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The Queen’s Gambit Review (2020)
a poignant exploration of talent, loneliness, the cost of genius — and chess
TV Show: The Queen’s Gambit. Year: 2020. Genre: Drama. Director: Scott Frank
What if the greatest chess player in the world during the 1960s were a woman? That’s the basic premise of the Netflix limited series The Queen’s Gambit, and it’s more intriguing than most viewers could’ve expected.
Based on the novel of the same name by Walter Tevis, the series follows Beth Harmon, a young orphan who has a natural talent for playing chess. During the first episode, the young Beth is initially played by Isla Johnston, who seems fitted to the caricature of all things strange and genius. Sent to an orphanage, she encounters her first of addictions in the shape of a little green pill, which is later revealed to be horse tranquiliser, and meets Mr. Schaibel (Bill Camp), her unlikely friend who happens to also be the janitor and maintenance man at the orphanage.
Initially, Schaibel declines to show her how to play chess, but once he sees the extent of her talent, he agrees to become her mentor. The two play each other in the basement of the orphanage. Even as young as nine years old, Beth can memorise a chess board and all its pieces, playing several full games inside her head without barely learning…
