THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT
IS A MUST WATCH AND HERE’S WHY By Ann Trinh I am definitely not the first person to try my hand at convincing you to watch Scott Frank and Allan Scott's The Queen's Gambit. This nicely packaged 7-episode Netflix miniseries, released on October 23rd of 2020, is the tale of a chess prodigy climbing the ranks in the world of 64-squares while battling her inner demons. From pawn to queen, Walter Tevis’s Elizabeth Harmon (though she prefers Beth) is a character of his 1983 novel that drew the attention of Emmy nominated Godless director, Scott Frank. His interest in this brilliant yet incredibly self-destructive champion realised a series that grips both chess enthusiasts and novices alike. One of the highest hurdles to overcome in the show's production was how to make chess cinematic. The show delivers glamorous shots of hotels and tournament locations. The locations of Beth's matches were not limited to the United States but included Mexico City, Moscow and Paris - but of these were actually filmed in Berlin. The camera takes a tour of each location (under the work of production designer Uli Hanisch) to give a wonderlike atmosphere that Beth undoubtedly feels when she first enters the stage.
soro initially wanted to avoid. But with each shot and cut to the next match there was a sense of rhythm, which was then interrupted to give the time to process what has happened by virtue of an important conversation or match. The creators paid special attention to the action taking place on the checkered boards. Chess experts, such as grandmaster Garry Kasparov and chess author and coach Bruce Pandolfini, were consulted for the series and they made sure that the matches seen on screen were accurate (to those enthusiasts that could spot a mistake a mile away) and to carried their own personality as a reflection of Beth's journey.
Not only did the positions of the pieces have a dose of tender loving Scott Frank describes the series care, but the movements and reacas "one big montage" consisting tions of the players were trained of consecutive chess matches, to imitate professionals. "It's how which he and editor Michelle Te- quickly they respond in certain sitJanuary 2021 13
Source: Netflix uations, and the right hesitations at points, how you write your moves down on a score sheet, how you hit a clock, and how you look at your opponent after certain moves, all these little intangibles," says Pandolfini. Such reactions were an integral part in storytelling. With the close up shots of the characters' reactions during play, viewers could tell just from their expressions what was happening on the board - who was winning, who was in a difficult position, who had some misplaced confidence and who felt utter defeat - even without knowing anything about the game. What's more, the emphasis placed on the characters' reactions dives viewers deep into the minds of the characters, to truly feel the gravity of what they felt. While the series is grounded in the world of chess, our attention lies on the Kentucky-raised orphan, Beth Harmon. Following an accident, Beth is left without
