The Queen's Gambit is a 2020 American coming-of-age period drama television miniseries based on the 1983 eponymous novel by Walter Tevis. The title refers to the "Queen's Gambit", a chess opening. The series was written and directed by Scott Frank, who created it with Allan Scott, who owns the rights to the book. Beginning in the mid-1950s and proceeding into the 1960s, the story follows the life of Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy), a fictional American chess prodigy on her rise to the top of the chess world while struggling with a drug and alcohol addiction.

Netflix released The Queen's Gambit on October 23, 2020. Within four weeks it became Netflix's most-watched scripted miniseries, making it Netflix's top program in 63 countries. The series received critical acclaim, with particular praise for Taylor-Joy's performance, the cinematography, and production values. It also received a positive response from the chess community for its often accurate depictions of high-level chess, and data suggests that it increased public interest in the game.

The Queen's Gambit won eleven Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, becoming the first show on a streaming service to win the category. The series also won two Golden Globe Awards: Best Limited Series or Television Film and Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film for Taylor-Joy. She also won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie.

Overview The Queen's Gambit follows the life of an orphan chess prodigy, Elizabeth Harmon, during her quest to become an elite chess player while struggling with emotional problems, drugs and alcohol dependency. The title of the series refers to a chess opening of the same name. The story is set in the mid-1950s and 1960s.

In the 1950s in Lexington, Kentucky, nine-year-old Beth, having lost her mother in a car crash, is taken to an orphanage where she is taught chess by the building's custodian, Mr. Shaibel. As was common at the time, the orphanage dispenses daily tranquilizer pills to the girls to "balance their disposition", which turns into an addiction for Beth. She quickly becomes a strong chess player due to her visualization skills. A few years later, Beth is adopted by childless suburban couple Alma and Allston Wheatley.

As she adjusts to her new home, Beth enters a chess tournament and wins despite having no prior experience in competitive chess. Alma is initially resistant to Beth's interest in chess, but after Beth wins a tournament with a substantial cash prize, Alma fully supports her adoptive daughter's sojourns to enter chess competitions. Beth develops friendships with several people, including former Kentucky State Champion Harry Beltik, United States National Champion Benny Watts, and journalist and fellow player D.L. Townes.

As Beth rises to the top of the chess world and reaps the financial benefits of her success, her drug and alcohol dependency worsens. With help from her oldest friend Jolene, with whom she grew up in the orphanage, she prepares for a major international chess tournament against the world's best players in Moscow.

Cast and characters Main Anya Taylor-Joy as Beth Harmon, an orphan who matures into a competitive young adult fueled by a desire to become the greatest chess player in the world while masking a growing addiction to the drugs and alcohol that allow her to function. Isla Johnston as nine-year-old Beth Annabeth Kelly as five-year-old Beth Bill Camp as William Shaibel, the custodian at the Methuen Home for Girls and an experienced chess player who teaches Beth how to play the game at age 9 Moses Ingram as Jolene, a rebellious teenager at the Methuen Home who becomes Beth's closest childhood friend. She secures a Physical Education scholarship to attend Kentucky State University but switches her major to Political Science, later working as a paralegal and saving for law school. Jolene utilizes her savings for law school to fund Beth's travel to Russia. Christiane Seidel as Helen Deardorff, director of Methuen Home for Girls Rebecca Root as Miss Lonsdale, the chaplain and choir director at Methuen Chloe Pirrie as Alice Harmon, Beth's deceased mother (seen only in flashbacks) who earned a Ph.D. in mathematics at Cornell University before experiencing a downward spiral in her mental health Akemnji Ndifornyen as Mr. Fergusson, the orderly at Methuen, who among other roles administers state-mandated pills to the girls Marielle Heller as Alma Wheatley, who with her husband Allston adopts Beth as a young teenager and later acts as a manager for Beth's chess career. Alma's biological child died sometime before Beth's adoption, and she develops a worsening alcoholism that begins to influence Beth. Harry Melling as Harry Beltik, Kentucky State Champion, whom Beth defeats in her first tournament Patrick Kennedy as Allston Wheatley, Alma's husband, a travelling salesman and Beth's estranged adoptive father Jacob Fortune-Lloyd as D.L. Townes, a chess player and journalist who befriends Beth and with whom she is infatuated, but whom she later finds to be gay Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Benny Watts, a brash young New Yorker who is the reigning United States Chess Champion, later Beth's mentor, lover and friend Marcin Dorociński as Vasily Borgov, Soviet World Champion and Beth's biggest challenge

Recurring

Sergio Di Zio as Beth's biological father Dolores Carbonari as Margaret, Beth's classmate at Fairfield high School and bully Eloise Webb as Annette Packer, a friendly teenager who becomes Beth's first tournament opponent Matthew and Russell Dennis Lewis as Matt and Mike, twin brothers, students at the University of Cincinnati who serve as event organisers and tournament directors at Beth's first tournament and go on to become her friends Richard Waugh as Mr. Bradley, a local newsagent Janina Elkin as Borgov's wife, who is also his interpreter Max Krause as Arthur Levertov, a grandmaster and friend of Benny's who assists Beth with her training Ryan Wichert as Hilton Wexler, a strong player and chess problem enthusiast, friend of Benny

Guest Jonjo O'Neill as Mr. Ganz, a teacher and coach of the local high school chess team who invites a young Beth to play at his school Louis Ashbourne Serkis as Georgi Girev, a 13-year-old Soviet chess prodigy Millie Brady as Cleo, a French Parisian model who had a brief affair with Benny. She quickly befriends Beth. Bruce Pandolfini as Ed Spencer, a tournament director John Schwab as Mr. Booth, Beth's minder from the State Department Marcus Loges as Luchenko, a veteran former world chess champion and still a formidable player Sophie McShera as Miss Graham

Episodes

Production Development

On March 19, 2019, Netflix gave the production a series order consisting of six episodes. The series was written and directed by Scott Frank, who also created the series with Allan Scott. The two also served as executive producers alongside William Horberg. Allan Scott had been involved in attempts to get the book on screen since 1992, when he purchased the screenplay rights from Walter Tevis's widow.

The series was released on October 23, 2020, with seven episodes instead of the original six-episode order.

Writing Former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov and chess coach Bruce Pandolfini acted as consultants. Pandolfini had consulted with Tevis prior to the novel's publication some 38 years earlier, coming up with the title "The Queen's Gambit".

Pandolfini, together with consultants John Paul Atkinson and Iepe Rubingh, devised several hundred chess positions to be used for various situations in the script. Kasparov developed critical moments in the story, such as when a real 1998 game between grandmasters Arshak Petrosian and Vladimir Akopian was improved to showcase Beth's skill, or a 1993 game between Vasyl Ivanchuk and Patrick Wolff became the prototype for the decisive game in the last episode.

Casting Alongside the series order announcement, it was announced that Anya Taylor-Joy was set to star as the lead. In January 2020, it was reported Moses Ingram had joined the cast of the series. Upon the miniseries premiere date announcement, it was announced that Bill Camp, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Harry Melling and Marielle Heller were cast in starring roles. Because the majority of the filming was carried out in Berlin, the minor roles were filled mostly by British and German actors.

Production design and filming

Production designer Uli Hanisch developed the series' sets to evoke the aesthetic of the 1950s and 1960s. Much of the series was filmed in Berlin because interiors found there could stand in for a large number of the show's locations, including Las Vegas, Cincinnati, Mexico City, Moscow, and Paris.

Locations used in and near Berlin included the Kino International (for a restaurant, actually the Panorama Bar), the Berlin Zoo (for the zoo scene in Mexico City), the vintage clothes store Humana (for Ben Snyder's Department in Louisville, Kentucky), Schloss Schulzendorf (for the Methuen Home orphanage), the Rathaus Spandau (for a hotel lobby in Cincinnati), the Meistersaal in Kreuzberg (for the Cincinnati tournament), Palais am Funkturm (for the Hotel Mariposa in Las Vegas), the Protestant University of Applied Sciences in Zehlendorf (for the US Championship games location), Haus Cumberland and its Café Grosz (for the Paris tournament), the Bode Museum (for scenes that take place in Paris), Karl-Marx-Allee (exterior of a hotel in Moscow); the final scene of Beth walking in Moscow was filmed at Rosengarten Square, also on Karl-Marx-Allee. The Bärensaal (aka Bear hall) in the Altes Stadthaus was used for scenes set at the Moscow Tournament. The Friedrichstadt-Palast stood in for the Aztec Palace Hotel. The exterior of Henry Clay High School in Lexington was actually filmed at Max Taut Schule.

Some scenes were filmed in Canada; principal photography began in August 2019 in Cambridge, Ontario. For example, the Wheatley family home is a house on Brant Road in the city. Other houses where some filming was done are on Salisbury Ave. in Cambridge and on Blenheim Road; the latter is a mansion built in the 19th century. The exterior of St. Andrew's College, Aurora (Ontario) was used for the Ohio Championship facility but the interior was actually a Berlin facility. The exterior of the fictional Ben Snyder Department store in Kentucky was filmed at the Winners department store (Front Street and Berczy Park) in Toronto, Ontario, the rural bridge is the Meadowvale Road Bridge in Toronto and the Fairfield High School in the show is actually Western Technical-Commercial School in Toronto. The fictional Bradley's pharmacy was actually an outdoor set built at Walnut and King streets in Hamilton, Ontario.

Music

The musical score was composed by Carlos Rafael Rivera. Frank initially wanted the score to be piano-based only, but in the end decided with Rivera for a full orchestral score for more "instrumental depth and color". Rivera also described how he learned of the executive producer William Horberg's love of flute, and added prominent flute sections to the orchestral pieces. Rivera found scoring for chess a challenging task, having been warned by Frank that "music would be doing a lot of heavy lifting". He decided to reflect Beth's growth – both as a person and a chess player – by adding more and more instrumentation over time.

Reception Audience viewership