True, but it should have some depth.
Crazy that they actually did hand out benzos to kids at orphanages. Thought that was made up but I googled it and it was true.
Generally true, but I’ll give a show a break if a) it does the superficial stuff really well and b) if it’s heart is in the right place. I think this is why QG is so popular. Its not the best show on TV but it is fun. The show is a textbook case of “just let people enjoy things”.
So I don’t know anything about chess but this got me reading a bit on the subject. So Queen’s Gambit is basically Lady Orphan Bobby Fischer?
Only in some details (disturbed background, prodigiously talented). The US champ (w/e his character’s name was) also shared some traits with Fischer.
Especially given how addictive they are, which has been known since forever.
If they actually just cut kids off like they did in the show they’d have a bunch of dead kids.
They’re orphans, no one would care
There was a nice tidbit during which I stopped the show to point out to my daughter the significance of Benny having in his apartment a wooden board with the letters a-h written on the bottom row and the numbers 1-8 on the left hand side denoting the ranks.
Until the early 1980s Americans used Descriptive Notation to describe moves–e.g. “Queen to Queen Knights Four (Q-QN4)” rather than Algebraic Notion–e.g. “Queen to B-Four (Qb4).”
Although algebraic is objectively easier to learn and use, it’s still confusing to use it if you’re used to thinking in Descriptive notion. Since American grandmasters in the 1960s were undoubtedly reading European and Russian chess literature, it makes sense that they might have had a board with handwritten algebraic notation to reduce confusion when playing over games from foreign magazines.
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I liked the show, but the plot point requiring the biggest suspension of disbelief was a young black man working at a girls’ orphanage in Kentucky in the 1950s.
One thing I liked was the way they were able to dramatize Beth’s extraordinary visualization skill. It’s hard for most people to believe or even comprehend but top-level players really can play blindfolded. It normally takes years of practice and dedication but she was basically doing it (out of necessity) from her earliest exposure to the game.
I have probably told this story, but I once played an informal game with a GM backstage at a scholastic tournament. His back was to the board and he was chatting with other coaches while he annihilated me in 15 moves. At the time I was not even aware that such a thing was possible, so it really opened my eyes to just how wide the chasm is between experts and casual players.
Was Benny a grandmaster? How many grandmasters are there?
And the chasm between your GM and the very best.
Kasparov played a simul against the Israeli Olympiad team comprised of six top ex-Soviet GMs and many experienced chess commentators thought he’d bitten off more than he could chew, but he didn’t lose a single game.
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I believe he is supposed to be but I can’t remember if they ever label him as one. He was considered the best US player and the US had a few GMs during the 50s
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I actually am gonna go ahead and give the show an A+. It wasn’t so much that the show was keeping it light with the bigger themes, at many points it was very explicitly (and awesomely!) rejecting them, so in effect this became a theme itself. Beth just wants to grind chess and doesn’t want to have to deal with any other bullshit. The soviets aren’t portrayed as pure villains like they are in pretty much any other movies/TV and they’re approach to chess is even accepted as being superior (team play, state funding). Beth’s success is mainly due to just normal chess things (reading books, analyzing games, practicing, etc.). As far as I can tell her openings/style is just orthodox. Its just such a refreshing take to the “click, clack, click, clack, checkmate! Capitalism wins by magic!” like approach we constantly see (or at least used to) even if its not necessarily chess.
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It is not that hard to learn to play blindfold. Start by going through games in Chess Life on a blank board. After you get the hang of that get rid of the board. My friend and I used to play blind fold in college while my wife kept track of the game on a travel set. At the time I was just a high B USCF player
Yeah I was one of the dumbasses as part of a simul against GM Alexander Shabolov (top in the US at the time) back in college. There were around 25-30 people and he just destroyed everyone except for one kid at the end who he drew with. All his moves vs me were pretty much instant. Skill gap in chess is just so large compared to other games.
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Good show. I liked it.
Bruce Pandolfini[spoiler
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