The Queen’s Gambit by Walter Tevis is a historical fiction novel written about Beth Harmon, a young orphan with prodigious chess skills. Throughout the course of the story, she grows from that orphan to a young woman with barely any purpose in her life but chess and a crippling aptitude for self-destruction. The audience follows Beth as she matures, both as a person and at chess. She begins as an unranked player who wins a state championship first try, and eventually has to face the Russians in the midst of the War.
I moderately enjoyed this book. The descriptions of the chess matches were compelling. Even though I skimmed through some of the technical aspects I was still able to get a feel for the complexities and emotions involved in playing. Additionally, I really enjoyed reading about Beth as a sort of intellectual femme fatale. I would recommend this book to anyone with a love for chess or just looking for an interesting story. It’s worth reading even if you have already watched the Netflix series!