The Queen’s Gambit is about chess…
I do not play chess…
I do not ever plan to play chess…
I do not actually find the game of chess intriguing…
But this series is about more than just chess…

Set in the 1950’s and ‘60’s, Beth Harmon is a young orphan who is introduced to the game of chess at the age of nine by the janitor at her orphanage. It becomes her obsession. What results is her journey…

Story: The writers unfold Beth’s story from the age of nine to 20. Clearly they have done their homework. The detail about the game of chess is there. But more than that, the writers weave in the social norms of the time like being the only women in a tournament and what it meant to have gender judgement be the accepted modus operandi for the time.

They also weaved in relationships and how some of those relationships impacted Beth’s life and her play. This series is very much character driven…

Performances: Beth is played by Anya Taylor-Joy. Her delivery is very matter-of-fact, much like her chess play. And as a women surrounded by doubting men, it is disarming as well as alarming for the volumes of male opponents she humiliates. (Their word, not mine…)

Beth eventually gains a posse of conquests who are stunned into submission by her talent and become her team of cheerleaders. Benny, Harry, the twins Matt and Mike and the love of her life… Townes. Also special mention for her adoptive mother, Alma Wheatley played by Marielle Heller. She and Beth develop a very special relationship which becomes central to Beth’s career in chess.

However, the standout character/cheerleader is Jolene, played by Moses Ingram, Beth’s best friend from the orphanage. A sassy young black girl who becomes a confident black woman in the 1960’s. She brings an element of zest and support to Beth’s already shocking world. Emmy noms for both Taylor-Joy and Ingram.

Visual: Spot on for the ‘50’s and ‘60’s. The attention to detail in the way they travel, in the way they shop… even down to the rotary telephone on the wall in the kitchen. Spot on.

Very important to the story is also the costumes. They serve as a part of the judgement Beth faces as a woman playing in almost all male tournaments. And while she looks the part of lady to the gentlemen, her play has no gender. This is unnerving for many of her opponents and creates a savory satisfaction across the series.

Rating: A+. Scott Frank and Allen Scott clearly know their way around a chess board. But more than that, they have created a story around a chess board to keep even the least interested person engaged. The Queen’s Gambit is a truly refreshing breath of fresh air in a tornado of reboots and knock-offs.

I’ve watched this series full-thru twice and have not ruled out a third pass. You should see it at least once… at once…