The Queen's Gambit is an American novel by Walter Tevis, exploring the life of a female chess prodigy. A bildungsroman, it was originally published in 1983. It covers themes of feminism, chess, drug addiction, and alcoholism. The book was adapted posthumously for the 2020 Netflix miniseries of the same name starring Anya Taylor-Joy.
 First edition | |
| Author | Walter Tevis |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Psychological thriller, suspense thriller |
| Publisher | Random House |
Publication date | 1983 |
| Publication place |  United States |
| Pages | 243 |
| ISBN | 1-4000-3060-9 |
Epigraph
The novel's epigraph is "The Long-Legged Fly" by William Butler Yeats. This poem highlights one of the novel's main concerns: the inner workings of genius in a woman. Tevis discussed this concern in a 1983 interview,[1][2] the year before his death.
Plot
The Queen's Gambit traces chess prodigy Beth Harmon's life from her childhood in an orphanage through her struggles with tranquilizer and alcohol addiction to her triumphant rise through the Grandmaster ranks.
Eight-year-old orphan Beth Harmon is quiet, sullen, and by all appearances unremarkable—until she plays her first game of chess. Her senses grow sharper, her thinking clearer, and for the first time in her life she feels herself fully in control. By the age of sixteen, she's competing for the U.S. Open championship. But as she hones her skills on the professional circuit, the stakes get higher, her isolation grows more frightening, and the thought of escape becomes all the more tempting.
Literary significance and reception
The novel is difficult to classify, occupying a space between thriller, sports/game novel, and bildungsroman.
The Queen's Gambit is sheer entertainment. It is a book I reread every few years--for the pure pleasure and skill of it.” --Michael Ondaatje (cover of Vintage paperback edition, 2003)
It is also highly praised for the technical accuracy of its depictions of chess:
New Yorker's reviewer was especially enthused with the novelist's recreation of the obsessive world of chess, noting that Tevis "does succeed in conveying the cerebral suspense with which would-be World Champions live." Harold C. Schonberg, writing in the New York Times Book Review, confirmed that Tevis "reveals a great deal about the world of American Chess, with a final glance at how the Russians operate, and it is an exceptionally accurate picture that he draws." Schonberg added: "Beth Harmon may not be prepossessing, but she has the dedication of a Biblical saint, a freak memory and an ability to synthesize and create and blow her little world apart with a kind of startling originality that nobody else can match. That is what chess on its highest level is all about." (From Contemporary Authors Online, 2007, Gale Reference)
Tevis based the chess scenes on his own experience as a class C player and on his long study of the game. He elaborates on this in the Author's Note for the novel:
The superb chess of Grandmasters Robert Fischer, Boris Spassky and Anatoly Karpov has been a source of delight to players like myself for years. Since The Queen's Gambit is a work of fiction, however, it seemed prudent to omit them from the cast of characters, if only to prevent contradiction of the record. I would like to express my thanks to Joe Ancrile, Fairfield Hoban and Stuart Morden, all excellent players, who helped me with books, magazines, and tournament rules. And I was fortunate to have the warm-hearted and diligent help of National Master Bruce Pandolfini in proofreading the text and in helping me rid it of errors concerning the game he plays so enviably well.
Screen adaptation
In 1983, an attempt was made to turn the novel into a feature film when The New York Times journalist Jesse Kornbluth acquired rights for a screenplay; nearly every actor and director that he knew was interested in participating.[3] When Tevis died in 1984, rights to the film were sold to another studio and the project was called off due to financial concerns.
In 1992, Scottish screenwriter Allan Shiach acquired rights for a screenplay of a planned art house film. Among the directors who were involved at some point included Michael Apted and Bernardo Bertolucci, but each eventually moved on to other projects. In 2007 and 2008, Shiach was working with Heath Ledger on what would have been Ledger's directorial debut, and who was set to star alongside Ellen Page. Production and principal photography were planned for late 2008 but were put on hold following Ledger's death in January 2008.[4]
In March 2019, Netflix ordered a limited seven-episode series based on the novel, also called The Queen's Gambit. Anya Taylor-Joy plays the lead role of the series, while Scott Frank serves as writer, director, and executive producer.[5] It premiered on October 23, 2020.[6]
Publication history
- 1983, US, Random House
- 2003, US, Vintage
See also
- Queen's Gambit – the chess opening
References
- ^ "Walter Tevis Interview with Don Swaim". Wiredforbooks.com. February 15, 1983. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016.
- ^ https://media.library.ohio.edu/digital/collection/donswaim/id/6192/
- ^ Kornbluth, Jesse (January 23, 2011). "The Queen's Gambit - Bookreporter.com". Bookreporter.com. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
- ^ "Heath Ledger - a prophetic tragedy - Features, Film & TV". The Independent.
- ^ "Anya Taylor-Joy to Star in 'The Queen's Gambit' Limited Series at Netflix". Variety. 2019-03-19. Retrieved 2019-03-20.
- ^ McHenry, Jackson (August 27, 2020). "The Queen's Gambit Trailer: Anya Taylor-Joy Dives Into Chess, Drugs, and More Chess". Vulture. Retrieved August 27, 2020.