In October 2020 The Queen's Gambit made its debut on Netflix.
To date, it remains one of the most watched Netflix productions of all time.
Among the many positive effects of this planetary success is certainly that it has brought new glory to an ancient game, by amplifying the passion for chess and chessboards.
Most interestingly (for us), the novel on which the series is based (published in 1983) entered the New York Times bestseller list... almost 40 years after its publication.
I too (like the NYT, by the way) discovered it in the wake of the series' success. It is a well-written book, and definitely accessible to those who want try it in the original (if you have seen the series, it will be even more enjoyable).
In this article, you will find many passages that might (even) make you want to read it! Enjoy 😉
"They say you’re the real thing… How does it feel? Being a girl among all those men?"
"I don’t mind it".
The story of The Queen’s Gambit is fully captured in these fragments of a conversation between Elizabeth Harmon, a 14-year-old chess prodigy in 1960s America, and Jean Balke, a reporter for Life magazine.
"When I was a girl”, the reporter said, “I was never allowed to be competitive. I used to play with dolls”.
Not surprisingly, Beth Harmon’s world is completely devoid of dolls - the only one being “a pink doll in a blue print dress, with blonde hair and a puckered-up mouth”, which she drops into a large oil can used for trash a minute after receiving it, as if to emphasize that “playing chess” and “playing dolls” just don’t belong together.
Born in Kentucky and a survivor of her mother’s suicidal car accident, Beth is raised in the all-girl Christian orphanage of Methuen Home, a place that is crucial to the story: it’s here that the heroine is introduced to both tranquilizers (then legally and freely given to children to keep them calm and compliant) and chessboards, to both of which she quickly becomes addicted.
Mr. Shaibel, an old janitor who plays the game alone in the basement of Methuen, is the one who teaches her the rules of chess and the first to recognize her extraordinary gift:
“How old are you, child?”
“Eight”
“Eight years old. To tell you the truth of it, child, you are astounding”.
Later, in her teens, Alma Wheatly (her unconventional adoptive mother) becomes her second sponsor. Recognizing the full potential (including financial) of Beth’s extraordinary talent, she supports her ambitions and pushes her to compete at ever higher levels (while also serving as a drinking buddy).
Beth’s determination to succeed in the male-dominated world of top chess tournaments is unwavering from the start:
Listening to the two of them, she had felt something unpleasant and familiar: the sense that chess was a thing between men, and she was an outsider. She hated the feeling.
She remembered the Life interviewer and the questions about her being a woman in a man’s world. To hell with her; it wouldn’t be a man’s world when she finished with it.
A male world where, as an attractive young woman and a relentless opponent, she proves to be a powerful source of annoyance and frustration:
“You play a game that is… awesome”, the Mexican said. “You make a man feel helpless”
Solomon did not say anything, but she could tell from the way he stalked off afterward that he was furious to be beaten by a woman.
In its simplest form, The Queen’s Gambit is a story of female empowerment in 1950s and 1960s America. But there’s more to it than that.
Beth’s rise to international prominence is relatively quick and smooth until she faces Russian giant Vasily Borgov, the World Chess Champion. That’s when Beth finally confronts her own addictions, where the real struggle begins and a deeper message is delivered - how we can use our talents to undermine and ultimately destroy ourselves:
She remembered reading somewhere that some pop artist once bought an original drawing by Michelangelo - and had taken a piece of art gum and erased it, leaving blank paper. The waste had shocked her. Now she felt a similar shock as she imagined the surface of her own brain with the talent of chess wiped away.
From this point on, Beth spirals down a long and frightening chasm of pain and self-destruction. Without revealing too much, let’s just say that only by returning to her roots (i.e., after visiting Methuen Home and reconnecting both physically and emotionally with the place and its people) will she finally be able to face and fight her demons:
“You found what you were looking for?” Jolene asked when she got back to the car.
“More”, Beth said.
Her increased self-confidence, newfound courage, and greater strength will soon be put to the test at the Moscow Invitational tournament:
She should accept the draw. People would call it a solid achievement. A draw, however, was not a win. And the one thing in her life that she was sure she loved was a win.
Ultimately, Harmon’s story of rise and fall says a lot about the importance of finding, nurturing, and staying true to our (better) selves.
This brilliant short book was written by Walter Tevis (also the author of The Hustler, The Color of Money, and The Man Who Fell to Earth, all major motion pictures) and published in 1983. At the time of its release the author defined the story as "a tribute to brainy women":
With some people chess is a pastime, with others it is a compulsion, even an addiction. And every now and then a person comes along for whom it is a birthright. Now and then a small boy appears and dazzles us with his precocity at what may be the world’s most difficult game. But what if that boy were a girl - a young, unsmiling girl with brown eyes, brown hair and a dark-blue dress?
Compelling and fast-paced, the book successfully spans, mixes, and masters the literary genres of coming-of-age, sports/games, and thriller. It is easy to read and thoroughly enjoyable (even for non-chess players), despite its accurate depiction of the nerves and study of the games, along with the positions, techniques & tactics on the chessboards.
The Netflix miniseries is equally captivating: a truly gripping piece of drama in which the game of chess (despite its slow speed, which makes it difficult to translate on screen) represents a unique blend of unflinching intensity, unrelenting conflict, and aesthetic pleasure. The game and its intense focus are presented in a stunning variety of settings, where sets and costumes have been carefully designed to please the most demanding audience: outfits, hairstyles, wallpapers, furniture and decorations whose (black and white) colors, (checkerboard) patterns and (iconic) styles are a feast for the eyes.
The show follows the book closely, so there’s no additional material for a Season 2, as the names of the Golden Globe & Emmy Awards themselves suggest: “Best Miniseries” and “Outstanding Limited Series” (i.e., a show which has “a limited number of episodes across one season, with a definitive ending”). When asked about the prospect of another season, both executive producer William Horberg and star Anya Taylor-Joy said they were unlikely to do one. In conclusion (and deliberately misquoting their answers):
“You see her grow, you leave her in a good place… Maybe we can just let the audience imagine what comes next”.
Well… I couldn’t agree more! 😉