The Queen’s Gambit Themes

The Queen’s Gambit follows Beth Harmon, an orphaned child who rises to the top of the international competitive chess world. At eight years old, when Beth learns chess from the orphanage janitor, she immediately shows a stunning talent for it, and she becomes quickly known as an “intuitive player.” However, the book emphasizes that innate talent isn’t the only key to the success that Beth achieves, particularly when she defeats the World Champion Vasily…

From Beth’s first foray into the world of chess, she feels like an outsider. Chess tournaments are dominated by older players, almost all of whom are male, and the teenage Beth often expresses that she feels “powerless and silly” there, like a “child peering into an adult world.” The male players often underestimate her or insult her intelligence, and even the news reporting on her is laden with sexism. This threatens to throw Beth…

In the Methuen orphanage, the protagonist Beth and her peers are given tranquilizers to calm them. Beth quickly becomes reliant on the tranquilizers to ease her anxiety, beginning a life-long addiction to the pills. Beth’s adopted mother, Mrs. Wheatley, also faces addiction—which causes her death—and she unintentionally enables Beth’s addiction to alcohol as well. At first, Beth thinks that drugs and alcohol help her play chess, allowing her to calm her nerves and help…

The Queen’s Gambit’s protagonist, Beth Harmon, is largely self-sufficient, particularly as she becomes one of the strongest players in competitive chess due to her immense talent. However, she also has key friends and mentors along the way, including Mr. Shaibel, the man who teaches her how to play chess; Jolene, an older girl who looks after her at Methuen orphanage; and Benny Watts and Harry Beltik, two other high-ranked chess…