He proves to be unexpectedly persuasive at getting the students to sit and follow the rules and is allowed to return as the detention monitor until a full-time replacement can be found.

Eugene attempts to restart the chess club by driving to the local hang out joint for the teenagers, but they refuse to play outside of detention.

Peanut later changes his mind and Eugene makes him president of the chess club by giving him the wooden king piece.

Clifton and Tahime come to the chess house to get Peanut, whom they had recruited earlier, and take him to rob some drug dealers.

He comes back to the chess house and returns the wooden king piece he got from Peanut's body.

Clifton is arrested and calls Perry from prison, but is hung up on, illustrating his role as a sacrificial pawn.

Tahime advances to the final match and faces one of the best players in the country, J. Thomas Gaines.

Nonetheless, Tahime is congratulated by Gaines for a close match and gets a standing ovation from his supporters in the crowd, including his mother.

[7] Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com gave the film 2 out of 5, praising performance by Cuba Gooding Jr. and directing of Jake Goldberger, but criticizing Life of a King for being "awfully formulaic and predictable".