I rate this episode ★★★★☆ for GOOD. Murray Burnett wrote one of the best mystery stories involving the game of chess. The suspenseful plot points, the surprising climax and the resolution were on the mark. There wasn't a lot of character development for our minor characters, but a lot for our protagonist & antagonist. Another way to title this mystery tale would be "The Pawn" or "What Is Your Game, Mr. Chessman?" The music, I like. There were many tracks that built the suspense and increased the tension as the story progressed. The sound effects, however, not so much. There were the sounds of daily traffic in New York (which is where the story takes place), people murmuring in the lobby, the sounds of chess pieces being moved, an envelope, the dialing of a rotary phone, and a tiny clink sound of the washroom key. It would've been enticing if the music was played in the middle of the scenes instead of playing them to change the scenes. For example, in Ep. 1245-THE JUDGE'S HOUSE, there was horror music playing in the middle of a scene in ACT-3 that moved the story up on another level. If they played the suspenseful tunes in the middle of this story, it would've brought chills and goose bumps to the listeners. I enjoyed Tammy Grimes' narrations as the Host. In her Prologue, she points out how chess made an impact in ancient times and it still does today. In ACT-2, she explains how people can change instantly whether they're in a crisis or something new comes around in their lifestyle. In ACT-2, she changed the William Shakespeare quote to, "All the world's a chess board." It worked in a way, since there are some who are treated like pawns in a gigantic power struggle. Then, she explains how people are like ostriches where we, metaphorically speaking, stick our heads in the ground to ignore the things we don't want to see/hear. In ACT-3, she makes a historical reference to Robert James "Bobby" Fischer who defeated Boris Spassky at the 1972 World Chess Championship. Her Epilogue was the most interesting part because she points out that there were no women's rights in the 6th Century of Persia where chess was played, but there was a thing called "Women's lib" back then. And that is linked to chess because the Queen is the most powerful piece in the game and the King is barely useful. And the cast is fantastic in this Drama-Mystery: Paul Hecht (as Charley Williams), Fred Gwynne (as Lawrence Chessman a.k.a. Victor Sergave), Lamis Farris (as Susan Williams & the Woman), and Russell Horton (as Ben Bradley & Mr. Tompkins). It's too bad that this was the only CBSRMT episode that Lamis Farris worked on; she really had talent. But Fred Gwynne; one of his best roles! Listen to the way he laughs at the 6-minute 23-second mark. If you enjoyed this story, check out the other episodes that CBSRMT has done involving chess: Ep. 0493-CHECKMATE and Ep. 0574-YOUR MOVE, MR. ELLIS. =0]