The Queen's Gambit

At the age of eight, Elizabeth Harmon lost her entire family in a road accident. That’s how she ended up in the orphanage “Methu en-Home,” where instead of love and support she only received tranquilizers. But life gained meaning when the girl discovered chess. Mr. Scheibel— a janitor who worked at the orphanage—introduced Bet to this game. Each time she went down to the basement, she found him doing the same thing: Mr. Scheibel played chess with himself, sitting in front of a chessboard. As Bet grew up, she played chess better and better and simply couldn’t manage without tranquilizers. Trying to escape reality, she took pills by handfuls and washed them down with alcohol. Only when she sat at the chessboard could Bet control herself again.

When Elizabeth turned sixteen, she took part in the U.S. Open Chess Championship. Now she must face the best player in the world. But can Bet give up her addictions to sharpen her skills and become worthy of winning? Or will she remain an unremarkable ward, burning away her life? The rights to the film adaptation were bought by Netflix.