Throughout most of the film, we saw nothing other than 1.e4 e5. That is not surprising, since almost all chess coaches teach beginners to play those moves. But after Jose played 1.e4 in his last game, his more experienced opponent played 1...c6. the Caro-Kann defense. 1...c6 is not objectively stronger than 1...e5, but it can be effective against players who have never seen it before, or very rarely. Indeed, Jose lost that game.