A bit of trivia here. The actor (Harry Melling) who played Harry Beltik, former Kentucky state champion, also portrayed the mean spoiled cousin, Dudley Dursley, in the first Harry Potter film. Anya Taylor-Joy (Beth) was a huge Harry Potter fan, as were my own kids, and was thrilled to act with him
Queen's gambit (tv series)
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Dec 5, 2020
0
#83
JamieDelarosa wrote:
The portrayal of chess competitions as knock-out tournaments lacked reality. But the character development was excellent. Lots of real life name checks.
I liked the music soundtrack!
Yeah, well I suppose showing a twelve game final might have hurt the pacing a bit.
Dec 5, 2020
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#84
Back in the 50s and 60s, all FIDE titles were contested in best of 24 matches
I have to say, I started playing because of the series, I have litterally only just learned (most) of the rules. I can't say I'll bring much to the game, but perhaps if it can inspire other young people? Someone who might actually be really good! That can only be a good thing right?
Dec 6, 2020
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#86
Everyone starts as a beginner, from the least-talented patzer to the world champion.
Dec 7, 2020
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#87
JamieDelarosa wrote:
Back in the 50s and 60s, all FIDE titles were contested in best of 24 matches
Are you thinking of the World Championship, perhaps?
Because Beth Harmon didn't play in the World Championship. She played in open tournaments and invitationals.
Dec 7, 2020
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#88
TestPatzer wrote:
JamieDelarosa wrote:
Back in the 50s and 60s, all FIDE titles were contested in best of 24 matches
Are you thinking of the World Championship, perhaps?
Because Beth Harmon didn't play in the World Championship. She played in open tournaments and invitationals.
Indeed, and at the end of the book, after beating Borgov she's looking ahead to the qualifying cycle to face Borgov in a World Championship match.
Many of the non-chessplayers who watched the series seem to be under the impression that she won the World Championship, but the series never said that, either.
Dec 7, 2020
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#89
TestPatzer wrote:
JamieDelarosa wrote:
Back in the 50s and 60s, all FIDE titles were contested in best of 24 matches
Are you thinking of the World Championship, perhaps?
Because Beth Harmon didn't play in the World Championship. She played in open tournaments and invitationals.
I was referring back to carla's #129
Dec 8, 2020
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#90
geomancer1965 wrote:
It's an alternative universe where Bobby Fischer doesn't exist (or more precisely, he exists as Beth Harmon). So I just assume these various fictitious players aren't really supposed to represent anyone intentionally. In '68, the world champion, I believe, was already Spassky, and he only gets mentioned in passing. I actually find it rather good taste that the producers decided not to have "real" chess players at the tournaments. I imagine that Petrosian fans wouldn't be all that amused if Beth Harmon beat him.
That’s how I describe it: shes basically Bobby Fischer except she’s not such a prima Donna and she doesn’t hate Jews.
Dec 9, 2020
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#93
Petrosian of Armenia SSR won the title in 1963, and defended it against Spassky in 1966. Spassky qualified again in 1969 and won the title.
Dec 9, 2020
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#94
I've seen the first 2 episodes so far, and I'm a bit disappointed by the lack of actual chess involved.
In the show, she leaps in age from 9 to 15, then starts playing tournament chess soon after. But there's no mention of her studying chess, except for a comment to Jolene, where she mentions that she's going to memorize every variation of the Sicilian in her copy of Modern Chess Openings.
That's the only chess study that's mentioned for 6 years of her life: one sentence of dialogue, where she says she'll memorize the Sicilian Defense.
Then she goes to her first tournament and dazzles her opponents with how surprisingly good she is.
What?
In the book, you actually get to read about her chess studies as a child, and how she explored different variations to find their strengths and weaknesses.
Her chess learning (in the novel) was exhaustive and obsessive in her younger years, but the show completely skips over all of that and just jumps ahead to the part where she's already "good".
So ... yeah. The show is smooth and glossy to watch, but it's missing almost all the chess exploration and training that made the book so engrossing.
Kind of a bummer.
It's like watching a show about a young boxer rising the ranks, but with all the training sequences removed.
(The book also has the benefit of showing her thinking while playing in each pivotal game, where she hems and haws about doubling a pawn, or weighs the pros and cons of displacing her opponent's rook ... in the show, you only see her making moves, but we get no glimpses of how she actually finds these moves. It's mostly just ... voyeuristic.)
rohan_asif escribió:
I recently watched it and I absolutely loved it!
I loved it too! I really want to learn to play good chess!
Dec 10, 2020
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#97
The last scene, with Beth walking among the chess-playing pensioners in the park, accepted by them, and Beth enjoying the game for itself, made me cry.
Dec 12, 2020
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#100
DaMaGor wrote:
TestPatzer wrote:
JamieDelarosa wrote:
Back in the 50s and 60s, all FIDE titles were contested in best of 24 matches
Are you thinking of the World Championship, perhaps?
Because Beth Harmon didn't play in the World Championship. She played in open tournaments and invitationals.
Indeed, and at the end of the book, after beating Borgov she's looking ahead to the qualifying cycle to face Borgov in a World Championship match.
Many of the non-chessplayers who watched the series seem to be under the impression that she won the World Championship, but the series never said that, either.
The novel had a mix of fictional and real life characters. But the FIDE competition cycle did not sync with reality.
So in the final episode there is a guy named Panchenko with wild hair. It is said he crushed Bronstein in Havana, beat Alekhine, and drew Botvinnik. The announcer also says he’s a “dangerous player if allowed to attack” and was a one time world champion before Harmon was born (1948).
Obviously he’s named Alexander Panchenko, but is he based off of a real player? I got major Tal vibes (dangerous if allowed to attack and Russian champion), but the years are off for his championship and I couldn’t find any of the games previously mentioned by Tal.
I think the character was Luchenko, and there was no Russian Soviet so flamboyant