Review: The Queen's Gambit

I use to play chess in elementary school like really played it. I was in a competitive chess club, and as far as I knew I could bet just about anyone. However, over the years I played less, and overall I am a terrible chess player now. I still love to play, whenever I get the chance of course. This brings me to the show “The Queen’s Gambit”. While I had lost nearly all the knowledge I had possessed in the realm of chess, this show definitely went overboard and taught us all a bit of something about that board.

This show has one of my favorite actresses, Anya Taylor-Joy, she simply is just amazing in period dramas. She’s stunningly beautiful too, like in a way that I can’t help myself I tend to stare. The story follows her character, Beth, learning chess and becoming a prodigy. She is orphaned early as a child and is later adopted, and her adopted mom supports her in the chess world. This show progresses between the actual chess games and the substance abuse problem Beth has. Beth is a very interesting character in her own right. She is very obsessive and resourceful. Ultimately, I loved her character. She is easy to rally for and of course, anything, where a girl shows up a man, is my favorite part of a show.

This show was also well received in the chess community, as it helped bring more awareness to the game. While I had been rusty, I was super interested in the game during the show. There are montages of the character playing and reading a bunch of chess books, and I really wanted to do that to learn more about the game. I definitely went out and bought a new chess board because of this show.

The show also approaches the substance abuse that Beth has. Her adopted mother is an alcoholic who eventually pays the ultimate price. Beth, however, rocks between periods in her world of withdrawals and binges. She finds that the drugs help her when she wants to play, moreover, she learns the drugs really don’t help her. I think it was an interesting way to use drugs and to even show the effects on young people in that era.

Her ultimate fight ends up being against a Russian player, whom she is determined to beat. She plays quite a few Russians, and she is impressive in her efforts. She even goes out of her way to learn Russian in order to hear what the man is saying, instead of relying on interpreters.

This show features information from the past and present. The supporting characters are also just as interesting. There is a lot of chess jargon that at times might seem cumbersome, but it easily able be understood and followed. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were googling all these moves and the names, as they are fascinating. The side characters are ruthless in their attitudes and actions, and help the plot move along forward. Many great people would be nothing without their supporting characters and this is the case of Beth.

The best supporting character would have to be the man who teaches Beth chess. He is the janitor at the orphanage that she was at. She would sneak out of class and try to play with him whenever she could. He was the one to figure out that she was a prodigy and introduced her to the world of chess. While many of the characters are important this character is the most important, and for that, he deserves the best supporting actor.

If you like period dramas with amazing characters and costumes, the outfits in this world are divine. You must watch this suspenseful show. I finished this show on a weekend, as I’m sure you will. And if you end up like this, check out Peaky Blinders next, also featuring our Taylor-Joy actress.