50 Fun Facts About The Queen's Gambit

Who plays Beth Harmon in The Queen's Gambit?

She won the Golden Globe and SAG Award for the role.

The series is based on a 1983 novel by which author?

Tevis also wrote The Hustler and The Man Who Fell to Earth.

Who wrote and directed the series?

Frank created it with Allan Scott, who had owned the book's rights since 1992.

Who plays Beth's late mother, Alice Harmon, in flashbacks?

Alice held a Cornell doctorate before her mental health spiralled.

How many episodes does the series have?

Netflix originally ordered six, but the finished series ran one longer.

Beth grows up in which Kentucky city?

Her mother dies in a car crash on the city's New Circle Road in the first episode.

What is the name of the orphanage where Beth learns chess?

The girls there were given daily tranquilizers to 'balance their disposition'.

Which custodian teaches nine-year-old Beth to play chess in the basement?

Beth later learns he followed her entire career until his death.

Which actor plays the chess-playing custodian?

Camp's character reluctantly agrees to teach Beth after she shows she already knows the moves.

Who plays Beth's closest childhood friend, Jolene?

Ingram later played Reva Sevander in Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Which actress and director plays Beth's adoptive mother, Alma?

Heller directed Can You Ever Forgive Me? and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.

What is the surname of the couple who adopt Beth?

The husband, a travelling salesman, deserts the household soon afterwards.

Which Polish actor plays the Soviet world champion Vasily Borgov?

Borgov is the only player Beth cannot beat until the finale.

Who plays the brash U.S. champion Benny Watts?

He grew up on screen in Love Actually and Game of Thrones.

Which former Potter-film actor plays Kentucky champion Beltik?

Melling was Dudley Dursley in the Potter films.

D.L. Townes covers the final tournament for which newspaper?

Beth had been infatuated with the journalist since her first tournament.

In which city does Beth play the climactic invitational?

Jolene lends her the law-school savings that pay for the trip.

Beth's late mother, Alice, earned a Ph.D. in which subject at Cornell?

She is seen only in flashbacks as her mental health spirals.

Where does Beth visualize chess games at night?

The tranquilizers help her focus enough to project whole games above her bed.

Where does Beth first lose to Borgov?

He surprises her with an offbeat opening, and she returns to the hotel to find Alma dead.

Alma's death is attributed to which suspected illness?

Her excessive drinking is thought to have made it worse.

Which Parisian model leads Beth into a late-night bender before the Paris final?

Hungover, Beth oversleeps and loses to Borgov again.

The night before the U.S. Championship final, Benny repeatedly beats Beth at what?

The experienced hustler wins every round, yet Beth beats him in the real game the next day.

Beth's final game against Borgov is adjourned after how many moves?

Benny phones from New York with a team of friends to help her analyse the position.

How many Primetime Emmy Awards did the series win?

They included Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series.

It was the first streaming show to win which Emmy category?

Taylor-Joy won the Golden Globe and SAG Award but lost the Emmy for lead actress.

How many households had watched the series within four weeks, per Netflix?

That made it Netflix's biggest scripted limited series to date.

Alongside Garry Kasparov, which chess coach consulted on the series?

He had also advised Tevis on the novel 38 years earlier.

Most of the series was filmed in which European city?

Its interiors doubled for American, Mexican, French and Soviet locations alike.

Beth's adoptive family home is a house in which Canadian city?

Principal photography began there in August 2019.

Who composed the series' orchestral score?

The director first wanted a piano-only score before opting for a full orchestra.

The decisive final game was modelled on a 1993 game between Vasyl Ivanchuk and whom?

Kasparov reworked real games into the show's critical moments.

Which women's world champion sued Netflix over a line in the finale?

The show claimed she had 'never faced men'; the case settled in 2022.

How much did the defamation lawsuit against Netflix seek?

The Georgian champion had in fact beaten many male grandmasters.

Which actor was offered the lead in Heath Ledger's planned 2007 film adaptation?

Ledger, a keen chess player, was to direct and take a supporting role.

In which year did Allan Scott buy the screenplay rights from Tevis's widow?

It took 28 years for the book to reach the screen.

The novel's epigraph, 'The Long-Legged Fly', is a poem by whom?

Tevis chose it to highlight the inner workings of genius in a woman.

Tevis described the novel as 'a tribute to' whom?

He denied that Beth was based on any real chess figure.

What is the title of the first episode?

Every episode title is a chess term.

What is the title of the final episode?

It ends with Beth playing chess with old men in a park.

What is the title of the fifth episode?

It covers Beth's romance with Beltik and her U.S. Championship win.

Beth is bullied at her high school by girls from which clique?

She later attends one of their meetings, steals a bottle of gin and leaves.

How much money does the custodian send Beth for her first tournament entry fee?

She had written to him because she was short of money.

Which 13-year-old Soviet prodigy does Beth defeat over two days?

He is played by Louis Ashbourne Serkis, son of Andy Serkis.

What job is Jolene doing when she reappears in Beth's life?

She is saving for law school and spends the money on Beth's trip instead.

Magnus Carlsen gave the series what score out of 6?

He thought it 'a little too unrealistic' about how fast Beth improved.

Which singer-songwriter was announced as composer of the stage musical adaptation?

Playwright Eboni Booth and director Whitney White were also attached when it was announced.

Which institution displayed the show's costumes alongside those of The Crown?

The virtual exhibition was titled 'The Queen and the Crown'.

In which city was the series' lead actress born?

Her parents were on holiday there; she grew up in Buenos Aires and London.

Beth takes night classes in which language?

It pays off when she overhears Borgov's team discussing her in a hotel elevator.