Don’t miss this deceptively low-key character study of a nebbish middle-aged man who has traded his life as a married almost-chess-champion for just getting by tutoring young math and chess savants.

(The title refers to one variation in the famous Sicilian Defence.) Played by Gonzalo de Sagarminaga, better known as a composer, this near-monastic sad sack trades Diner-like barbs with his similarly stranded late-middle-aged buddies, while passively yearning for just a little more glory. First-time filmmaker Natalia Santa comes from a background in photography, and she starts with beautifully composed images that raise provocative questions within the simple spaces where most people pass their lives. Enough of these visual queries are answered by actions to keep the story moving forward with more precision than its lackadaisical hero might suggest. A quiet gem from an unusually talented young director—one with more great moves to come.