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9 is set in an Earth that has been destroyed by a war between man and machines. The character named after the title is a ragdoll creation of a scientist who transferred his soul to a number of other ragdolls, named 1 to 8, with 9 as the last one before he died (presumably by "exhausting" his soul). 9 and the rest of the ragdolls attempted and succeeded to destroy a machine called The Beast which was the primary reason for the destruction of the planet. But not without some sacrifices, as some of the ragdolls "died" in the process. It was a nice and entertaining fantasy movie, although a bit on the serious side and devoid of humor. You first see chess early in the movie inside the tower of a church where a group of ragdolls led by 1 is hiding, waiting for The Beast to sleep. The chess board has only 4 pieces in it, with only a white King. It appears to be a forgotten item, and I wasn't expecting to see it again. But it turns out again during the time when the ragdolls inside the church were being attacked by a metallic flying bird created by The Beast. 9 got hit by the bird, and he goes sliding to the chess board. In the process, the King in the chess board was swept by his body and dropped to the ground of the church.
I am not really sure if any symbolism or importance was intended to be placed on the chess and the pieces. Is the single King denotes the winning in a struggle where only one can win? Did the falling King alludes to 9? The fact that it appeared twice in the movie may have some meaning. Feel free to share your thoughts about it.
