The Queen's Gambit is a 2020 American coming-of-age period drama streaming television miniseries based on the 1983 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis. The title refers to the " Queen's Gambit", a chess opening. The series was written and directed by Scott Frank, who created it with Allan Scott, who owns the rights to the book. Beginning in the mid-1950s and proceeding into the 1960s, the story follows the life of Beth Harmon ( Anya Taylor-Joy), a fictional American chess prodigy on her rise to the top of the chess world while struggling with drug and alcohol dependency. Moses Ingram as Jolene, a rebellious teenager at the Methuen Home who becomes Beth's closest childhood friend. While there will always be those movies like Field of Dreams or Rudy—which tell a story about one of the handful of sports you see on any given day when you flip on ESPN—sometimes it’s the story that tells the behind-the-scenes of the behind-the-scenes, like Moneyball, or inside an entirely massive world of its own, like The Queen's Gambit, that makes for the most engrossing story. If you care about the characters, and the filmmaking looks good and is written well, you can make a great sports story out of just about anything. Watercutter, Angela (October 28, 2020). "Why The Queen's Gambit Is the No. 1 Netflix Show Right Now". Wired. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020 . Retrieved October 30, 2020. The series received praise from the chess community for its realistic portrayal of the game and players. [83] In an interview with Vanity Fair, Woman Grandmaster Jennifer Shahade said that the series "completely nailed the chess accuracy". [84] In an article about the miniseries in The Times, British chess champion David Howell felt that the chess scenes were "well choreographed and realistic", while British Women's chess champion Jovanka Houska said, "I think it's a fantastic TV series ... [i]t conveys the emotion of chess really well." [85] Houska stated that she related to Beth being one of the few women in a tournament, and noted that sexism was worse at the "hobby" level, especially for young girls. [85] International Master Dorsa Derakhshani described the show as "very, very accurate" and that she was surprised at "how actually strong the games are". [86]

The Queen’s Gambit is distinguishable for its feminist perspective, and sexism remains rampant within the sport. The U.S. Women’s Chess Championship was only granted the same financial benefits as the Men’s Competition in 2019, and only 14% of US Chess Federation members are female (a record high percentage).

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Schneider, Michael (December 15, 2020). "Netflix End-of-Year Ranker: 'Cocomelon,' 'The Office,' 'The Queens Gambit' Top 2020 List". Variety. Archived from the original on December 27, 2020 . Retrieved December 22, 2020. Thorne, Will (March 19, 2019). "Anya Taylor-Joy to Star in 'The Queen's Gambit' Limited Series at Netflix". Variety. Archived from the original on May 2, 2019 . Retrieved July 21, 2019. Del Rosario, Alexandra (April 19, 2021). "MTV Movie & TV Awards Nominations: 'Emily In Paris', 'WandaVision' & 'RuPaul's Drag Race' ". Deadline . Retrieved April 20, 2021.

Gregg Swiatlowski (supervising sound editor); Eric Hirsch (dialogue editor); Eric Hoehn, Leo Marcel, Wylie Stateman (ADR editors) (for "End Game") Pederson, Erik (March 2, 2021). "CAS Awards Nominations: 'Trial Of The Chicago 7', 'Sound Of Metal' & 'Mank' Among Pics Vying For Sound Mixing Trophies". Deadline . Retrieved March 4, 2021. McClain, Dylan Loeb (November 3, 2020). "I'm a Chess Expert. Here's What 'The Queen's Gambit' Gets Right". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 5, 2020 . Retrieved November 5, 2020.Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Benny Watts, a brash young New Yorker who is the reigning United States Chess Champion, later Beth's mentor, lover and friend. Yang, Rachel (January 18, 2021). "Netflix's Ozark and The Crown lead TV nominations for Critics Choice Awards". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021 . Retrieved January 30, 2021. Jonjo O'Neill as Mr. Ganz, a local high school chess club teacher who invites a young Beth to play at his school.