World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen's verdict on The Queen's Gambit

[Music] men are going to come along and want to teach you things [Music] doesn't make them any smarter i would say it's um five out of six if we're if we're rolling the dice i just couldn't quite buy that after being what was it six years without playing a tournament game in an orphanage that you would then be one of the best players in in a few years but in general having said all that it was extremely enjoyable you're an orphan beth i'm fine being alone i feel safe in an entire world of just 64 squares i don't necessarily think great chess players see the chessboard in the ceiling but it's it's very true that chess players will often look to the ceiling or look a different way and that is simply an unconscious thing that we do in order to remember there's no player in the world as gifted as you are there is one player that scares me who russian i and a lot of others can certainly certainly recognize not just the obsession just the fact that she is a really really good student of the game setting the games in her head reading as many books as possible analyzing with the with the best players and i think especially when i was little that's one of the things that i i did well like even very very strong kids who were extremely talented they played tournaments they did well they studied some but it wasn't like something they were thinking about all the time which it was uh it was with me i mean i was constantly thinking thinking about chess reading chess books often for hours every day and i think that in that sense i can definitely recognize myself in her with that obsession and the passion and desire to to be better chess isn't always competitive jess can also be beautiful i also really liked the last sequence of her game against borogov where she sacrificed the queen at the end and the whole sequence leading up to that i mean i was i was sitting there watching and like trying to guess um the moves and i could see it unfolding and i i thought it was it was really pretty i'm worried about you [Music] what on earth i think with her she she also obviously had a very very difficult childhood it's not necessarily down to her being a brilliant chess player that she experienced this these difficulties from my own personal experience i wouldn't say that i've suffered at all i've had a fine balanced life and apart from that i've been able to do what i what i love so i think it's it's at least not an automatic that being brilliant at something um takes away from something else tell the readers of life how it feels and to be a girl among all those men i would love to see women do do better and in chess feel more included then you go on ahead and do just what how you feel like

Channel: chess24

Views: 2,706,801

Rating: 4.92981 out of 5

Keywords: chess, chess24, Magnus Carlsen, The Queen's Gambit, Netflix, Norwegian, Beth Harmon, Walter Tevis, Scott Frank, Alan Scott, Anya Taylor-Joy

Id: Z8XbdDgmJA4

Length: 3min 21sec (201 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 29 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/lvl2_thug]

It’s entertaining, people should give it a try, really. If the character’s abilities seem over-the-top for you, the drama more than makes up for it beautifully.

I found it curious that her arrogant and super confident stance were a turn off for my wife and my sister, while I didn’t really mind. I guess that’s supposed to show an “empowered” woman, but the women I know didn’t buy it.

Maybe it’s a cultural thing, perhaps Americans are more favorable to that sort of attitude than us

[u/SuperSpeedyCrazyCow]

I agree with the whole long break thing. However, even though they hammed it up a bit in terms of what actually happens in tournament situations I like that they didn't go super over the top like most chess scenes or movies. The worst offences were like tipping kings over or people talking or staring at each other too much during the actual games.

[u/RaindropsInMyMind]

I just finished the series about an hour ago. It did get me more interested in Chess which is always a positive. As a fan of history I dislike that it’s not really a true story so that’s a bummer. As someone that has struggled with addiction though the show is absolutely poignant and accurate. It shows how addiction destroys relationships and oneself. It isolated her and puts a wall between her and the world. She thinks she needs the pills to be successful which is exactly how it feels for anyone who has an addiction. If anyone is dealing with that or knows someone that is the show is a very accurate depiction in that regard.

[u/StantonMick]

A little suspension of disbelief goes a long way in this series. There is only one thing that really drops the rating of it for me, and that's the whole "You resign now" thing. Just couldn't stand that scene or its resurfacing later on.

[u/cytherian]

Excellent review--wonderful to hear it from someone so gifted in chess.

[u/8143739734]

Link to the full video?

[u/HazelAstrology_]

It sucked. Take away the chess and the drama was pretty much nonexistent. The tone was weirdly sinister and suspenseful yet nothing ever really happened. None of the characters were meaningful in any capacity aside from Beth and she wasn't particularly likeable (though mainly for me this stems from how stupidly all the dialogue was written). The show looked terrible too, with virtually every scene taking place in some very boring hotel or something.

Add the chess back in and it's 100x worse. Nearly every line of dialogue pertaining to chess made me laugh. Half the scenes in the show are two people playing the first 6 moves of the Sicilian mainline and making shocked or emotive faces like they've never played an opening before.

I honestly can not believe people liked this show so much. It wasn't just mediocre it was BAD. The writers also made the extremely bizarre decision to slander Nona Gaprindashvili by claiming she never played against male opponents.