Documentary: Final de Peones

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Documentary — “Final de Peones” at the Centro de Cultura Audiovisual de Gran Canaria (CCA), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Screening of Final de Peones, a documentary that recovers the history of chess in Gran Canaria, directed by Benjamín Muñoz, will take place in a special session on Thursday, April 30 at 7:00 p.m. The film offers a journey through one of the island’s lesser‑known sporting and cultural stories: the rise of chess in Gran Canaria during the second half of the 20th century and the role played by the local club La Caja, which went on to become a national and international benchmark. With an approximate running time of 60 minutes, Final de Peones follows international chess master José García Padrón, considered one of the best Canarian chess players in history. Through his experience, the documentary reconstructs how the Caja de Canarias Chess Club managed to win the Spanish Team Championship and attract major figures from the world chess scene. The film combines present‑day coverage of the protagonist with the recovery of a little‑known story: that of a diverse group of enthusiasts who, in the midst of Franco’s dictatorship, set aside their political differences to promote chess in Gran Canaria. That initiative succeeded in taking the game from the streets into schools and placing chess from Gran Canaria among the European elite. The documentary features testimonies from leading figures in the chess world such as journalist Leontxo García, grandmaster Sabrina Vega, and former world champion Anatoly Karpov, among other protagonists who help to contextualize the impact of chess in Gran Canaria over decades. Final de Peones is the first feature‑length documentary by Benjamín Muñoz, an audiovisual journalist with more than a decade of experience in television and large‑format programming. Final de Peones. 60 minutes. Don’t miss it! Free entry subject to capacity.