In a small southern frontier town, an old man called “Nail Li” boasts about his chess skills by nailing a general piece to the board, challenging anyone to remove it. During this era, many young people moved to the countryside. The town’s new party secretary, played by Niu Ben, was angry after losing a game and sent his team to the city to find talents in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Wang Yisheng, a Beijing youth known as “The Chess Fool,” was mistakenly labeled a counter-revolutiona...