The Luzhin Defence (2000) was shot entirely in Europe. Budapest, Hungary was used for outdoor scenes as they were set in St Petersburg, these included the Széchenyi Chain Bridge, Hungarian National Museum and Heroes' Square. The chess tournament (although in Italy) was shot inside the main hall of the Museum of Ethnography, Budapest. In Italy, the hotel scenes were filmed at Villa Erba, Cernobbio, on the Lake Como. The scene at the railway station is in Brenna-Alzate, near Como.
The dramatic draw that takes place halfway through the film follows the obscure game Macht-Weenink 1930. The scene begins as Luzhin's opponent is in a losing position. Knowing he is ahead but with pressure mounting, Luzhin makes the amateur-grade blunder from the original game. He loses his knight for nothing. Having blown his chance to win, Luzhin forces a draw.
The line "Pushkin's doomed duelist" refers to the character Vladimir Lensky in Aleksandr Pushkin's novel "Eugene Onegin." The author of the novel "The Luzhin Defense," Vladimir Nabokov, was responsible for an acclaimed translation and commentary of "Eugene Onegin."
At the beginning of the movie, Luzhin writes the following moves into his notebook: 1.d4 f5 2.e4 fxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6. This is the mainline of the Staunton Gambit opening. Although no longer popular, this opening was respected during the film's depicted time period.
Emily Watson received Best Actress nominations at the British Independent Film Awards and the London Film Critics Circle Awards.