Go. Change your plans. Alter your schedule.

Cancel something else and make your way to Rockville Musical Theatre's outstanding production of "Chess," which runs through Nov. 22.

An international chess match provides the background for a story of love, trust, betrayal and the Cold War. First produced in 1988, "Chess" reminds us of the suspicion with which the United States and the Soviet Union long regarded each other.

In a prologue opening scene, young Florence (Rachel Lyons), who is learning chess from her father amid the gunfire and beatings of Budapest's 1956 Hungarian uprising, is whisked away to safety, leaving him behind.

The scene shifts to 1980 Bangkok, where American chess champion Freddie Trumper (Randy Kravitz) arrives to confront his Russian opponent, Anatoly Sergievsky (Hans Bachmann), in the first half of the World Chess Championship. Accompanying them are their seconds, Florence Vassy (Carmel Ferrer) and Ivan Molokov (Michael Glenn Harless).

The tension evident from the outset of the match intensifies when Freddie accuses Anatoly of cheating and Florence of betrayal. Left to themselves, Florence and Anatoly fall in love, and Anatoly decides to defect to the United States.

Complications do not stop there. Anatoly's wife Svetlana, compellingly played by Susan Holtshouser, arrives to salvage their marriage. Harper Anderson (Debbie Peoples), Freddie's aggressively irritating press agent, provides some of the rare moments of humor. When Molokov suggests using government authorities to apply pressure, Harper replies, "Our secretary of state makes no one nervous; that's our problem."