The Queen’s Gambit

The Netflix adaptation of Walter Tevis’ 1983 novel The Queen’s Gambit has punched above its weight since it started streaming in October. The sets and costume are gorgeous and the acting is good, but the stakes are nonexistent: We know from the first episode that child chess prodigy Beth Harmon (played by 24-year-old Anya Taylor-Joy) is going to win a lot of matches, even with a tranquilizer habit clinging to her back.

But there is more to this story than a phenom making the most of her gifts. Set in the 1950s and ’60s, The Queen’s Gambit has more to say about geopolitics and culture than it does about opening