*Disclaimer: This article contains what could be considered spoilers!
I have never played chess. I have never felt a slight incline to learn how to play chess. After watching “The Queen’s Gambit” on Netflix, though, I need to master the Sicilian Defence, get my own copy of Modern Chess Openings, and play chess on cool math games.
“The Queen’s Gambit” is a Netflix miniseries written and directed by Scott Frank and based on the 1983 Walter Tevis novel of the same name. Set in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Anya Taylor-Joy stars as Beth Harmon, an orphan girl who works her way up to becoming the greatest chess player of all time while simultaneously dealing with trauma and addiction. While at its core, the show is about chess, it is so much more that you can’t help to feel captivated by the first episode.
Let’s first talk about some of the defiances to common tropes. In the beginning, Beth is housed in an orphanage where all the children are dressed the same and given similar hair cuts. Beth has never had the opportunity to explore self-expression up till she is adopted and given the chance to attend public high school. In school, we see Beth compare her clothes to the varying trendy fashion choices of all the other girls. By the end of the episode, after earning the prize money of a chess tournament, Beth buys herself a chessboard and shyly points to a dress she had been eying earlier. It’s refreshing to see someone like Beth, who is a prodigy interested in “feminine” things. Beth can be smart and funny, and also like fashion. Beth is not a one-dimensional character. While I’m not the biggest fan of the riches to rags story, the integration of Beth’s interest in fashion works alongside her passion for chess, as we only see her in clothes that resemble chess pieces and other geometrical shapes. Her wardrobe also mimics her journey, as we see her wearing a green dress that resembles her pills during her mental breakdown and a fully white ensemble piece that resembles a white queen chess piece when she walks away victorious at the end of the series.
Another thing I enjoy is that Beth’s adoptive mother, Alma, played by Marielle Heller, did not turn out to be a toddlers and tiaras stage mom. Yes, Alma had her faults; again, I wouldn’t want the complexity of women to be portrayed as anything less. Alma stood by Beth even when Beth was something rude, but isn’t that what a mother and daughter relationship is? They both have passions for male-dominated subjects and give each other space to explore themselves while also being there for the moments that matter.
Now let’s discuss the score. Composed by Carlos Rafael Rivera, the show’s score conveys tension without words. I finished watching the show a few weeks ago and I’m still listening to “The Final Game”, which plays during Beth’s final chess match against Russian Grandmaster Borgov. The score in combination with Anya Taylor-Joy stare down is guaranteed to give you goosebumps. The score cues when Beth is thinking about her next calculated chess move, grows more intense when Beth sees herself losing, and simmers down when she either wins or accepts her defeat. The score puts you Beth’s mindset which is both terrifying and exhilarating.
While there were a few things I didn’t particularly love, like the lack of storyline for Beth’s best friend Jolene, who was the only Black character, and the lack of people of color in general, I still enjoyed it. I can go on and on about why you should watch “The Queen’s Gambit,” and you’ll just have to take my word as enough of a reason. With a stellar cast comprised of Anya Taylor-Joy, Moses Ingram, Marielle Heller, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, and Harry Melling, you can’t help but be engrossed in the world of chess.