Erwin l’Ami takes a look at the games of Beth Harmon

by Johannes Fischer
1/20/2021 – Frank Scott's "The Queen's Gambit" with Anya Taylor-Joy as Beth Harmon is the most successful Netflix series of all time, and despite small inaccuracies it convincingly shows how exciting and fascinating chess can be. In fact, the games Beth Harmon plays in the series were almost all taken from actual tournament or matches. But which games found their way into the series? In New in Chess Magazine 08/2020 Erwin l'Ami took a closer look. | Photo: Beth Harmon's most crucial game | Photo: Screenshot from the series
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Chess games in "The Queen's Gambit": Fiction and Reality

The last issue of the New in Chess Magazine in 2020 is again a treat, and offers a number of interesting articles about various topics. Alireza Firouzja, for example, talks about the differences between "real" and online chess and his passion for the game, Judit Polgar recalls her encounters with Boris Spassky, and Jan Timman takes a look at Levon Aronian's strong performance in the Norway Chess Tournament 2020.

Another highlight of the issue is Erwin l'Ami's search for the games that featured in "The Queen's Gambit", a "potent blend of exquisite chess from the early 17th century till our day". In passing, l'Ami notes that "Harmon hasn't made a single draw throughout the series, Combative she certainly is."

The climax of the series is Beth Harmon's game against World Champion Vasily Borgov, which, as the series suggests, makes Beth Harmon the world's number one and indicates that she has managed to overcome her demons.

The game ends with a with a pretty queen sacrifice, and, as l'Ami found out, is based on a game Vassily Ivanchuk and Patrick Wolff played at the Interzonal Tournament 1993 in Biel. For 36 moves Harmon and Borgov followed this predecessor, but then Harmon goes her own – and probably better – ways.

 
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MoveNResultEloPlayers
1.e41,186,70654%2421---
1.d4960,56055%2434---
1.Nf3286,91356%2440---
1.c4185,11556%2442---
1.g319,90256%2427---
1.b314,60954%2428---
1.f45,95948%2376---
1.Nc33,91950%2383---
1.b41,79148%2379---
1.a31,25254%2406---
1.e31,08149%2409---
1.d396950%2378---
1.g467046%2361---
1.h446654%2382---
1.c343951%2425---
1.h328956%2420---
1.a411860%2461---
1.f310047%2427---
1.Nh39366%2506---
1.Na34762%2476---
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 Nc6 4.Be3 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.d5 Ne7 7.Bxc4 Ng6 8.f3 Bd6 9.Qd2 Bd7 10.Nge2 a6 11.Bb3 b5 12.a4 0-0 13.0-0 Qe7 14.Rac1 Nh5 15.g3 h6 16.Bc2 Rab8 17.axb5 axb5 18.Ra1 Ra8 19.Bd3 Bb4 20.Rxa8 Rxa8 21.Qc2 Bc5 22.Nd1 Bd6 23.Nf2 Nhf4 24.Rc1 Qg5 25.Kh1 Qh5 26.Ng1 Nxd3 27.Nxd3 f5 28.Nc5 Bc8 29.Rf1 Ne7 30.Qd3 fxe4 31.fxe4 Qg6 32.Kg2 Kh7 33.Nf3 Ng8 34.Nh4 Qg4 35.Nf5 Nf6 36.h3 Qg6 37.Ne6 Here, the fictitious game deviates from its source. Ivanchuk now played 37.g4 which led to a draw after Bxc5 38.Bxc5 Ra4 39.Rf3 Rc4 40.Be7 Bxf5 41.Rxf5 Rd4 42.Qe3 Rxe4 43.Qf3 Rf4 44.Rxf4 exf4 45.Bxf6 Qxf6 46.Qd3+ Qg6 47.Qe2 c6 48.Kf3 cxd5 49.Kxf4 Qf6+ 50.Kg3 Qd6+ 51.Kf3 b4 52.h4 Qf6+ 53.Kg3 Qd6+ 54.Kf3 Qf6+ 55.Kg3 g6 56.Qe8 Qd6+ 57.Kf3 Kg7 58.g5 hxg5 59.hxg5 d4 60.Qe4 d3 61.Qb7+ Kf8 62.Qc8+ Ke7 63.Qb7+ Ke6 64.Qe4+ Kd7 65.Qb7+ Kd8 66.Qa8+ Kc7 67.Qa7+ Kc8 68.Qa8+ Kc7 69.Qa7+ Kc6 70.Qa6+ Kc5 71.Qxd6+ Kxd6 72.Ke3 Ke5 37...Ra4 38.b3 Rxe4 39.Nxd6 Bxe6 40.dxe6 cxd6 41.e7 d5 42.Bc5 Qe8 43.Qf3 Qc6 44.b4 Qe8 45.Qf5+ Kh8 46.Qxf6 gxf6 47.Rxf6 Qh5 48.Rf8+ Kg7 49.e8Q Re2+ 50.Kf1 Qxh3+ 51.Kxe2 Qg2+ 52.Rf2 Qe4+ 53.Kd2 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Harmon,B-Borgov,V-1–01968D20Moscow Invitational

The end of the game is purely ficticious but this did not stop players such as Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura to comment it in depth.

Carlsen went first:

A little later Nakamura followed suit – again via YouTube. But he now not only comments the game between Harmon and Borgov, but also Carlsen's comments.

And who knows, maybe this fictional game will soon find its way into textbooks and anthologies?

New in Chess 08/2020, 106 pages, $14.99, €13.99

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Johannes Fischer was born in 1963 in Hamburg and studied English and German literature in Frankfurt. He now lives as a writer and translator in Nürnberg. He is a FIDE-Master and regularly writes for KARL, a German chess magazine focusing on the links between culture and chess. On his own blog he regularly publishes notes on "Film, Literature and Chess".

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