The Queen's Gambit is an American 2020 drama television miniseries based on Walter Tevis's 1983 novel of the same name, starring Anya Taylor-Joy.
It is a fictional story that follows the life of an orphan chess prodigy, Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy), during her quest to become the world's greatest chess player while struggling with emotional issues alongside drug and alcohol dependency.
There are very few series or films that grip my attention like this one did. There were moments in the chess matches where I forgot to breathe. But it wasn't just the battles of the mind that held me hypnotised, it was also the fashion. The story begins in the mid-1950s and proceeds into the 1960s, from the cut of the dresses to the cut of Harmon's hair, everything was as sharp as she was.
The other part that makes it all so gripping was seeing an introverted intellectual (and a female one at that) best the people who put her down and in the end become respected and admired by those very same people who had underestimated her only minutes before. Harmon doesn't walk around being timid and stepping aside to let the men by, she's vicious in her games, unapologetic in her interactions and more human than many of the female characters I've ever seen on film. When she's faced with a challenge, she struggles at first but overcomes it and thrives. Watch the trailer for The Queen's Gambit below.
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by
Walter Tevis
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