The Most Dangerous Match story
When Chess Grandmaster Emmett Clayton loses an impromptu game to Eastern European champion Tomlin Dudek the night before their championship match, Clayton decides to kill Dudek. The hearing impaired Clayton shoves him into a garbage grinder in the basement. Dudek survives so Clayton poisons his rival in the hospital before he can regain consciousness. Heidi Brühl plays Linda Robinson, who follows in her mother's footsteps in looking after Dudek. Lloyd Bochner plays Dudek's accompanying coach, Mazoor Berozski. Final clue/twist: Columbo learns that Dudek's injuries were caused by the fall into the grinder rather than by the grinder itself, and that the machinery automatically shuts off if something falls into it while it is in operation. Realizing that someone wanting to kill Dudek would merely have had to turn the grinder back on after it shut itself off, Columbo concludes that since it was not turned back on it means Dudek’s attacker did not know the grinder had shut itself off. This in turn means the culprit must be deaf. Directed by: Edward M. Abroms. Story by: Richard Levinson, William Link, Jackson Gillis.
17 total · 2 choice · 6 major · 9 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| how to murder someone and get away with it | choice | Emmett Clayton realized he was about to loose to Tomlin Dudek in a fated chess game and therefore tried to dispose of his rival in the following seemingly clever way: He would trick Tomlin into writing a farewell note in his native language then push him into a garbage grinder in the basement. Alas, being deaf he failed to notice that the garbage grinder did not start. Even so he might have gotten away with it had it not been for the ever-pesky Lieutenant Columbo. |
| the desire for fame | choice | Emmett was so driven by his need to be the best chess player that he stooped to murder his rival when it became apparent that he was about to be beaten. |
| competitiveness | major | Emmet Clayton was an extraordinarily competitive chess player. |
| deafness | major | Emmett Clayton being deaf factored prominently into the plot. |
| lesson in humility | major | Tomlin administered a sorely needed lesson in humility to the puffed up chess master Emmett, after gorging himself on escargot at a french restaurant. |
| pride | major | The chess master Emmett Clayton murdered his rival Tomlin Dudek rather than losing to him in their big match, and taking a resulting hit in his pride. Emmett also delighted in showing off his skills by playing eight decidedly inferior chess players at once. |
| pride goes before a fall | major | Emmett was arrogant beyond belief regarding his chess abilities, and had two major setbacks in the story: First he was defeated by Tomlin in an impromptu game at a French restaurant. Later he was distracted by Columbo and lost to a novice player in a few opening moves. |
| tabletop games | major | The story concerns a chess master who murders his opponent the night before their high profile match was scheduled to take place. Columbo was playing checkers with the veterinarian. |
| anger | minor | Emmett tore out his hearing aid and smashed it to smithereens when he was defeated at chess by Tomlin. |
| boss and employee | minor | Tomlin had an entourage of attendants that saw to his various needs, including a personal physician and a coach. |