Plot Synopsis

Based on Walter Tevis' 1983 novel of the same name, THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT is a coming-of-age drama that explores the true cost of genius. Abandoned and entrusted to a Kentucky orphanage in the late 1950s, nine-year-old Beth Harmon discovers an astonishing talent for chess while developing an addiction to green tranquilizers provided by the state as a sedative for the children. Haunted by her personal demons and fueled by a cocktail of narcotics and obsession, Beth transforms into an impressively skilled and glamorous outcast while determined to conquer the traditional boundaries established in the male-dominated world of competitive chess. When Beth is suddenly plunged into a confusing new life in suburbia, teenage Beth studies her high school classmates and hatches a plan to enter a chess tournament. Then, a trip to Cincinnati launches Beth and her mother into a whirlwind of travel and press coverage. Beth sets her sights on the U.S. Open in Las Vegas. Netflix released the seven-episode series on Friday, October 23, 2020 at 3:01am ET/12:01am PT.