The Queen’s Gambit by Walter Tevis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Queen’s Gambit is a quick, fun read. It’s basically a story about a woman trying to break into a man’s world, jammed into a typical triumphant athlete story framework, except with chess as the sport.

I don’t know much about chess, but that didn’t really matter. Walter Tevis keeps you turning the pages with a fast-moving yarn. There’s not a whole lot of depth to the characters, but Beth Harmon is a fascinating creation, and the sparse writing style fits the elusive nature of her personality well.

This is great for reading on the beach or while traveling. The Netflix series that’s based on it is very well done, too. It made some different story choices, but both versions work well.