The Queen’s Gambit: Chapter 11 Summary & Analysis

After the Saturday evening ceremony, Benny takes Beth out to a bar. Beth quickly drinks two beers, and he warns her to take it easy. Beth feels high—she’s got a perfect score in the tournament. Benny admits he’s raging inwardly, but on the outside, he appreciates her success.

Benny asks what Beth’s going to do about the Moscow Invitational: the U.S. winner is invited. He explains that when he went, the Federation bought his ticket and a church group put up the rest. He tells her that she doesn’t want to go to Moscow alone. When Beth grabs a third beer, he again warns her not to drink so quickly. As they discuss the Russian players, Beth tells Benny that she likes his hair. She hasn’t thought of him sexually before, but she’s thinking that way now. Benny dismisses her comment.

Benny tells Beth that she’s the only American he knows who could beat all the Russian players. He invites her to New York to study with him, and then she can leave for her next tournament in Paris from there. Beth is nervous, unsure if she’s ready, but he assures her that she is. She agrees to come to New York, leading him to offer to drive them there. As he stands up to leave, he also tells her to forget about sex.

On the drive to New York the next day, Benny suggests that he come with Beth to Russia. Beth protests, saying she’s only thinking about Paris and hasn’t decided to go to Moscow yet. But when Beth thinks about Benny coming with her, she feels warm. She thinks that if they were to have sex, there would be more to it than with Tim or Beltik. She wonders if he’ll change his mind when they get to his apartment.

Benny suggests they play chess, and they call out moves, visualizing the board in their minds. Beth is uncertain at first; she has never shared her interior chessboard before. She plays a variation called the Levenfish, and when Benny says he doesn’t like that strategy, she tells him to play his knight. He tells her icily not to tell him what to move. They drive in silence for a while, and then Benny admits that she was right and does as she suggested. They continue to move until Beth forces him to resign on the 27th move and feels better.

Benny’s apartment is somewhat dingy—it has a kitchen with a door going off to the bedroom, but there are no sofas or chairs, just pillows to sit on with lamps beside them and piles and piles of books, all about chess. Beth is exhausted, and Benny pedals a blow-up mattress for her to sleep on, giving her sheets. Beth wonders if she’ll be able to sleep, knowing that she has some pills if she needs them. She also knows that Benny has nothing to drink in this apartment, though he didn’t say so. Nonetheless, Beth is able to sleep soundly, waking in the morning to the sound of a siren and Benny in the kitchen. He offers her coffee, which touches her, as no one has ever offered her anything in the morning.

After Beth showers and dresses, she and Benny spend the day playing through Borgov’s games. Benny stops her after any obscure moves and asks her to analyze them. It is rigorous and intense, but she sees its usefulness. These games are serious and workmanlike, requiring huge mental energy that rarely pays off. They keep this up for six days, talking very little outside of their studies, and Beth goes to bed every night exhausted. Sometimes, she feels like being with Benny is like being with no one—completely impersonal. But sometimes, when she finds a false move in a game, he hugs her, smiling.

One evening, Beth invites three young people over: Hilton Wexler, Arthur Levertov (a Grandmaster) and Jenny Baynes. Jenny is strikingly beautiful. They greet Beth warmly and sit down at the board on the floor. Hilton asks Beth to solve a problem for him, setting up an unnatural position where white wins in three. Beth solves it extremely quickly, and he’s amazed at how fast she is.

Benny suggests a simultaneous with the three men—Jenny explains that she doesn’t even know the rules. Beth accepts, suggesting they play speed chess. Benny reminds her that it gives them an edge, and that she’s not very good at speed chess. Annoyed, Beth bets $10 on each of them, and Benny shrugs. Beth then beats the three of them with time to spare. Asking for another round, Beth beats them handily once more. When she suggests a third round, Benny refuses. Jenny tries to laugh, saying it’s male chauvinism. Beth is furious that Benny is easy to beat and furious that he’s trying to look impassive about it. But Benny says, “I think you’ve got it,” and everyone laughs. Jenny looks at Beth with admiration.

Beth spends the next few days studying, and she continues to beat Benny handily. She lies awake for hours, envisioning new strategies. They spend their third week repeating the Borgov games, finishing the last after midnight on Thursday. When Benny yawns, Beth says it’s time for bed. However, Benny stops her and asks her to go to bed with him. At first, she protests—she’s tired and she had completely forgotten about sex—but she warms toward him and agrees.

The next morning, Beth is startled to wake up next to Benny. Making love had been nice, though not as exciting as she hoped. He was gentle and easy with her, but still distant. Benny wakes, and when she says good morning, he tells her that she shouldn’t play the Sicilian against Borgov—he’s too good at it. As they play games through breakfast, Beth is annoyed, wishing for more intimacy from him.

At noon, Benny says he has to go to a poker game, to pay the rent. When Beth asks to join, Benny says that the game’s all men—but she can watch if she wants. He says it will last all night. Beth gets annoyed again, wondering how long he had known about the game. The game is in a small suite in a hotel in midtown, and Beth merely watches, just as she watched Mr. Shaibel. She doesn’t care how poker is played, even though she knows she’d be good at it. Eventually, she tells Benny she’s leaving—she’s furious at the way he seems to have planned it: quick sex with her, and then off to play with the boys.

Benny returns in the middle of the night; Beth wakes when he gets into bed. She’s glad he’s back but doesn’t want to make love; he tells her that he made $600 and promptly falls asleep. In the morning, they have sex, but Beth doesn’t enjoy it much. Benny can tell that she’s angry at him, and she admits that it frustrated her that he didn’t tell her about the poker game and that his timing was bad. He apologizes, saying he knows he keeps his distance, and she admits that she does, too.

Later, when Beth offers a game, Benny refuses. She knows he would have played her if he thought he could win, and she feels much better. Over the next few days, they continue as lovers and don’t play any more games, except from books. She’s fond of him, but that’s it, and by the last week before Paris, she feels that he has little left to teach her.