I have never been much of a chess player, so when a friend of mine introduced me to the new Netflix original series “The Queen’s Gambit” I was 99 % sure it would have been extremely boring for me. Despite that, I decided to give it a shot, considering that it was praised both by critics and the public. The series is based on Walter Tevis’s book “The Queen’s Gambit” and focuses on the coming of age of Beth Harmon, a chess prodigy. After losing her mother in a car accident young Beth is taken to an orphanage in Lexington, Kentucky. It’s the mid-50s and it was not uncommon to give children tranquilizers in order to “keep them quiet”. Beth quickly becomes addicted to them: she spends the rest of her life struggling with it. One day Mr Shaibel, the janitor, teaches her how to play chess, and new possibilities open for Beth, since she proves to be a real prodigy. When she is fifteen she is adopted by Mr and Mrs Wheatley; she leaves the orphanage and the only friend she had, Jolene, a black girl with basically zero chances to be adopted as well. The story follows Beth’s steps in her road to conquer the chess world, while dealing with her inner demons at the same time.
The series focuses on the fine line between madness and genius perfectly synthesized by the complex personality of Beth. The struggle to overcome her addiction to drugs and alcohol is made even harder to watch because you realize soon that she is her own worst enemy, a self-destructive person. By some flashbacks we learn more about her mother and her traumatic past, which led to her current issues. She also has trouble defining her identity and she often doubts her natural talent for chess: she thinks that without the pills she is used to taking since childhood her mind wouldn’t be sharp enough to visualise the board as easily. She genuinely doesn’t like herself, and drugs and alcohol just make her feel comfortably numb. Despite her psychological issues in the miniseries Beth is surrounded by lots of people who want to be there for her, even though she shouts them out. There are many beautiful scenes where Beth’s friends demonstrate how they care and eventually help her. I love her relationship with Mrs Wheatley, her adoptive mother, and how they gradually get closer to each other as well as her friendship with Jolene, who is a strong model for Beth since her childhood despite they are almost the same age.
On the downside I think they could have done a better job in portraying the role of women during the 60s. We see the story through Beth’s eyes, a genius who dominates a male world such as chess. She is bothered to be regarded as “female” genius, and there are a few times where it is shown how men look at her as an outsider, but she still wins and gains world-wide recognition and she is able to remain economically independent: she is the exception, not the rule of how life was for 60s women. However, I must admit that expanding this theme would have taken away the focus from Beth’s character, which is not easy to understand without being constantly under analysis. Moreover, I appreciate how they explored the way Beth expresses herself through clothes and style: despite being part of a male world she never loses her femininity.
Altogether, every set was beautifully constructed, all the costumes were amazing and the music choice fits perfectly every scene: I was totally absorbed by the 60s atmosphere. I found Anya Taylor-Joy’s performance very expressive;it is no surprise that the series won best limited series and Anya Taylor-Joy best actress in a limited series at the Golden Globes. I also read the book, but I must admit I was more fascinated by the series (which is rare!), especially for the last episode, my personal favourite; I know the story starts off slow but at the end you find yourself at the edge of the seat during Beth’s final game. I recommend this series to chess lovers first, because I think it’s a beautiful portrait of the chess world and dedication players put into it but also to everyone looking for a good series to watch and who may be fairly intrigued by the way a genius mind works.
