The Queen's Gambit

[monabri]

TQG - a Netflix production.

Initially I wasn't sure about this series set in the 60s .. child is orphaned after mother commits suicide but develops intense interest in chess learning the game from the janitor in the basement...Her skills being "helped" by .... well, let's just say they're not smarties!

However, it turns into quite a good romp...and we blitzed through it in a couple or three nights!

[Lootman]

Yes we have been watching this. It started slow but got better.

But then I played a lot of chess as a kid not much later than that time period, which is a good part of the interest to me.

She was presented as a female Bobby Fischer I thought. Hopefully with a better ending, which I have not watched yet!!!

[Bubblesofearth]

Good adaption of the book but the book is better.

Walter Tevis also wrote 'the hustler' which is arguably even better.

BoE

[nimnarb]

One of the best series I have seen this year. Helps that I like Chess but one doesn't need to know a thing about the game to enjoy this. Acting, atmosphere, music, tension. Terrific!!!! Polished it off in two nights. 10/10 for me.

[Gerry557]

Watched a couple of episodes over the weekend, definitely worth more of my time.

[scrumpyjack]

Binge watched it last week, best thing I've seen on Netflix so far.
It is very very well done and the quality of the production is brilliant - really authentic sets etc.
Apparently it had a very large budget so they could do it properly
I liked the ending!

[didds]

Solid 8/10 from me.

I REALLY liked the chess stuff (I havent played chess for 40 years almost rteally so im not a chess buff etc for that attraction)... TBH the storyline was obvious wrt her rise to prominence. The middle episodes got a bit wobbly as the adopted mopther's character development went on - got a bit chick-flicky (other slightly disparaging terms are available) - but i obviously appreciate that is "me" and others will of course enjoy it. In many ways it was nothing new at all - its a sort of female chess equivelent of "When Saturday Comes" . Mr Schaibel was HUGE and brilliantly played.

Overall its a film where the major players are all immensely broken, or at least socially struggling - harmon, townes, watts, beltik, mrs wheatley. with the first and last in that list probably the most broken of course.

Top production. 8/10 as I said.

didds

[Charlottesquare]

Enjoyed it so much I bought the book.

Per wiki Walter Tevis has a decent record with his books making it to film,

"Walter "Walt" Stone Tevis (February 28, 1928[4] – August 9, 1984[5]) was an American novelist and short story writer. Three of his six novels were adapted into major films: The Hustler, The Color of Money and The Man Who Fell to Earth. A fourth, The Queen’s Gambit, was adapted into a mini-series with the same title and shown on Netflix in 2020."

[AsleepInYorkshire]

Amazon Prime

"Innocent Moves"

Ben Kingsley

Excellent watch

AiY

[MaraMan]

There is an excellent documentary from 2016 about Magnus Carlsen on Amazon Prime.

A real life genius, world champion for the last 10 years, highest rated chess player ever (2882) and youngest ever
player to be world number 1 in FIDE rankings. etc etc.

And he isn't yet 30 years old.

MM

PS - the last scene in the doc was clearly stolen by the Queen's Gambit screenwriter, but it was a good ending for both.

[Laughton]

Just finished final episode.

I really liked it - my wife not so much.

[PinkDalek]

I really liked it - my wife not so much.

You preferred it to your wife?

[Laughton]

Boom Boom