Anya Taylor-Joy
Beth Harmon
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Cast
Episode Guide
- 7. End Game Oct 23, 2020
- A visit from an old friend forces Beth to come to grips with her past and rethink her priorities.
- 6. Adjournment Oct 23, 2020
- Beth's wild night sends her into a self-destructive downward spiral.
- 5. Fork Oct 23, 2020
- In Kentucky, Beth reconnects with a former opponent who offers to help sharpen her game.
The Queen's Gambit: Created by Scott Frank, Allan Scott. With Anya Taylor-Joy, Chloe Pirrie, Bill Camp, Marcin Dorocinski. Orphaned at the tender age of nine, prodigious introvert Beth Harmon discovers and masters the game of chess in 1960s USA. But child stardom comes at a price.
- (513K)
- Drama
- TV-MA
- 2020-10-23
The Queen's Gambit follows the life of an orphan chess prodigy, Elizabeth Harmon, during her quest to become an elite chess player while struggling with emotional problems, drugs and alcohol dependency. The title of the series refers to a chess opening of the same name. The story is set in the mid-1950s and 1960s.
AwardDate Of CeremonyCategoryRecipient (s)December 21, 2020Best TV Series of the YearThe Queen's GambitDecember 21, 2020Best Drama TV Series of the YearThe Queen's GambitDecember 21, 2020Best New TV Series of the YearThe Queen's GambitDecember 21, 2020Best Dramatic Performance in a TV Series- Scott Frank
- Scott Frank
Watch The Queen's Gambit | Netflix Official Site. In a 1950s orphanage, a young girl reveals an astonishing talent for chess and begins an unlikely journey to stardom while grappling with addiction. Watch trailers & learn more.
- 2 min
- Is It Based on A True Story?
- What's The Queen's Gambit?
- How Does Beth's Real Mother Die?
- What Pill Does Beth take?
- How Does Mrs. Wheatley Die?
- How Does Beth Beat Benny Watts?
- How Does Adjournment Work?
- Why Does Borgov Want to adjourn?
- Do The Actors Actually Play Chess?
- What's The Response from The Chess Community?
While The Queen's Gambit comes across as an inspirational sports story, it's an adaptation of a 1983 fictional coming-of-age novel of the same name written by American novelist Walter Tevis. Tevis was a chess player himself and consulted real-life chess masters to ensure he accurately depicted the intricacies and rules of professional chess. So no,...
In chess, a gambit is an opening move in which the player will sacrifice pieces to later gain a positive position. According to The Chess Website, "The Queen's Gambit is probably the most popular gambit and although most gambits are said to be unsound against perfect play the Queen's Gambit is said to be the exception." It's the move Beth uses in h...
When Beth was 9, her real mother Alice committed suicide by driving into an oncoming vehicle. She first drives to Beth's father's house, where his new wife answers with their young son. Alice asks Paul for help with taking care of Beth, but Paul frantically rushes her away from his new family. He says she can come back another time and they'll talk...
At Beth's orphanage, the Methuen Home for Girls, the children are given tranquillizer pills to make them compliant. When a law is passed forbidding this and Beth's pills are taken away, she suffers withdrawals and continues to struggle with her addiction to the drug.
After her whirlwind romance with pen pal Manuel in Mexico City ends, Mrs. Wheatley doesn't show up to Beth's match with Borgov. Beth returns to her hotel room to discover Mrs. Wheatley dead. The coroner expects it was hepatitis, an inflammatory condition of the liver. Mrs. Wheatley was an alcoholic, running up a huge bill on margaritas at the hotel...
The first time Beth plays Benny Watts, the reigning US champion, at the US Open in Las Vegas, he defeats her. Later, with the help of ex-Kentucky state champion Harry Beltik, Beth learns to study her opponents and the big games in their careers, instead of just relying on her intuition and improvising in the moment. She buys a copy of Chess Review ...
When Beth plays her final match against Borgov in Russia, he requests they adjourn until the next day. This means he must write his next move on a piece of paper and seal it in an envelope. The director will then kick off the next session with the prepared move. This ensures neither player knows what the board will look like when it's their next tu...
In the final match between Beth and Borgov at the Moscow Invitational, Beth appears to be the more tired of the two, after playing several long matches in a row. But it's Borgov who requests they end the session and pick up the following day. This decision could point to Borgov's interview in a tape Beth watches while training with Harry, where Bor...
The highly detailed chess sequences were put together by chess coach Bruce Pandolfini (who consulted on the original novel), with advice from Russian grandmaster Garry Kasparov. They likely used chess engines, computer programs that analyze chess positions and generate a list of strongest moves, as well as faithfully matching scenarios in the book ...
The Queen's Gambit has been generally praised by critics. Though it's received good reviews from chess players, a criticism has been aimed at the exclusive use of men's games as the basis for its fictional contests. "The Queen's Gambit is so brilliant but using some women's games would have been awesome," former US Women's Chess Champion Jennifer S...
A visit from an old friend forces Beth to reckon with her past and rethink her priorities, just in time for the biggest match of her life. Suddenly plunged into a confusing new life in suburbia, teenage Beth studies her high school classmates and hatches a plan to enter a chess tournament.
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Jun 25, 2022. Rated: 9/10 • Sep 30, 2021. Set during the Cold War era, orphaned chess prodigy Beth Harmon struggles with addiction in a quest to become the greatest chess player in the world.
