The queen's gambit

(Image: Netflix)

I'm being reminded of my youth; my own obsession with the game of chess. I've been watching that Netflix original series, The Queen's Gambit, and am now at the end of the fifth episode. Well, it is not exactly an exciting series to follow but it intrigues me as an amateur chess player and former columnist. Plus, there's good Sixties music here: Mason Williams' Classical Gas, for example. 

But I wonder why this series is Number One on Netflix currently, or why it is Number Two among the Malaysian subscribers. Are there so many chess players out there with Netflix subscriptions? And who are the non-chess players that are watching?

There are enough names being bandied around to enthrall the chess players. Most seasoned chess players will recognise the heavyweight names that have been dropped: Morphy, Botvinnik, Smyslov, Reshevsky, Rossolimo, Alekhine, Capablanca, Philidor. Tal? Korchnoi? I might have missed their names. So much name dropping to give the average chess player-in-the-street a thrill; to give them the chance to turn to their partner or companion in triumph and beam with delight, saying, "See? She knows of all these important chess players." 

But of course, Vasily Borgov, like Elizabeth (Beth) Harmon, are completely fictional characters. Borgov happens to be the world chess champion from the Soviet Union. Typically, his KGB minders are following him every step of the way. And Harmon is the teenaged female prodigy from the good old United States who works alone almost all the time. The anti-hero of this television show. Cold War. East versus West. Communism against democracy. You get the drift. No Bobby Fischer here, not even a whisper of his hallowed name yet, but there is a fictional Benny Watts who steps in as the reigning US champion and who offers friendship and guidance to Harmon.

The Queen's Gambit is a novel by Walter Tevis. I had read this book about 35 years ago but naturally, the story line's been forgotten. Book has also been misplaced. It's somewhere in the store room and I'm too lazy to search for it. Thus, watching this series is like watching it with a completely fresh mind. 

But I think the climax of this show will be pretty predictable. We can see that beating Borgov is her obsession and ultimate goal, and I sense that by the time this series ends - and I've two more episodes to watch - Harmon will achieve just that. Already in the fifth episode, it already hints at that. She will go to Moscow and play in the international tournament there and she will use the occasion to beat Borgov on his home turf.