Beth Harmon is a fictional chess prodigy that seems incredibly real. 貝絲‧哈蒙是一位杜撰出來的西洋棋奇才，卻顯得極為真實。
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The Queen’s Gambit was a novel published in 1983 by author Walter Tevis. It is also a TV series on Netflix starring Anya Taylor-Joy as the main character, Beth Harmon. Moreover, the Queen’s Gambit is the name of one of the most common opening moves in chess.
Some people say that the novel resembles the life of famed chess prodigy Bobby Fischer, but Tevis claims it is actually based on a collection of players’ lives. It also includes his own experience, as Tevis was also a skilled amateur chess player. He felt he could beat most average players but was nowhere near Beth’s skill level.
amateur [ ˈæməˌtʃʊr ] a. 業餘的 & n. 業餘人士 be nowhere near...離……很遠
The novel is considered both a sports novel and a coming-of-age story. It focuses on Beth’s rise to greatness in the chess world, but it also examines very complex themes like trauma, drug abuse, and alcoholism. The Netflix series also adds a number of romantic encounters to Beth’s story.
Many reviewers feel that the series is much more subtle than the book, and that it takes a much more negative view of Beth’s drinking and poor decisions. However, in the book, Beth faces far more sexism in the male-dominated world of competitive chess in the 1960s.
