The plot revolves around three men waiting to be deported in a prison. To escape the monotony, they form chess pieces from their bread rations, with which they then play against each other. Grünstein, a Polish Jew, proves to be a real talent, because although he is a beginner, he manages to defeat even the experienced player Lodeck, a German sailor, with his "Grünstein Variant".
Unfortunately the movie Die Grünstein-Variante is not yet available on Disney Plus.
| Directing | Bernhard Wicki | Director |
| Writing | Bernhard Wicki | Screenplay |
| Writing | Wolfgang Kohlhaase | Screenplay |
| Crew | Wolfgang Kohlhaase | Radio Play |
| Editing | Tanja Schmidbauer | Editor |
| Writing | Ludwig Turek | Story |
| Camera | Edward Kłosiński | Director of Photography |
| Sound | Günther Fischer | Music |