateau, or the decline.
High votes + high rating = beloved classic. High votes + low rating = notorious stinker. Low votes + high rating = hidden gem.
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