The Gambit that Never Was

I guess everyone's talking about chess right now, at least according to some media outlets, who credit it to Queen's Gambit, a recent NetFlix series. Well, I love chess and I love movies and TV shows that feature chess. So I watched the first episode of Queen's Gambit last night. I found it sometimes entertaining and often a bit silly.

The story of chess prodigy Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy/Isla Johnston/Annabeth Kelly) begins in an orphanage after her mother is killed in a car accident. Between the walls of the sparsely furnished orphanage, the kids are dosed regularly with a strong sedative, and Beth's superpower is unlocked. After witnessing the janitor (Bill Camp) in the basement studying the game, she figures out the basic rules of chess on her own, visualising a chessboard and pieces on the ceiling, courtesy of the magic of drugs.

I saw an interview on CNN with Garry Kasparov and Judit Polgar who both wore taut smiles while speaking with strained enthusiasm about the series. Polgar's name has been mentioned a lot lately as the real woman to have beaten a reigning world champion at chess--Kasparov. Beth Harmon, in case you didn't know, is not a real person.

It may come as a surprise considering much of the advertising makes it look like this series is a biopic, despite the fact that it's based on a work of literary fiction published in 1983. If the makers of the series intended to mislead people, I must say it's a pretty pathetic thing to do. The topic of women in chess has been a sensitive one for decades and continues to be debated, especially as, even now, there has never been a female world champion. Is it systemic patriarchy? Is there something about women's brains that makes them less liable to achieve greatness at chess? At this point, those really seem like the only two options.

Polgar is far from the only woman to have made an attempt for the title, though she is the only one who was ever seriously in the running. Her own sister, Susan, is also a great player, and there is a long list of female grandmasters like Hou Yifan and Alexandra Kosteniuk. Chess is most popular in European countries where equal opportunity for the sexes is considered to be greatest in the world. This has led many to opine that there must be something different about the way women think that prevents them from contending for the world championship. Until a woman actually does become world champion, the argument will never be put to rest.

Is the miniseries endeavouring to inspire girls to try? Judit Polgar, in the CNN interview, is very gracious but can't help taking a dig at the series when she mentions a real professional chess player can't afford the decadent lifestyle of sex and drugs Harmon leads. Polgar talks about her efforts to educate kids about chess by promoting it as something that teaches responsibility and logical thinking, two things Beth Harmon is hardly a shining example of. Like many modern fantasies, it seems not so much about victory through discipline and sacrifice but as a natural side effect of reckless hedonism. Will this show really inspire better chess players? It does use real chess games--historically great games with some input from living grandmasters, including Kasparov. Notably, all of the sources I've been able to find for the show's games were played between men in real life. Perhaps the show is more likely to make better chess cheaters than better chess players.

Queen's Gambit is available on NetFlix.