This movie about, which is about a boy who moves to a new town and is good at chess, is pretty fun and amusing. The storyline and characters are well done and they are all likable. There is also some sentimentality to it, which I found to be a good factor instead of the same old cliché that a lot of movies like this have. The comedy part of it is also well done. Its not LOL material, but its still funny and quirky. Even the romance is not bad. Its different from some of the main teen comedies. And lastly, I am glad this wasn't the usual sex comedy. It is a pretty clean, and for the most part a family (sort of). I rate it 7/10. (my rating) PG-13 for language including sex and drug references, and for some sexual content

I often see teen movies and they usually provide a chuckle. Some are so awful, that they are instant eject button. Sometimes they just force me to keep my finger on the fast forward button. Hatley High was an absolutely GREAT movie. There were many depths and subtleties underneath a movie that kept my undivided interest every step along the way and provided many laughs as well. The chemistry between all the characters is great and there are several interesting relationships that develop. I would recommend this movie to anyone who is young at heart wants to see a good movie with some chuckles along the way. I am so glad that I stumbled upon it.

This is a great movie, long overlooked. A small town high school is nuts about chess and everybody plays The big showdown comes when a team from the Soviet Union is flown in to play the big match. The coach for Hatley High is a Soviet defector who defected during the last chess match between the two teams. The new Russian coach is a Russian nationalist, and the rivalry is personal.On the night before the big showdown, the Russian team captain, Anya Petrovich, played by Ilona Elkin, seduces the Hatley High captain, played by James A. Woods, and tricks him by putting handcuffs on him and locking in the principal's office. When the Hatley High Captain does not appear for the big final match, the Hatley High team will be forfeited unless somebody can be pulled off the bench to play the big final game.The creators of this movie could have used a real chess consultant. Many of the moves shown on the chess board are illegal. Black moves first in the first game and, although they use chess terms like Sicilian Defense and Budapest Defense, the moves shown on the board are nothing like those openings.However, we can overlook these defects because this movie teaches us chess players important lessons about how a movie about a high school chess match can be made exciting and interesting to the general non-chess playing audience.Sam Sloan

Staged in a small town that worships chess this movie kept me smiling all the way through. Even though it comes off as a play on the typical American "worship the football goods" type movie there are many of details that might not be apparent at first viewing. A combination of familial loss, new town acclimatization, cold war history and rook envy come together well in a movie fit for pretty much everyone.The main character, Tommy, did a good job of coming across as a complicated young man who has the initial idea of who he is but still has the rough edges to work on. Hyacinth, well, other than everyone falling in love with her while she keeps Tommy dancing, I expect to see her again in more movies as she has a good energy that is transferred here.This is a movie that makes me glad to be a Canadian!