The Queen's Gambit - accepted

Almost everyone has heard of Beth Harmon by now. The miniseries has been seen by millions of people around the world. But how many have read the book that the series is based on? Probably a lot fewer. Well, at least I am one of them. So I thought I'd share my impressions with you.

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What can you expect from this book?

The Queen's Gambit is a fictional story about Beth Harmon. Beth lost her parents as a small child, and was brought up in an orphanage. During her time there, she was taught how to play chess by the janitor. It soon became apparent that she had a tremendous talent, and her skills grew exponentially until she finally became a world class player.

The character Beth Harmon seems to be loosely based on the life of Bobby Fischer. They both share the same extraordinary talent which they honed more or less on their own. They were both American players, and their chess battles against the Russians had some political overtones. Another similarity is that both of them had some issues off the board. Fischer's mental health has been discussed extensively, and he has put forth a number of controversial statements on various topics. Beth Harmon has her own demons, and suffers from an alcohol and drug addiction. Despite their respective challenges, they both managed to ascend to the very peak of the chess world.

The Queen's Gambit is based on fictional characters. But there are a few real characters as well. The story is set in the 1950s and 60s, so some of the great players of that era make an appearance in the book. For instance, when Beth plays in a major tournament, the world champion Borgov is assisted by Tal and Petrosian. It is, however, strange that they don't play themselves. But that is another minor issue.

I saw the miniseries before I read the book, and I recognized a lot. The story line is identical, apart from some minor details. The scenes are also quite similar, even down to individual lines by the characters. But the two variations (pun intended) differ in terms of emphasis. The miniseries is focused more on the characters and their interactions. The chess is only used as a setting and doesn't get a whole lot of attention. The book is a kind of mirror image. The dialog and interaction between characters is described rather briefly, and focus is largely placed on the chess. For instance, the book may spend a sentence or two describing how the characters have sex and eat breakfast, followed by two pages describing a chess game.

Don't get me wrong. This doesn't make the book bad. It is just different from the series. The "action" that takes place on the board is portrayed very well, with a lot of examples of the inner dialog that Beth has when playing various people. Tevis has a curious way of telling the story of the games, where he mentions pieces and themes without providing the exact move sequence or position on the board. Here is an example:

She interposed a knight, threatening a check that would take the rook. He would have to move the king now and she would bring the queen over to the rook file.

I find this a bit intriguing. Tevis manages to capture the drama on the board without giving the reader the full picture. While it would be interesting to see the complete games, this kind of "sampling" enables the reader to follow along without getting lost in analysis. After all, this is not a games collection.

Who should read this book?

The Queen's Gambit is an entertaining book. It is written by a chess player, and seemingly for other chess players. It's a good read, but not exceptionally so. If you would like a version of the story with emphasis on the chess, then I'd recommend reading the book rather than watching the miniseries.

About this book

Author:	Walter Tevis
Title:	The Queen's Gambit
Type of book:	Book review, Miscellaneous, Opening theory
Level:	N/A