I've cruised by this one several times and last night got desperate enough for something new to watch to check it out.

First episode grabbed me, shall have to see if the rest lives up to that promise.

BTW, NOT a chess aficionado, it's just part of the plot.

My wife and I just started watching this last week. We both are enjoying it. I also know next to nothing about chess but in general I tend to find the savant genius concept fascinating.

Haven't heard of it but guess I need to check it out.

quote:

Originally posted by kho:
My wife and I just started watching this last week. We both are enjoying it. I also know next to nothing about chess but in general I tend to find the savant genius concept fascinating.

Yup, that's the part that grabbed me as well. She's a bit of a Honey Badger too.

Yup. But its not even just the story. The whole production is very well done.

The wife and I finished it last night. It was very well done and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I liked it. That gauche little girl morphed into quite the hottie.

The wife and I truly enjoyed the series.
Very well produced as others have mentioned.

I hadn't noticed this series either, but I'll check it out.

The actress that plays (adult) Beth is Anya Taylor-Joy. She's also in Peaky Blinders. I thought she did a great job in PB.

My wife and I bingewatched this over two days this weekend. It's an outstanding series and probably one of the best offered by NetFlix. The characters are extremely believable and present diverse personalities that make each one not only interesting, but multifaceted. The best and "worst" clearly have their foibles and flaws, which present surprises that lend to an appreciation for the great writing, acting, and presentation (direction). With the exception of one character (no spoilers from me), one thing I loved about this series is the honesty of those portrayed. I loved it.

I just finished watching it, enjoyed it, and recommend it. It's a good example of how to write a strong female character w/o making her a Mary-Sue (e.g., Rey, Capt Marvel, maybe GoT Arya). Sure, she's an inexplicable chess prodigy, but she also has severe flaws and trauma to work through. I like when one of her colleagues tells her that she has all the signs of becoming another Morphy - a brilliant chess prodigy who self-destructed.

Few small things that bothered me:

1. The story is inconsistent about Beth's age. At a few points, it's a little creepy how adult men are hitting so hard on a girl who might only be 16.

2. I liked gawkish, awkward adolescent Beth. By the last episode, I think they went too far in making her look & act like a Hollywood celebrity. At one point someone compares her Ann Margaret.

*****SPOILER ALERT*****

3. I didn't buy how Mr Wheatley reacted to news of his wife's death. I can believe that he no longer cared about her, but they were still legally married. I think the first thing he would want to do was to close out her estate, their joint band account, her will, life insurance(?), sell the house, etc. - in other words, cash out on his wife's death.

He was still Beth's legal father, so it would have been interesting to see him try to unadopt her. Maybe he would try to return her to Methuen, to relinquish legal responsibility for her care. Maybe he would try to steal her money. Maybe Beth would petition for emancipated minor status.

There were a lot of complications there that were just glossed over when Beth paid off their house. I also didn't understand why Beth was suddenly so attached to her house in Lexington, when it seemed she aspired to become a world-travelling vagabond like Cleo.

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:
I just finished watching it, enjoyed it, and recommend it. It's a good example of how to write a strong female character w/o making her a Mary-Sue (e.g., Rey, Capt Marvel, maybe GoT Arya). Sure, she's an inexplicable chess prodigy, but she also has severe flaws and trauma to work through. I like when one of her colleagues tells her that she has all the signs of becoming another Morphy - a brilliant chess prodigy who self-destructed.

Few small things that bothered me:

1. The story is inconsistent about Beth's age. At a few points, it's a little creepy how adult men are hitting so hard on a girl who might only be 16.

2. I liked gawkish, awkward adolescent Beth. By the last episode, I think they went too far in making her look & act like a Hollywood celebrity. At one point someone compares her Ann Margaret.

*****SPOILER ALERT*****

3. I didn't buy how Mr Wheatley reacted to news of his wife's death. I can believe that he no longer cared about her, but they were still legally married. I think the first thing he would want to do was to close out her estate, their joint band account, her will, life insurance(?), sell the house, etc. - in other words, cash out on his wife's death.

He was still Beth's legal father, so it would have been interesting to see him try to unadopt her. Maybe he would try to return her to Methuen, to relinquish legal responsibility for her care. Maybe he would try to steal her money. Maybe Beth would petition for emancipated minor status.

There were a lot of complications there that were just glossed over when Beth paid off their house. I also didn't understand why Beth was suddenly so attached to her house in Lexington, when it seemed she aspired to become a world-travelling vagabond like Cleo.

That's a good analysis. There were so many things in play as to her past and as she matured that it was difficult to keep everything in concert. Well done.

My wife and I finished watching the series last night, and we both thoroughly enjoyed every last minute.

And, oh, that young woman's eyes <swoon>.

It was doubly-fascinating to me because, once-upon-a-time, I was pretty good at chess--to the point I was rarely beaten by anybody short of a Master. Alas, I can't even beat a chess app in beginner mode any more

I do not believe the following constitutes a spoiler:

To those who watched it and don't know chess: What she's visualizing on the ceiling are all the possible outcomes of all the reasonable moves they can anticipate, for both sides, for up to N moves, in advance. As you might imagine: There can be lots of permutations--depending upon the nature of the game and at what stage it is. In general terms I was once up to seeing up to 5-6 moves in advance. By comparison, in general terms a Grand Master sees more in the range of 10-15 moves in advance.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
M In general terms I was once up to seeing up to 5-6 moves in advance. By comparison, in general terms a Grand Master sees more in the range of 10-15 moves in advance.

And today, even the rudimentary computer programs can see 20+ moves.

Here is the Harmon vs Borgov game on Agadmator's chess channel. If you like chess there are many biographic sagas of the great players, and famous games. Hours of chess across the decades. Enjoy.

https://youtu.be/oIMaTKOZG-8

 
I watched the first two episodes yesterday, and enjoyed them. I will definitely finish the short series.
 
I played competitive chess in my 20s (about 50 years ago). The best I finished was "top under 1800" in the DC Open one year. I never played enough to improve my rating, though I could beat over 1800 players with some (60-40) regularity.

quote:

Originally posted by mr kablammo:
Here is the Harmon vs Borgov game on Agadmator's chess channel.

Wow, did that ever bring back memories Thanks for posting that!

On a by-chance event I noticed this last night and decided to give it a shot.
LOVE it.
Watch four episodes last night and ususally try never to binge watch.
I found it very interesting and also agree with all the {cough} comments on the [hot] gal in the lead.

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:

Few small things that bothered me:

1. The story is inconsistent about Beth's age. At a few points, it's a little creepy how adult men are hitting so hard on a girl who might only be 16.

2. I liked gawkish, awkward adolescent Beth. By the last episode, I think they went too far in making her look & act like a Hollywood celebrity. At one point someone compares her Ann Margaret.

*****SPOILER ALERT*****

3. I didn't buy how Mr Wheatley reacted to news of his wife's death. I can believe that he no longer cared about her, but they were still legally married. I think the first thing he would want to do was to close out her estate, their joint band account, her will, life insurance(?), sell the house, etc. - in other words, cash out on his wife's death.

He was still Beth's legal father, so it would have been interesting to see him try to unadopt her. Maybe he would try to return her to Methuen, to relinquish legal responsibility for her care. Maybe he would try to steal her money. Maybe Beth would petition for emancipated minor status.

There were a lot of complications there that were just glossed over when Beth paid off their house. I also didn't understand why Beth was suddenly so attached to her house in Lexington, when it seemed she aspired to become a world-traveling vagabond like Cleo.

1) It is creepy how some men were willing to hit on a 16 year old girl, but it's worth noting that such behaviors weren't something that was widely reported at the time as it is now. Child molestation results in shame/embarrassment on the part of the victim, and offenders felt/feel they could/can escape punishment for it. Beth isn't just a young girl, she was an orphan and easy prey. I was particularly impressed by the fact that her janitor/chess mentor and the high school chess coach weren't portrayed as predators and that the later went to commendable efforts to insure everything was "above board" (pardon the language) with Beth. The importance of having adult mentors was a reoccurring theme in this series that I really appreciated. It literally brought a tear or two to my eyes in certain scenes.

2) Four or more years passed between her entry into the world of competitive chess and winning in Russia. That's a lot of time for a young girl to gain confidence and maturity. For comparison, check out any young successful Olympian. You don't reach that level of expertise without incredible inner strength. I loved seeing Beth's progress, not just as a chess champion, but as a person. Her relationship with her second "Mother" was no less impressive evidence of this growth, than her ability to beat adults in chess.

3) I was sad to see Mr. Wheatly's response to his wife's death too, but from the start it was evident that he wasn't an emotional person. Look at how he treated Beth. He adopted her for his wife, not himself. Kind of like providing her with a dog or cat (which we was "allergic to", which I didn't buy BTW), to keep Mrs. Wheatly content at home. Divorce was a BIG issue back then and far less socially acceptable than today. His willingness to allow Beth to stay in the house and then sell it to her (for his equity share) indicated to me that he did feel some remorse towards Beth's situation, but not to the degree a good father would have shown.

I think Beth wanted to keep the house in Lexington because the home (like Mrs. Wheatly's clothes) gave her a sense of family and security, that she didn't have elsewhere. She clearly wanted to be part of a nuclear family (look at how she longingly watched happy couples with kids), and perhaps with more confidence she'll find and ultimately marry the "right" man.

Spoiler Alert:Did anyone else recognize the Russian "spy", who not only gained and provided intelligence to Russia on Beth, but clearly attempted to compromise her ability to win in Paris?

I'm really hoping there will be at least a second season of this series. As a champion, she's going to have to defend her title in the future and no doubt she'll also need to engage in the challenge of allowing herself to fall in love, with all the risks that entails. She may have a real shot at the one character in particular and his "issues" are clearly something that weigh on her.

Frankly, I'm in love with Beth's persona and hope she succeeds in her life, not just as a grand-master in chess, but as a person. Those challenges certainly lay ahead and with the social upheaval of the late 1960's and early 1970's approaching, she's got her work cut out for her, as does her diverse group of friends. Their presence and contribution to the story are so significant.

As someone who barely dipped into the chess team at my high school (I was an occasional alternate), I've been enjoying this show.

It's based on a book by Walter Tevis, who wrote "The Hustler," "The Color of Money" and "The Man who fell to Earth."