I honestly did not expect to finish reading this within two days, but I did and that alone should speak wonders about how riveting The Queen's Gambit is!
It was refreshing to follow the advancement and growth of a female child prodigy in Chess, especially given the novel starts out in the 1960's. The plot follows Beth from basement Chess games in her orphanage to International travel for competition, whilst manoeuvring womanhood, death, drugs and alcohol. She is one of few females who compete in the competitions and tournaments as she advances her chess career and I loved reading the way in which her mind worked to win her games.
Tevis' writing is quite unique in the fact that he creates magic in the sometimes dull and mundane world of chess. He has created nail-biting suspense, exciting victorious and gripping tension through his words, with each page bringing a new reason to continue reading.
There are very detailed descriptions of each of Beth's chess games throughout the book, specifically naming certain spaces on the board, openings, defences, sacrifices and so many more. I would suggest that you at least brush up on your basic Chess knowledge before embarking on this read. I will say I got lost in some places as it felt like the action of the game was going over my head. I ended up doing some research on the movement combinations and started to picture the chessboards as I read the pages. I love how Tevis focuses on Beth's studies of games, her opponents and iconic matches in Chess history giving a glimpse into the life of one who is competing at that level (noting that this was a time of books and magazines, not a Google search).
'Chess isn't always competitive. Chess can also be beautiful.' I loved this line in the book as I always viewed Chess as a competition, moving the pieces until one loses and the other wins. I always played to win, not paying attention to the beauty in the movements of each piece and the limitless possibilities that could occur when playing.
You may have already watched The Queen's Gambit on Netflix, however please pick yourself up a copy of this fantastic novel by Walter Tevis and immerse yourself into the intricate world of Chess. I really didn't want this book to end, I wanted to continue reading about Beth's Chess adventures and tournaments.
I am so glad I read the book first. Now onto the Netflix series.
Trigger Warning for anyone wishing to read this book: drug abuse, alcohol abuse, sexual assault
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