I don’t know how long this has been going on, but I have been attributing the line “This shit’s chess, it ain’t checkers” to Stringer Bell on the HBO show The Wire.

I was wrong, it’s actually a line delivered by Alonso Harris in the movie Training Day:

Alonzo: It behoves you not to dick around on this one. Justifiable homicide in the line of duty? What happened was…

Jake: What happened was murder… and armed robbery. Wait, we had badges, so it’s different?

Alonzo: Open your eyes, son. Can’t you see?

Jake: That man was your friend, and you killed him like a fly.

Alonzo: Why is he my friend, because he knows my first name? Roger sold dope to kids. The world is a better place without him. This man was the biggest major violator in Los Angeles. This is the game. I’m playing his ass. That’s my job. That’s your job. I watched that cocksucker operate with impunity for over 10 years, and now I got him. The shit’s chess, it ain’t checkers. What, we all of a sudden gonna roll up in a black-and-white? Come on, man, take the money.

Jake: I told you, I’m *not* gonna take that money.

Alonzo: All right, burn it, barbecue it, fish-fry it, I don’t give a fuck. But the boys’ll feel better about it.

Jake: *Fuck* their feelings.

Alonzo: You’re not making them feel like you’re part of the team.

Jake: The team? You guys are fuckin’ insane. All right, I’ll go back to the Valley. I’ll cut parking tickets. Why does it have to be this way?

Alonzo: I’m sorry I exposed you to it, but it is. It’s ugly, but it’s necessary… Sometimes you gotta have a little dirt on you for anybody to trust you.

My mistake. The Wire and Training Day both have so many awesome quotes, I don’t know why I messed this one up.