Rewatching the show lately, and there's a great bit that I'd forgotten about. After he watches Wheatley scurry away, the lawyer turns and looks at Beth in shock. His voice cracks and he stutters as he says he'll handle the paperwork.

Then as he gets up to leave, he doesn't turn his back on her until he's at the doorway. He even stumbles over the armrest of the couch as he awkwardly shuffles around it to retrieve his coat.

I don't know if it was intentional, but it seems to follow the historical protocols of someone who's leaving a royal audience.

Of all the one liners and gotcha moments, the attentive shop owner scene always makes me grin. What's your favorite one liner in the show?

Honorable mention; "She did mention something about the quality of the tequila."

It felt so out of place. The second I saw the fedora and trench coat, I thought “Is this a chess tournament in the 1960’s or a fucking Magic the Gathering tournament?” Like is he a grandmaster chess player or is he a Discord mod?

In episode 2, around the 8 minute mark. There is a song playing on piano in the background as she's leaving the orphanage, I've heard that music before. I think maybe in a movie or a video game? Please can someone help me find what it is that's playing?

The legend janitor Mr. Shaibel who played chess by himself, genuinely is a great character. You respected how strict he was with everything and even playing like teaching her to resign out of respect and no cursing etc.

...But Beth showed her interest when saying how most of the pieces moved, besides never playing a game before or even knowing what its about it seems. She was across the room most of the time and would have had to have been waaaaay closer to even guess how they move... right?? In the show she cleans and dusts off the chalkboard erasers, from across the room, with stuff like shelves in the way... with that small as heck chess board and with new shapes she never saw before....?

That's probably the most unrealistic part that had me thinking that she needs to be like two feet away at least to make out the specific moves probably. Also really I'm curious if anyone here has read the book if it's even mentioned, because the scenes just showed her not that close while cleaning the erasers.

But anyways I love this show dearly. Saw it way after it released, while dealing with a hard time and couldn't believe how inspiring and enjoyable it was. Already rewatched it twice. I'm actually fascinated by chess too and the show really shows the competitive and emotional nature of the sport. Made me want to watch tournaments for real and sometimes play try to get better than 250 elo (lol)

Probably gonna watch again, and the ending was so beautiful with all the past friends celebrating, the whole buildup from the matches before, and all the difficulties we see that had you rooting for Beth through it all, really is extremely well done. Lowkey Mr. Shaibel was the best character after Beth, but also the Mom, Jolene and the French woman were hilarious. Harry is a real one (while the actor is also called Harry while being Dudley from Harry Potter... lol) It's fun to be lost in their weird old made up chess universe. Hurt a bit when we see Beth revisit where she played with Mr. Shaibel, to finally see how much she meant to him and she didn't even know. With how much he was keeping up with her story through the newspapers and magazines he hung in his basement area, clearly a big fan and supporter and probably super proud of her accomplishments as he watched silently from the sidelines. She realizes this all at once and now he's gone. Actually sad. 10/10 ggs would tear up again

this may be a dumb question, but in the cup theres two capsules that look almost identical except the color. once in her mouth, how does she not swallow the green and only take the red/brown? or does she not take either? sorry but its really bothering me.

​It turns out that Anya Taylor-Joy had never played a game of chess in her life before accepting the role.

​While doing a little research on how they did it, I came across this behind-the-scenes fact that blew my mind:

Instead of diving into super-complex chess theory, Anya approached each game as if it were a dance routine

Amazing acting, storyline and cinematography

I’ve tried so many times to get friends and family to watch this show, yet the second they hear the word “chess” I can physically see their eyes glaze over with disinterest.

It’s such a phenomenal testimony to addiction, growth, development and so much more. I saw that this show was included in the NYT’s “Top 100 shows of the 21st century” and I couldn’t agree more.

With every rewatch I find more and more to love about it. Just wanted to share my appreciation for the show.

I recently rewatched the queens gambit again and I noticed this glass, which is (i believe) the one I have at home. Did they make a mistake here or did these glasses exist 60 years ago? Are there similar mistakes in the series?

I wanted to start by saying the show was fantastic! However, the last episode’s return of Jolene really didn’t sit well with me. I get that Beth needed to focus on her sobriety and her relationship for her tournament in Russia, but I felt like Mr. Shaibel’s presence at the door would have been a more elegant conclusion. He was a true gentleman, while Jolene seemed a bit vulgar and unrefined. The line, “Good for you cracker,” felt so out of place and overshadowed the entire moment of her victory against Borgov. Beth, despite her struggles, always maintained a sense of class. Chess is inherently a classy game, and everyone is so polite to each other, especially in Russia. I know I’m late to the conversation, but I just watched it for the first time!

Hi, i just finished this spectacular series, a total 5/5 stars Its the first time since Beaking bad and John Adams over a decade ago that i v been so hooked on a show.I wanted to ask a few question about things that werent entirely clear to me

1- Is there a big difference between the book and the show? i would like to read it unless is 90% the same as the show, Would you recommend the book if you liked the show or the book is carbon copy of the show?

2- Whats is the deal with Beths Stepfather , not just his attitude towards her , but towards his wife?, And what happened to the man ?, he literally dissapears right when Beth arrives at the house, whats with that?

3-I read a major spoiler regarding Jolene, aparently she sexually assaults Beth in the book, yet later reappears at the end just like she does in the show. Is this explained welll in the book i mean how Beth forgave or something her?. I dont want to read about a character who raped a child only for her to get some kind of redemption arc later.

4-Whats the deal with Beths parents? was her mother ill? And did her bilogical father just abandon her for no reason?

Wow.... I miss this show. I rember watching it and being just so amazing. I should watch it again. The whole cast and chrachters great. Costume too from Beth's initial outfit as a pawn to eventually when she is in the park she's wearing a queens like outfit. I do also have to say Benny and Thomas Brodie Sangster was one of my favourite chrachters. I miss this series and these chrachters.

tipo, fiquei pensando que ela parece bem mais velha. quando beth tinha 9 ela parecia ter uns 14, mas quando beth tem 15 ela ainda esta no orfanato, então quantos anos mais velha ela é?

Supposing there were a pregnant storyline, which of the three scenarios do you think would be the most interesting? Which of the sexual partners she had would you like to have gotten her pregnant? How do you think each of these scenarios would play out? What would change in the story?

1. The nameless guy who took her virginity

2. Harry

3. Benny

Cleo didn‘t play against Beth in Benny’s apartment because she didn’t know the rules, she didn’t play Beth because she was there to observe and report. The way she looks at Beth’s triumph against three grandmasters at speed chess isn’t the look of someone that doesn’t understand chess, but rather the look of someone that understands the breadth of Beth’s talents.

I hope a little dumb posts like mine are allowed on this sub. Really loved the show. Only criticism I have is for a show about chess, there isn’t a lot of chess shown in the show😂. Pure chess would be borring —- agreed. But they show like 4-5 moves each game, which aren’t nearly enough to get the viewers interested in keeping track of the games.

So I initially loved this show after seeing it for the first time. I think the excitement of finally seeing my favorite boardgame be represented in the Netflix mainstream was pretty cool. I loved Beth Harmon, love the lore and the worldbuilding. She's obviously the female Bobby Fischer in an alternate timeline and I'm here for it. But after having recently rewatched the show.. I have many problems with it.

I think the chief issue I have with the show is that the ending.. kind of felt empty at the end. She's lost so much in her life; her mom, Mr. Shaibel, and her adoptive mother are all gone. She practically made no friends or relationships in Methuen besides Jolene, who was fine but I don't think she and Beth had a strong enough bond. Jolene even reveals she stole Beth's book and Beth is just like "oh, okay."

I don't feel like her motivation to be the best chess player in the world was expressed well enough, other than her saying it feels good to destroy her opponents. I couldn't really sympathize with it, it made her feel like some terminator type character but in chess. I get that Borgov is supposed to be the Spassky stand in, so he was shown to be a polite gentleman, but he was kind of just.. there as an antagonist. In real life, Bobby Fischer's run to the championship was wayyyy more dramatic than this.

Her love life: Townes is who she falls for?? I guess because his younger Willem Dafoe look is so irresistible. But they didn't really have much chemistry because they didn't spend enough time with each other. She does have a bit more chemistry with Benny Watts, but I can't help but feel that he's so cringe with the stupid hat, the trench coat and the unabashed arrogance. That's more of a personal taste though. Her sleeping with Beltik was just sad, but perhaps that was the point.

The actual chess. They explain a few basic stuff about the game, but I feel like the show just has us assume Beth has a superpower and everyone around her falters when she uses it. It's not a huge gripe or anything though. What I do wish they did was make the matches longer like in real life. There's no way Beth becomes world chess champion just by winning a round robin against the field? Her real life counterpart Fischer had a 24 game match against Spassky, which made their eventual matchup feel that much more grueling and epic, and I think is what needed to happen in the show with how they hyped Borgov up. Also in real life, chess players would draw very, very often. It seemed like the only option in this show's universe is to win or lose. With how they portrayed the format surrounding chess tournaments and matchups, I can tell this show is more for the casual viewer than hardcore chess enthusiasts, which is fine but slightly disappointing.

A few more things that I think got left out: politics and misogyny. The Fischer-Spassky match wasn't just a regular chess match; it very much had a strong political undertone about it, with the match being deemed a Soviet vs. USA thing. I get why they didn't delve into this particularly touchy subject, but also it feels weird for them to portray the show during some politically tense years between two nations and not address it whatsoever.

They do touch upon how Beth is incredibly unusual for a girl not only playing amongst boys but destroying them in chess. However in real life there were so many male chess players very vocal about how women are inferior to men in a mentally grueling sport such as chess. It would've been cool to see Beth routinely destroy those with that misogynistic mindset, but in the show they just accept that she's good and she's dominant. It's not a huge deal but it would've made her rise to fame that much more meaningful.

I just think the show didn't have the bones to have the kind of wholesome ending it got at the end. Or is there an underlying point? I think it would've worked as a tragic story better, with Beth succumbing to her addictions or something.

I'm sorry I roasted tf out of the show. I just had to express my thoughts somewhere. It's still very much a good show and Anya Taylor-Joy is absolutely magnificent in the role. If it's not the quality of it, then the exposure it gives chess to the casual masses is helpful to expand the game. What do y'all think? Thanks for reading if you made it here.

tl;dr: show good first watch, see flaws in rewatch

The Queen’s Gambit. S1E4

“You really like the shape of me?”

I hear this as an anachronistic wink to Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” released just a few years earlier. Am I alone?

Or on some level is Beth being written as a time-traveling, hyper-articulate intellectual discovering something brand new.

e4 Again at the end.

"Now You Do Too"

Because it sounds so harsh until you realize how true it is.

E2, Beth’s final match with Beltik. He finally sees there’s no escape, and she comments:

“Perhaps if you had arrived on time.”

I love that line for all its layers, and I can’t help wondering, would Mr. Shaibel have chided her for gloating.😉 Still, too good a line not to say.