The seven-episode new Netflix Drama “The Queen’s Gambit” shows the insight of orphan and chess prodigy Beth Harmons life. She grows up without experiencing any real love, and struggles with drug and alcohol abuse. She ends up being an overcomer of all the hardships put in her path and becomes the world’s greatest woman chess player .
As Beth Harmon’s birth mother dies right in front of her young eyes, she is immediately placed by the state into an orphanage. It is here where she is forced to take the daily “green pill” which they used to tranquilize the children. Her new friend Jolene teaches Beth how to manage the pills by taking them at bedtime.
Beth befriends the janitor, who teaches her how to play and win the game of chess. The janitor sees that Beth has a special ability to immediately memorize all the pieces and moves. Beth soon realized she can picture the chess game on her ceiling in her imagination after she takes the green pill.
After several years Beth was adopted by a couple who were struggling in their marriage. The adopted father eventually walked out leaving Beth and her new adopted mother, Alma, alone with no financial support.
It was at this point that Beth realized she could make money winning chess tournaments. Alma quickly became aware of her daughter’s extremely high intelligence level and her ability to beat her opponents in chess consistently. The two of them decided to travel across the country winning chess tournaments and making substantial amounts of money.
This time period was the beginning of the women’s liberation movement which brought on torment from her fellow male players. It was this torment and her own determination which led to her obsession over studying the intricacies of chess by the masters. Beth decided she would be the world’s first woman chess champion.
Throughout this time Beth relied completely on her green pills which she took from her mothers’s supply. She had come to believe that she couldn’t win without them.
During a tournament in Mexico Alma died leaving Beth to deal with all the arrangements. She contacted her adopted father who turned over the family home to Beth. Beth was now on her own, orphaned once more. She turned to alcohol along with her green pills which led her down a self destructive road. The irony of this was she could still win at chess no matter how disabled she was the night before. The alcohol and drugs didn’t affect her genius ability to win her tournaments.
Beth beat the national champion and he then decided to befriend her. He had a great deal of respect for her talent and wanted to help her go after her desire to beat the Russians who were the world’s champions. He also knew of her drug and alcohol problem and insisted if he were to help her study there could be no substances allowed. Beth agreed to this so her friend brought in a few more champion chess players who all supported and trained with Beth even though she could beat them all. Due to this intense training, Beth learned that she could win at chess without the green pills.
Her friend Jolene entered back into her life after years of separation which surprised Beth that Jolene actually cared that much about her. Together they attended the janitor’s funeral.
As they passed the orphanage Beth decided to go down to the basement where she and her janitor friend had played chess. What she found in that basement was once again a surprise that someone truly cared about her. On the wall were posted all the newspaper articles from the many years of chess tournament winnings along with a picture of the two of them. It was this moment that cracked open Beth’s walled off heart.
Beth goes on to Russia where she wins the world championship. All of her friends are home rooting for her and helping her as they too are watching the tournament and studying the players. She now knows she will never feel orphaned again.
Maya Mendoza, a senior at McClatchy highschool, watched the whole season of Queens Gambit and absolutely loved it! She said, “I thought Queen’s Gambit was a really good adaptation of the book. It is a good coming of age tv show and it has a really good story line and a strong female role. It touches base on a lot of real issues dealing with drug addiction and alcoholism.” She recommends this to anyone.
This show was an inspirational and motivating awakening. It showed Beth’s determination and confidence in her innate gifts and talents, which led her to overcome her substance abuse and life’s tragedies. Competing in a field with mainly men strengthened her determination rather than tearing her down. This show was a real eye opener to many life problems and illnesses which can grab anyone’s attention. Overall Queen’s Gambit delivers an impactful, heartwarming plot with amazing actors that tie the whole show together.