The Queen Gambit: When A Female Chess Grandmaster Checkmates Everyone.

In 2020, Netflix released a mini-series that had become phenomenal and one of the most-watched shows on that platform. Last weekend, I rewatched it again because I want to introduce you to this show and because I had no other show to watch. I am talking about The Queen’s Gambit.

Source: IMDb

I believe that many of you have watched or at least heard of this show. The story is about a girl named Beth Harmon who is an orphan after losing her mother in a car accident. Beth begins to find her interested in chess after watching a janitor, Mr. Shaibel, playing alone in the basement of the orphanage. She begs him to teach her to play. At first, he denied it because he thought this game is only for males but by the stubbornness and perseverance, Beth has convinced him.

And just like that, Beth begins her career to be a professional chess player who plays in every worldwide competition. But what makes this series unique and outstanding like that? I will break it down into two elements. First is the performance of Anya Taylor-Joy. This role is like born for Taylor-Joy to play. She has a face of an angel which when everyone looks at, they only think she is naïve and hopeless. But like people said “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, Beth Harmon is stronger and smarter than what people think. The life of this character with a complicated personality. She suffers from the trauma of losing her mother. She is a drug abuser and a habitual drunkard which she used a lot during her time in the orphanage. Thought that she would have been happy in an adopted family, Beth also fell into the swamp of misery where her dad broke up with her mom and her mom took advantage of her fame after she won a chess competition.

But the question is “Why doesn’t Beth break down or feel bad for herself?”

If you watch carefully, Beth’s face doesn’t show anything negative or expression every time in front of a situation. She just ignores it and “gone with the wind”. It is like she has seen the worst thing in her life before and there is nothing else worse than that. She doesn’t show her worry in front of her competent. She holds a calm attitude, she prepares herself with a sharp mind, she carefully makes every move in the game, and she wins because simply that Beth never overreacts it. That makes Beth Harmon special and Taylor-Joy has done a wonderful job when portraying this character.

And second is feminism. You know the image of Beth Harmon is the clearest example that women can do anything like men or even better than them. They are not only staying in the house, doing chores, and waiting for husbands to bring home money. Or they are not only working behind desks with lower wages than men. Women are everything and Beth Harmon has proven that. People can see that she is being underestimated by a lot of men, they doubt her ability to play chess, they think she will lose, and they think she cannot do anything. WRONG. When Beth Harmon plays in the Soviet Union and wins, she becomes an idol, a role model of what it means to be great, and an inspiration to every girl. In the final episode, after winning, Beth gets out and be welcomed in the hands of everyone. It can be seen that Beth has an important impact on everyone. The Queen’s Gambit is such a great show which I believe it deserves every praise from critics and the audience.