“	Come on Nathan, tell the truth. Didn’t you have a little bit of fun playing the Black King instead of the White Knight, just this once?	”
— Parker, The Nigerian Job

Chess is used as a metaphor in the first season of Leverage. While the series pilot clearly alludes to Nathan Ford changing from a "White Knight" to a "Black King," the theme of chess appears thoughout the first few episodes of the series. 

Episodes

Season 1

• "The Nigerian Job" - Nathan Ford is referred to, twice, as the "Black King, White Knight".
• "The Homecoming Job" - The logo for Castleman Security is a black rook.
• "The Two-Horse Job" - A reference to the knight, most often portrayed with a horse's head.
• "The Miracle Job" - Following the theme of the prior two episodes, the Catholic church is a reference to the bishop.
• "The Wedding Job" - The dance floor at the wedding is a giant chess board.
• "The Juror #6 Job" - Nathan compares the con to a chess game, and his opponent Tobey Earnshaw is a chess player. Eliot also states he plays chess.

Season 2

• "The Lost Heir Job" - Alec Hardison plays chess with an inmate of a minimum security prison.

Season 3

• "The Jailhouse Job" - Nathan is playing chess in prison. He also uses the chess board (but checkers) to map out the escape.
• "The Reunion Job" - The Mark, Larry Duberman played chess in High School.
• "The Three-Card Monte Job" - Eliot suggests that Jimmy Ford has a Chess set similar to Nathan's.