Tropescilloscope: The Chessmaster

A character who is exceptionally skilled at manipulating events to their advantage using gambits that rely on subtlety and misdirection (much like in Chess). (read more at tvtropes.org)

More Tropes Flashback What You Are in the Dark Blonde, Brunette, Redhead Guns Akimbo Needs Wiki Magic Love Kick the Son of a Bitch Put on a Bus Victoria's Secret Compartment Fire-Forged Friends Title Drop Developing Doomed Characters Rated M for Manly Military and Warfare Films Pyrrhic Victory Based on a True Story Improvised Weapon Your Head A-Splode Smug Snake You Killed My Father Documentary Meaningful Echo Translation Convention Tap on the Head Bilingual Bonus Chekhov's Skill Retcon Black Comedy Rape Aside Glance Kubrick Stare Author Appeal Evil Brit The Faceless Time Skip One Steve Limit Daddy's Girl Music Stories Beware the Nice Ones Killed Mid-Sentence The Place Visual Pun Flipping the Bird Pragmatic Villainy Canon Foreigner Sacrificial Lion Posthumous Character Affably Evil Humiliation Conga Arranged Marriage The Chessmaster Never Trust a Trailer aka: Trailers Always Lie Amusing Injuries Jerkass Dual Wielding Cold-Blooded Torture Trailers Always Spoil Cat Fight Martial Arts Movie Big Bad Duumvirate A Father to His Men Fish out of Water Fainting Villain with Good Publicity Alas, Poor Villain Alliterative Name Brick Joke Madness Mantra Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy Rewatch Bonus Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds The Stoner Depraved Bisexual Five-Man Band Spanner in the Works Blackmail Drugs Are Bad Cruel and Unusual Death Darkest Hour Wretched Hive A Date with Rosie Palms Get Out! Bloodless Carnage Demoted to Extra From Nobody to Nightmare Berserk Button The Remake Undying Loyalty Laughing Mad The Load Bloody Hilarious Pretty in Mink She Cleans Up Nicely The Atoner Badass Longcoat Evil Plan Death by Irony Made of Iron Animated Credits Opening Handicapped Badass Meet Cute Book-Ends Shipper on Deck Fatal Family Photo The Stinger Ass Shove Would Hit a Girl The Ace Vomit Indiscretion Shot Adaptation Dye-Job Blood Knight Fake Shemp Villain Opening Scene Once More, with Clarity! Bavarian Fire Drill Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas Spared by the Adaptation Married to the Job The Ditz Spell My Name with an "S" Country Matters Bare Your Midriff Pimped-Out Dress Super Strength Amoral Attorney Daylight Horror Combat Pragmatist Hero Antagonist Credits Gag Index of Film Westerns Properly Paranoid Henpecked Husband Author Avatar Age Lift Plot Hole Evil Laugh Captain Ersatz Composite Character Dramatic Irony Evil vs. Evil I Did What I Had to Do Artistic License – Geography Left the Background Music On Greater-Scope Villain Antagonist Title Boom, Headshot! Belligerent Sexual Tension Large Ham The Vamp Ms. Fanservice Sole Survivor Obstructive Bureaucrat Improbable Infant Survival aka: Infant Immortality Body Horror Honor Before Reason Major Injury Underreaction Deal with the Devil Artistic License – Biology Agony of the Feet Mood Whiplash Line-of-Sight Name Lock and Load Montage Death Glare Asshole Victim Logo Joke Hell Is That Noise Unresolved Sexual Tension The Brute Half the Man He Used to Be Police are Useless Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? Romantic Comedy Shirtless Scene Authority Equals Asskicking Dirty Coward Card-Carrying Villain Throwing Your Sword Always Works Actually Pretty Funny Character Development Overprotective Dad I Want My Beloved to Be Happy Offscreen Moment of Awesome Bound and Gagged An Aesop Downer Ending Ambiguously Gay Celebrity Paradox Fun with Acronyms Epic Movie Dressing as the Enemy I Have Your Wife Recycled IN SPACE! Bland-Name Product Dull Surprise Coming-of-Age Story Kids Are Cruel Naïve Newcomer BFG Evil Cannot Comprehend Good Domestic Abuse Bar Brawl German Films Award-Bait Song Bring My Brown Pants Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane Irony As Himself Jerk Jock Our Zombies Are Different In Name Only Our Vampires Are Different Jump Scare Bottomless Magazines Alpha Bitch Yandere Loophole Abuse Only a Flesh Wound Abhorrent Admirer Ascended Extra Femme Fatale Running Gag Bitch in Sheep's Clothing Stylistic Suck Mighty Whitey Fingore Framing Device Leitmotif "The Reason You Suck" Speech Cain and Abel Australian Movies Those Two Bad Guys Sports Stories Wounded Gazelle Gambit Funny Background Event Bullying a Dragon Not So Stoic Manchild Early-Bird Cameo Mythology Gag Narrator Due to the Dead Auto Erotica Demonic Possession Dropped a Bridge on Him Mystery and Detective Films Screw the Rules, I Have Money! Fantasy Films Advertised Extra Expository Hairstyle Change Race Against the Clock Stealth Pun Big Bad Mooks Bloodier and Gorier Re-Cut Reality Is Unrealistic Not So Different Betty and Veronica Brother–Sister Incest Suspiciously Similar Substitute Sir Swears-a-Lot The Un-Reveal Arch-Enemy Sadistic Choice Earn Your Happy Ending Kick the Dog Rule of Cool Bury Your Gays Big Brother Instinct Wrong Genre Savvy The Great Depression Fourth Date Marriage Shout-Out Small Name, Big Ego The Alcoholic Show Within a Show Evil Counterpart Parental Substitute Better to Die than Be Killed Badass Bookworm Protagonist Title Works Set in World War II You Have Outlived Your Usefulness Crapsack World Cool Car Japanese Films Leave the Camera Running Ambiguous Ending He Who Fights Monsters Dirty Cop Woman in White Big Fancy House Call-Back Not What It Looks Like Danny Peary Cult Movies List Love Triangle Male Gaze Hate Sink B-Movie Leaning on the Fourth Wall As You Know Continuity Nod The Dog Bites Back Empathic Environment Token Minority Determinator aka: The Determinator Stock Footage Shown Their Work Adult Fear Mistaken for Gay Extreme Doormat Fanservice Call-Forward Neck Snap Eldritch Abomination Big "NO!" Morality Pet Skewed Priorities The Bad Guy Wins Take That! Insistent Terminology Extremely Short Timespan Neck Lift Scenery Gorn Gone Horribly Right Oh, Crap! One-Man Army How We Got Here Redemption Equals Death O.O.C. Is Serious Business 20 Minutes into the Future Informed Ability Diabolus ex Machina Adaptation Distillation Bald of Evil Big Damn Heroes Broken Pedestal Comically Missing the Point Fantastic Racism No-Sell A God Am I Badass Grandpa Arc Words I'm a Humanitarian Every Car Is a Pinto Mundane Made Awesome Only One Name Gold Digger Really Gets Around Gender Flip Foreshadowing Adaptational Attractiveness Up to Eleven Horror Comedy Insane Troll Logic Hypocritical Humor Pragmatic Adaptation Bond Villain Stupidity The '90s Together in Death Evil Is Petty Sealed Evil in a Can May–December Romance Nice Job Fixing It, Villain! Slasher Movie Evil Sounds Deep I Just Shot Marvin in the Face Interrupted Suicide It Will Never Catch On The '70s Facial Horror Manipulative Bastard Police Brutality Action Prologue "Shaggy Dog" Story Getting Crap Past the Radar Death by Sex True Companions Take a Third Option Heel–Face Turn Playing Gertrude Disproportionate Retribution Heroic Sacrifice Only Known by Their Nickname Anti-Villain The Lost Lenore Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism Dissonant Serenity The Hero More Dakka Disney Death Black and Gray Morality Revenge Death of a Child Nice Hat Chuck Cunningham Syndrome Dwindling Party Four-Temperament Ensemble The Alleged Car Those Two Guys Mugging the Monster Red Shirt "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue Covers Always Lie Men Are the Expendable Gender Casting Gag Novelization Artistic License – Military The Reveal Villain Song Eyepatch of Power All Men Are Perverts Epic Fail Last-Name Basis Suddenly SHOUTING! Anyone Can Die Took a Level in Badass Spiteful Spit Here We Go Again! What the Hell, Hero? Camera Abuse Ragtag Bunch of Misfits Hoist by His Own Petard Frame-Up Not So Above It All Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" For the Evulz Woman Scorned Badass Normal Wham Shot Slap-Slap-Kiss Big Applesauce My Greatest Failure Big-Bad Ensemble Fatal Flaw Actor Allusion The Cameo Adaptation Expansion Stepford Smiler Did Not Get the Girl Eiffel Tower Effect Never Found the Body Improbable Weapon User Drowning My Sorrows Disney Villain Death Grey and Gray Morality Dramedy Big Eater Romantic False Lead Fate Worse than Death Only in It for the Money Captain Obvious "Awesome McCool" Name Kill 'em All Abusive Parents Well-Intentioned Extremist Horror Films Hong Kong Films Chekhov's Gun Deliberately Monochrome Attempted Rape Anti-Hero Stuff Blowing Up Zombie Stories Eureka Moment Never My Fault Very Loosely Based on a True Story Dies Wide Open Russian Films Adapted Out Fiery Redhead Does Not Like Shoes The Stoic The Voiceless Villain Protagonist Rule of Three Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil Meaningful Background Event The Lancer La Résistance Sexy Discretion Shot Scare Chord Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking Accidental Murder Self-Deprecation Scenery Porn No OSHA Compliance Tranquil Fury Cluster F-Bomb Instant Death Bullet Cat Scare Ungrateful Bastard Real Life The Musical Not Using the "Z" Word Exact Words Tempting Fate Moment Killer Becoming the Mask Animal Title Index Chiaroscuro Politically Incorrect Villain The '80s Outrun the Fireball Sanity Slippage Vitriolic Best Buds Colour-Coded for Your Convenience aka: Color Coded For Your Convenience All Just a Dream Roaring Rampage of Revenge Sinister Minister You Have Failed Me Blood from the Mouth Cool Old Guy The Power of Love Unusually Uninteresting Sight Car Fu Famous Last Words Break the Haughty Italian Films Groin Attack Breaking the Fourth Wall Heel Realization Anguished Declaration of Love Didn't Think This Through Naked People Are Funny Let's Get Dangerous! Hooker with a Heart of Gold Reality Ensues Gilligan Cut Totally Radical Beauty Is Never Tarnished Black Dude Dies First Rule of Funny Department of Redundancy Department Sequel Escalation Artistic License – Gun Safety Anachronism Stew Ambiguous Disorder Early Installment Weirdness Central Theme Even Evil Has Standards "Well Done, Son!" Guy Blatant Lies Dying Moment of Awesome Cowboy Cop Market-Based Title Action Girl For Want of a Nail Off with His Head! Foregone Conclusion Shoot the Shaggy Dog Never Trust a Trailer N-Word Privileges Punny Name Vampire Fiction Babies Ever After No Celebrities Were Harmed Adults Are Useless Screw This, I'm Outta Here! Pay Evil unto Evil Deadpan Snarker Brutal Honesty Driven to Suicide The Hero Dies Expy Freeze-Frame Bonus Reality Has No Subtitles Rasputinian Death NO INDOOR VOICE Red Herring Those Wacky Nazis Artistic License – History Sequel Hook Bunny-Ears Lawyer Deliberate Values Dissonance Corpsing The Cavalry Adorkable No Name Given Almost Kiss Anachronic Order Spiritual Successor Redshirt Army Hope Spot Even Evil Has Loved Ones Science Fiction Films Meaningful Name Mr. Exposition Crucified Hero Shot Screw the Money, I Have Rules! Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday Serial Killer Psychological Thriller Historical Villain Upgrade Soft Glass She's Got Legs Red Right Hand He Knows Too Much Genre Throwback Faux Affably Evil Awesome, but Impractical Ironic Echo Butt-Monkey Shut Up, Hannibal! MacGuffin The Smart Guy Television Movie Index Too Dumb to Live Overly Long Gag Jerk with a Heart of Gold French Films Nice Job Breaking It, Hero! The Bully And the Adventure Continues The Quiet One Bond One-Liner Taking the Bullet Nice Guy Real Life Writes the Plot The Dragon Word of God Older Than They Look As the Good Book Says... Creator Cameo Establishing Character Moment Parental Abandonment Riddle for the Ages Refuge in Audacity Improbable Aiming Skills Ax-Crazy Destination Defenestration British Films Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome Final Girl Rich Bitch Gainax Ending Drill Sergeant Nasty Stealth Hi/Bye Face–Heel Turn Annoying Younger Sibling Dumb Blonde Mama Bear Red Oni, Blue Oni Evil-Detecting Dog The Starscream Air-Vent Passageway Villain Ball Reasonable Authority Figure Action Genre The '50s Deconstruction Jerkass Has a Point Off-into-the-Distance Ending Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass Bowdlerise This Is Gonna Suck Not Quite Dead Defiant to the End Same Language Dub Toplessness from the Back Catch-Phrase Black Comedy Scary Black Man Product Placement The Dreaded Dark and Troubled Past What Happened to the Mouse? Monumental Damage Truth in Television Pre-Mortem One-Liner The End... Or Is It? Wicked Cultured Rape as Drama Unwitting Instigator of Doom Hair-Trigger Temper Dramatic Gun Cock Crazy-Prepared No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Costume Porn Make It Look Like an Accident Canadian Movies Foil Genre Savvy Heterosexual Life-Partners Cool Old Lady Ugly Guy, Hot Wife Exactly What It Says on the Tin Obfuscating Stupidity Death by Adaptation Ship Tease Made of Explodium Unspoken Plan Guarantee Adaptational Badass It Can Think Easily Forgiven Tagline Vacation Films Mr. Fanservice Karma Houdini The Oner Fan Disservice The Ghost Pun aka: Incredibly Lame Pun Catapult Nightmare Aluminum Christmas Trees Accidental Misnaming Pre-Asskicking One-Liner Malevolent Masked Men Beard of Evil Serious Business Armor-Piercing Question Creepy Child Mercy Kill Double-Meaning Title Non-Indicative Name Shower Scene Ghost Fiction Star-Crossed Lovers Girl-on-Girl Is Hot Gory Discretion Shot Closed Circle Action Survivor The Casanova Bait-and-Switch Curb-Stomp Battle A.I. Is a Crapshoot Unreliable Narrator Superhero Rousing Speech Film Noir Psycho for Hire Roger Ebert: Great Movies List My God, What Have I Done? Cloudcuckoolander Precision F-Strike Calling the Old Man Out Only Sane Man Loads and Loads of Characters Beta Couple It's Personal Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer Darker and Edgier The Chick Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other Knight Templar Mexican Standoff Papa Wolf Cool Guns Fanservice Extra Setting Update Punctuated! For! Emphasis! Poor Communication Kills From Bad to Worse Contrived Coincidence A Minor Kidroduction Slasher Smile Ripped from the Headlines Crazy Jealous Guy Funny Foreigner Noodle Incident Dark Is Not Evil Despair Event Horizon Video Credits All for Nothing Sci-Fi Horror It's All About Me Parental Neglect Hidden Depths Cassandra Truth Missing Mom Distracted by the Sexy Punch-Clock Villain Children Are Innocent Genre Shift Chekhov's Gunman Kill It with Fire All There in the Manual timeperiod Hollywood Darkness And Starring After the End Film Series Love at First Sight Chase Scene Film Noir Index Vomit Discretion Shot Freudian Excuse Broken Bird Worthy Opponent No Ending Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene Does This Remind You of Anything? Motor Mouth Reckless Gun Usage Back from the Dead Storming the Castle Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping Humans Are Bastards Have a Gay Old Time Whole Plot Reference Taking You with Me Gorn Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold Lampshade Hanging Important Haircut Offscreen Teleportation Break the Cutie Knife Nut Dark Action Girl Double Entendre Disappeared Dad Everyone Has Standards My Beloved Smother Man on Fire Artistic License – Physics Nothing Is Scarier Ominous Latin Chanting Light Is Not Good Recap / RiffTrax aka: Riff Trax Movies Determinator Intrepid Reporter Race Lift Heroic BSoD Historical-Domain Character Idiot Ball Silent Movie Dirty Old Man Pet the Dog Face Death with Dignity Historical Hero Upgrade Sassy Black Woman Silence Is Golden Pretty Little Headshots Match Cut Green-Eyed Monster Names to Run Away from Really Fast Intergenerational Friendship Your Cheating Heart Deus ex Machina Thriller One-Word Title Biopic Artistic License – Law Happily Married Badass Boast Enemy Mine In Medias Res Straight Gay The Un-Favourite aka: The Un Favorite Manic Pixie Dream Girl Cool Shades Training Montage There Is No Kill Like Overkill Death Seeker Slashed Throat Historical In-Joke Psychopathic Manchild Heroes Want Redheads Parental Incest Apocalypse How Shell-Shocked Veteran Drives Like Crazy Chewing the Scenery Hypocrite Imagine Spot Public Domain Feature Films Room Full of Crazy The X of Y Bad "Bad Acting" Twist Ending The Smurfette Principle You Have Got to Be Kidding Me! Mind Screw The Mole Say My Name Dutch Angle Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique Faking the Dead Red Eyes, Take Warning Manly Tears Camp Gay Unusual Euphemism Bad Boss Villainous Breakdown Soundtrack Dissonance Dogged Nice Guy Laser-Guided Karma Affectionate Parody Took a Level in Jerkass Obviously Evil Fat Bastard The Film of the Book An Axe to Grind Lighter and Softer Good Is Not Nice Would Hurt a Child Disguised in Drag No Antagonist Guile Hero Karmic Death Jitter Cam Retired Badass Damsel in Distress Insult Backfire Curse Cut Short folderlabel Rule of Symbolism Adaptational Villainy Black Best Friend Mad Scientist Suspiciously Specific Denial World of Ham Gratuitous English Adaptational Heroism Defrosting Ice Queen Dark Reprise As Long as It Sounds Foreign Not Even Bothering with the Accent Animal Motifs Decoy Protagonist Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! Conspicuous CG All Girls Want Bad Boys Wham Line Hollywood Law Evil Is Hammy The Mafia Eagleland Bittersweet Ending An Arm and a Leg Retirony Corrupt Corporate Executive Batman Gambit Immune to Bullets Failed a Spot Check Hero of Another Story Christmas Movies Index War Is Hell Toilet Humour aka: Toilet Humor All There in the Script Adaptation Name Change Implacable Man The '60s Broken Aesop Creative Closing Credits Peek-a-Boo Corpse Plucky Comic Relief Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? The Sociopath Brainless Beauty Bolivian Army Ending Be Careful What You Wish For Eye Scream Maybe Ever After Homage And I Must Scream Random Events Plot Stalker with a Crush Smoking Is Cool Grievous Bottley Harm Bi the Way The Big Guy Badass in a Nice Suit No-Holds-Barred Beatdown Impaled with Extreme Prejudice Male Frontal Nudity '80s Hair Friend to All Children Paper-Thin Disguise In the Back I Need a Freaking Drink