"The Queen's Gambit" Is Not Just For Chess Players

 

October 31, 2020

 

As I was scrolling through Netflix offerings, I saw the trailer for a show called “The Queen’s Gambit”, about a young woman chess player in the 1950s. I skipped through a lot of scenes until I found the scene from the trailer (which was actually in episode 2), taking care to watch all the chess scenes in the meantime. I don’t even play chess, which is why it’s remarkable that I got so caught up in the game scenes.

During action scenes, or the occasional scary scene, in most movies, I can disconnect and get my heart rate down, telling myself that it’s all just for show. Well, the chess scenes in this show were SO GRIPPING that I never did disconnect. That’s how good it is. Also, I never knew how caught up in chess real people get; the spectator scenes were as mesmerizing as the playing scenes.

 

So, even if you skip the rest of the story (and I did), watch the chess scenes of “The Queen’s Gambit.” The last episode is pure joy.