-[clock ticking faintly] -[water lapping]
[muffled] Mom!
[ticking grows louder]
[uneasy music playing]
[water splashes]
[music continues under ticking sound]
-[chess clock button clicks] -[ticking stops]
[joyful orchestral music playing]
Well, now.
[chuckles]
Welcome.
[thoughtful piano music playing]
-[woman on TV] Got a cigarette, doctor? -[doctor on TV] Sorry, I…
[TV clicks off]
I asked for a pleasant room,
and I believe they gave me one.
[laughing]
[elevator bell dings]
[indistinct conversations]
-I'm Beth. -Harmon. Kentucky State Champion.
Nice to meet you.
There are two games a day, and the time control is 120/40.
You get two hours to make 40 moves.
Welcome to Cincinnati.
Thank you.
And the rook comes to the seventh rank.
That right there…
that is a bone in the throat.
Guy takes one look at this, he pays up, 20 bucks.
The Caro-Kann Defense, genuine bummer.
What's wrong with Caro-Kann?
It's all pawns and no hope.
Here, look, I'll show you, all right? This is Caro-Kann.
-[chess pieces clatter] -I'd take the knight.
You're, um…
Aren't you that kid from Kentucky who wiped out Harry Beltik?
If you take his knight, then you double his pawns.
Big deal. Like I said, it's all pawns…
and no hope.
Let me show you how you win with Black.
Watch this.
What does White do here?
-[Beth, man 1] Queen takes pawn. -[man 2] Queen takes pawn.
Rook to king eight. Check.
Queen falls.
-That’s Mieses-Reshevsky. -[man 2] Yeah.
-[man 1] From the '30s. -Very good. Margate, 1935.
-White played rook to queen one. -What else has he got?
All right, I gotta go.
Hey, you know what?
Reshevsky, he was playing like that…
back when he was your age, little girl.
Or even younger.
Are you playing?
Oh, what, here?
Nah, nah.
Just come through, see some old friends.
And plus, playing too many opens…
it can only hurt me, you know what I mean?
Good luck.
-Hello. -Hello.
Beth Harmon. Where am I playing?
It's table 15, right over there.
-Thank you. -You're welcome.
-Beth Harmon. -Shit.
-[Beth] Hey! -[man] Stupid…
-Harmon? -What are you two doing here?
Losing mostly.
We're on the university team now. Second and third alternate.
Oh, I'm sorry we won't get to play.
[scoffs] We're not. You destroy everyone you play, Harmon.
-I can only lose so much. -[chuckles] That's the truth.
-[Mrs. Wheatley laughing] -I said slow down!
[man speaks indistinctly on TV]
[woman 1] Isn't that skating rink a little close to the bowling alley?
-[Mrs. Wheatley laughing] -Do you mind?
-[laughing] Sorry. -[woman 2] It works out. You see, it…
It keeps the bowlers cool, and you automatically…
[TV volume lowers]
What are you doing?
[Beth] Replaying my earlier games.
What on earth for?
Looking for weaknesses in my play.
[TV continues softly]
I see.
And?
[Beth] There aren't any.
Good girl.
-[gentle orchestral music playing] -[chess pieces clacking]
[onlookers applauding]
It's so much more exciting than I imagined.
Did you watch the whole game?
Of course.
[man] Beth.
When he brought out his rook, then took that pawn…
I thought you were done for. I should have known better.
Yes, you should have.
[man chuckles]
Elizabeth,
aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?
[Beth] Sorry.
Matt, Mike, this is my mom.
Mike, nice to meet you.
-Nice to meet you. -And I'm Matt.
-Mm. A pleasure. -[Matt] Nice to meet you.
Well, I don't know about you young people, but I'm famished.
-There's a restaurant in the hotel lobby. -Mm. Show us the way?
Sure.
I can't make up my mind which one is more handsome.
I'd like to play in the US Open.
You might win it.
Would that lead to playing abroad?
In Europe, I mean?
No reason why not. They have to know you before they invite you.
Would winning the Open make them know about me?
[Matt] Hell yes!
Benny Watts plays in Europe all the time now that he has his international title.
How's the prize money?
-[Matt] Pretty good, I think. -Hm? What's pretty good?
More than in the States.
What about Russia?
The Soviets are murder.
They eat Americans for breakfast there.
I don't think there's been an American with a prayer against them in 20 years.
It's like ballet.
They pay people to play chess.
We should probably go. We don't wanna be late.
This one's for all the marbles.
Five hundred of them to be exact.
[thrilling music playing quietly]
[Matt] That's Rudolph. He's a master.
-[chess clock button clicks] -[clock ticking]
Beth cannot be happy about being crowded into an ending
with a rook, a knight, and three pawns.
It's so complicated.
[Matt] Uh-oh.
And that's check.
And that's mate.
[onlookers applauding]
I've allowed 12 dollars for our celebration supper tonight,
and two dollars for a small breakfast in the morning.
That makes our total expenses, so far, $172.30.
Which leaves over 300 dollars.
Beth…
I was thinking…
perhaps you could give me 10%, as an agent's commission?
Let's make it 15%.
Which would be 49 dollars and 54 cents.
They told me at Methuen you were marvelous at math.
[Mrs. Wheatley] "Schoolgirl beats Grandmaster in Pittsburgh."
"Onlookers were amazed at her youthful fine points of strategy."
"She shows the assurance of a player twice her age."
That's national recognition, dear.
I'm afraid she's had a bit of a relapse.
The doctor wants to keep her in bed for a few more days.
I'm sure she'll be better by Monday.
One of the worst colds I've ever seen in a child.
The poor dear.
[whispering] We're gonna be late.
Yeah.
Lots of liquids.
-Thank you. -[flight attendant] You're welcome.
There's a tournament in Houston over the holidays, starting on the 26th.
I understand it's very easy to travel on Christmas Day
since most people are home eating plum pudding or whatever.
[Beth] I saw that one, too.
I believe we could fly to Houston,
have a very pleasant winter vacation in the sun.
Do girly things.
I hear they have a very lovely beauty spa at the hotel.
Yes, Mother.
She has a fever of 101.
-Must be the flu. -[TV playing indistinctly]
She won't be back until after the holidays.
["25th of the 12th" by Bill Compton playing]
♪ On the 25th of the 12th ♪
♪ The 25th of the 12th ♪
♪ When Rudolph makes his yearly ride… ♪
They're calling you a wunderkind.
I might have to start keeping a scrapbook.
How's your meal?
This might be the best Christmas I've ever had.
[Mrs. Wheatley laughs]
♪ …and when it's time to say Good night ♪
♪ Then all the stars we trust ♪
♪ Will sprinkle twinkle dust ♪
♪ Over every flag of wine ♪
♪ What a wonderful holiday ♪
-♪ With bells on every sleigh… ♪ -[coughs] It's good.
Is that a martini?
Gibson.
I find the onion slightly more refined than the olive.
♪ If you'd ever wish yourself ♪
♪ On the 25th of the 12th ♪
♪ Santa will share his wealth ♪
♪ On the 25th of the 12th this year ♪
I should probably learn how to speak Russian.
Do they teach that at Fairfield?
I'd have to take a night class at the junior college.
The kids would all be older than you.
And by kids, I mean boys.
[woman] They say you're the real thing.
That's it, honey, hold it up so we can see it.
So, can you tell the readers of Life how it feels?
I mean, to be a girl among all those men?
I don't mind it.
[reporter] Isn't it intimidating?
I mean, when I was a girl, I wasn't allowed to be competitive.
-I played with dolls. -[camera shutter clicking]
-Chess isn't always competitive. -No, but you play to win.
Yes, but chess can also be…
What?
Beautiful.
You're an orphan, Beth.
Yes, I know that.
No, yes, of course you do. I was wondering how you learned to play.
-Mr. Shaibel taught me. -[camera shutter clicking]
He was the janitor at Methuen.
A janitor taught you how to play?
-Really? -When I was eight.
I imagine…
it must have been such a distraction from life in such a depressing place.
You must have been very lonely.
I'm fine being alone.
Do you imagine that you saw the king as a father,
and the queen as a mother?
I mean, one to attack, one to protect?
They're just pieces.
-[camera shutter clicks] -And it was the board I noticed first.
The board?
[Beth] Yes.
It's an entire world of just 64 squares.
I feel…
safe in it.
I can control it, I can dominate it.
And it's predictable.
[camera shutter clicks]
So, if I get hurt, I only have myself to blame.
[camera shutter clicks]
How interesting.
Tell me, Elizabeth.
Have you ever heard of something called apophenia?
No, what's that?
It's the finding of pattern or meaning where other people don't.
Sometimes, people with this condition get feelings of revelation or ecstasies.
Sometimes, people find patterns or meaning where there aren't any.
Hm. What does that have to do with me?
Creativity and psychosis often go hand in hand.
[camera shutter clicks]
Or, for that matter, genius and madness.
[camera shutter clicks]
You think I'm crazy?
-No, of course not. I was just asking-- -I think that's enough.
Beth has homework to finish.
She is, after all, still a young woman in school.
-Just like all the other kids her age. -[reporter] Of course. [clears throat]
-It was an honor to meet you. -Thanks.
You know…
you might try bridge.
-I hear a lot of chess players enjoy it. -I'll show you out.
[sighs in annoyance]
-[indistinct conversations] -[live jazz music plays softly]
[Mrs. Wheatley] "With some people, chess is a pastime."
"With others, it is a compulsion, even an addiction."
"And every now and then, a person comes along
for whom it is a birthright."
"Now and then, a small boy appears and dazzles us with his precocity,
at what may be the world's most difficult game."
"But what if that boy were a girl?"
"A young, unsmiling girl, with brown eyes, red hair, and a dark blue dress?"
We started a chess club.
"Into the male-dominated world
of the nation's top chess tournaments,
strolls a teenage girl with bright, intense eyes,
from Fairfield High School in Lexington, Kentucky."
"She is quiet, well-mannered,
and out for blood."
"Beth Harmon…"
[coughing]
[sniffs]
Where was I?
It's all Greek, all of a sudden.
It's okay, I've heard enough.
I don't know why my body is so intent on sabotaging my brain,
when my brain is perfectly capable of sabotaging itself.
It's mostly about my being a girl.
Well, you are one.
It shouldn't be that important.
They didn't print half the things I said.
They didn't tell about Mr. Shaibel,
and they didn't say anything about how I play the Sicilian.
Beth, dear, it makes you a celebrity.
Yeah, for being a girl.
[coughs]
Did you ever think maybe it's the drinking that's making you sick?
Oh, please.
I've flirted with alcohol most of my life.
If anything, I think it's high time I consummated the relationship.
To motherhood.
Beth?
We're having a pledge party,
Friday night, my house.
The other Apple Pis asked me to invite you.
-Friday night? -7:30.
Can you make it?
[pensive music playing]
[girl] It was really something to see you in the newspaper all those times.
All those places you've been, which was your favorite?
I liked Houston.
But now that my rating's up to 1800, I hope to go to Las Vegas
to play in the US Open next month.
What about the boys?
Are they good-looking?
Do you date any of them?
-There's not really much time for that. -But if you had the time…
is there anyone you've met that you'd like to…
-trade rooks with, or whatever? -[girls tittering]
I mean, I trade rooks all the time, but it's not--
[girls laughing]
I bet you do.
[man on TV] Now, ladies and gentlemen,
Hullabaloo proudly presents your favorite band from Turtle Creek…
-Thank you, Dora. -…The Vogues!
-Who wants a cupcake? -[girls] Yes, please.
["You're the One" by The Vogues plays on TV]
I love this song. Turn it up.
[girls singing along to band] ♪ Every time we meet ♪
♪ Everything is sweet ♪
♪ Oh, you're so tender I must surrender ♪
♪ My love is your love Now and forever ♪
♪ You're the one that I long to kiss ♪
♪ Baby You're the one that I really miss ♪
♪ You're the one that I'm dreaming of ♪
♪ Baby, you're the one that I love… ♪
I'm gonna use the bathroom.
♪ Keep me in your heart ♪
♪ Never let us part ♪
♪ Ooh, never leave me ♪
♪ Please don't deceive me ♪
♪ I want you only ♪
♪ You must believe me ♪
♪ You're the one that I long to kiss ♪
♪ Baby You're the one that I really miss ♪
-♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ -♪ You're the one that I'm dreamin' of ♪
♪ Baby, you're the one that I love ♪
♪ I adore you And no one before you ♪
♪ Could make me feel this way, yay ♪
♪ Since I met you I just can't forget you ♪
♪ I love you more each day ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
♪ The one ♪
-[singers vocalizing] -[guitar riff playing]
♪ There may be some tears ♪
♪ Through the comin' years ♪
♪ Ooh, all the while I know you'll be smilin' ♪
♪ Your love will guide me Through every mile 'cause ♪
♪ You're the one that I long to kiss ♪
♪ Baby You're the one that I really miss ♪
-♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ -♪ You're the one that I'm dreamin' of ♪
♪ Baby, you're the one that I love ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah You're the one that I long to kiss ♪
♪ Baby You're the one that I really miss ♪
♪ You're the one that I'm dreamin' of ♪
♪ Baby, you're the one that I love ♪
[upbeat '60s funk music playing]
[man] Harmon?
Townes?
That is you.
My stars! You look…
Wow!
Thanks.
[chuckles] You're welcome.
I thought we might bump into each other
when I saw your name on the tournament list.
-I didn't see yours. -I'm not playing.
Chess Review sent me to write it up.
Must confess, I was hoping to see you here last year.
I was supposed to.
I even paid the fee, but my mother got sick.
-And I didn't want to come alone. -She all right?
Fine.
I should have come on my own,
but I told myself that the Open's not as important as the US Championships.
Oh, no. No, it's not.
But I'm sure glad you came.
It's probably a good idea for me to play
in something other than the events I pick for the money.
-Looks like you're making a lot. -Yeah, I guess so.
[Townes chuckles]
Still, you could become a world-class player, be a real pro.
-I started taking Russian at night. -Oh, that's smart.
[Beth] Don't wanna plateau.
[Townes] No, plateaus are the worst.
And you're far too old to be called a prodigy anymore.
I should do something on you for the magazine.
-I was on the cover last month. -Of course.
I must have got it mixed up with the one in Life magazine.
I also work for the Herald-Leader.
In Lexington?
I could do a half-page on you for Sunday's paper.
-Won't be as big a deal as Life, but-- -Yeah, sure.
If you want to.
I got a camera in my room.
In your room?
Chess boards, too. We could play.
Okay.
Let's go up.
[music continues]
[door closes]
Why don't you sit over by the window?
-Uh, may I… -Oh, yeah, just toss them.
[film loads in camera]
[camera shutter clicks]
I wasn't ready.
You look great.
[camera shutter clicks]
Scooch to your left.
That's right.
-[film loading] -[Beth chuckles]
Say…
"Ruy Lopez."
-[camera shutter clicks] -[laughs]
[film loading]
[camera shutter clicks]
You could go by the board.
Okay.
I see you've done this before.
Do you want me to play?
Sure. Black to move.
-[camera shutter clicks] -[film loading]
All right, slow down.
[camera shutter clicks]
[film loading]
Yeah, that's more my-my speed.
Um…
-You've grown up, Harmon. -[camera shutter clicks]
[film loading]
You've even gotten good-looking.
-I don't even know your first name. -Everyone calls me Townes.
Maybe that's why I call you Harmon, instead of Elizabeth.
-[camera shutter clicks] -It's Beth.
[film loading]
I like Harmon.
[Beth clears throat softly]
[door opens]
-Oh, hi. -[door closes]
-Roger. -[Roger] I'm not interrupting, am I?
Th-That's okay. Uh, we're just…
Beth Harmon, this is Roger Dione.
Harmon? The chess prodigy.
-I've heard so much about you. -Nice to meet you.
[Townes] I thought you were gonna play some baccarat?
[Roger] Thought I'd quit while I was behind and go read by the pool.
You two carry on. I'll be gone in a minute.
-[hand slaps] -[Roger chuckles]
[belt buckle clinking]
[unzipping]
-Let's play chess. -Okay.
[clears throat] Thanks.
[chess pieces clatter softly]
[Townes] Right.
-Here we go. -[chuckles]
[Roger] Pleasure to meet you, Beth.
You too.
Dinner's at nine.
Don't forget.
[door closes]
[man on TV] Marge, did your aunt leave you everything?
[woman on TV] I was her only heir.
Where have you been, honey?
You've been gone for hours.
-Playing chess. -[woman] I don't wanna talk about it.
-Practicing. -[man] Okay.
-[TV continues indistinctly] -[Mrs. Wheatley] That's all?
Yeah, that's all.
[man] Well, it's the perfume I use that makes me smell so nice.
Do me a favor and hand me a beer on the desk?
[woman] What do you want?
[man] I think I've got one. I think I've got a gimmick.
A gimmick is an angle that works for you.
To keep you from working too hard for yourself.
-Simple. -[woman] Specifically, what is your angle?
[man] Specifically…
I suppose you've never had beer.
-[woman] All right, Sam. -Here.
[woman] Come here.
My father used to work here as a mill hand.
-[man] So did mine. When he was sober. -Whoa, whoa, whoa. Not so fast.
[man] Now, you're even.
[woman] Now, I'm even.
I was 21 when I took it over. It had 3,000 workers then.
It's got 30,000 now.
Ran as far as that gate, now it goes down to the edge of the river.
And I did it all by myself.
-Without Walter, without-- -I'd like another.
-[woman] All by myself. -You really shouldn't.
[man] Half of this should make quite a score.
All right.
But if you're gonna have one, get me one, too.
[man] That's what I had in mind.
[woman] You went out of here a dirty kid once before,
that can happen again.
[man on commercial] Escape from clothesline drudgery,
but listen to Jinx first.
[woman on commercial] When you buy your dryer, be sure you get the best kind,
a gas dryer.
Your most delicate fabrics are safe in a gas dryer.
See? A gentle stream of warm air sends the clothes' moisture away.
[pensive music playing]
[Beth] My first match was against this guy from Oklahoma.
It was all over in two dozen moves.
Ouch.
Then, this guy from San Francisco.
I played the Marshall.
Um, sacrificed my queen, the way that Paul Morphy did one time.
Mm-hm. One more.
What about, um…
What's his name? The one you told me about.
Bobby something?
-Benny Watts. -Yes, him.
No losses, but one draw.
Queens Gambit Declined is so well respected.
[Beth] I've seen him a couple of times.
Always got a crowd around him.
Well, of course, he's the US Champion.
He's Benny Watts.
[laughs]
[Beth] Some people say he's the most talented American player
since Morphy.
I read about a game he played in Copenhagen,
a draw against Najdorf.
That was in 1948,
which means that Benny was eight years old.
I've seen a picture of him at 13 in front of a whole bunch of sailors.
He played against the entire team at Annapolis without losing a game.
Sounds like someone else I know.
When I was nine, I was playing Mr. Shaibel in the basement.
Anyway, I'm not afraid of him.
I don't suppose there's anyone you're afraid of.
There is one player that scares me.
Who?
The Russian.
Borgov.
[Benny] It's a lot more of a dynamic game than the Caro.
Which is not the case with QGD versus Slav.
[coins clanking]
You're Beth Harmon.
[Beth] Yes.
I saw the piece in Life.
Game they printed, that was a pretty one. The one with you and Beltik.
[Beth] Thank you.
I'm, uh, Benny Watts.
[Beth] I know.
We met a couple of years ago in Cincinnati.
Didn't meet, but we spoke.
-Cincinnati? -You didn't play that year.
Okay, I'll take your word for it.
Guess I'll see you tomorrow.
You shouldn't have castled.
In your game with Beltik.
I needed to get the rook out.
Well, you could have lost your advantage.
I don't think so.
He plays pawn-takes-pawn. You can't take back.
-Wait a minute. -I can't.
I got an adjournment I gotta go play. But set it up, think it out.
Your problem is your queen knight.
I don't want to set it up and think it out.
[pensive music playing]
[Beth] Beltik could have beat me.
But he didn't.
Yes, but he could have.
What's worse is I didn't even see it.
Benny Watts, just by reading about a player he knows nothing about,
he picks it up.
I was so proud of myself when I found an error in a Morphy game,
and now someone's done it to me.
Stop thinking about what might have happened in the past,
and get some sleep.
[sighs heavily]
[whispering] So stupid!
[exhales]
[pills clattering]
[crowd applauding]
Pawn to bishop four, right?
-Yes. -[camera shutter clicks]
[Benny clears throat]
-[chess clock button clicks] -[chess clock ticking]
-[exhales softly] -[pensive music playing]
[sighs]
-[clock continues clicking] -[intense music playing]
[Beth] I thought he could see what I was planning.
I thought he could hear my heart beating, and know how panicked I was.
He still had time to get out of it.
But he took the piece just as I planned.
I went into that game with a perfect score.
Benny had two draws, so a draw would give me the title.
I wanted to win.
I wanted to hammer his weaknesses.
I wanted to show that pirate that I could beat him,
even though I didn't play the way he thought I should.
Then, he captured my center pawn, my protected pawn,
the pawn that had held his queen to her corner for most of the game.
I don't understand.
He forced an exchange of queens.
Oh.
Couldn't believe it.
And then I saw what it meant.
With the pawn gone, I was open to a rook-bishop mate,
because of the bishop on the open diagonal.
I could protect my retreating knight by moving one of the rooks over,
but the protection wouldn't last,
because his fucking, innocent-looking knight
would block my king's escape.
The more I looked, the worse it all became.
Caught me completely off guard.
It was brutal.
It's the kind of thing I did to other people.
Kind of thing that Morphy did, and I missed it.
I'd been thinking about doubled pawns.
You were thinking about winning.
What did you do?
I needed a counterthreat.
A move that would stop him in his tracks, but there wasn't any.
I spent half an hour studying the board,
and decided that Benny's move was even sounder than I thought.
I thought maybe I could trade my way out of it
if he attacked too fast, but…
he was careful.
I had to retreat, but he kept coming.
I wanted to scream.
You resign, now.
[music intensifying]
Tough game.
[onlookers applauding]
[camera shutter clicks]
You'll split the prize money.
You'll be co-champions.
You will still get a trophy, albeit a smaller one.
It happens all the time.
I made some inquiries.
-The Open Championship is often shared. -I didn't see what he was doing.
You can't finesse everything all the time.
Nobody can.
You don't know anything about chess.
-I know what it feels like to lose. -Yeah, I bet you do.
And now you do, too.
-[whistle blows] -[car honks]
[car door opens]
-Harmon! -[car doors closing]
I'm sorry.
Why?
I know how badly you wanted to beat Benny.
You'll get another shot.
Doesn't matter.
Give my best to Roger.
Beth.
-[car door closes] -[engine turns over]
["The End of the World" by Skeeter Davis playing]
♪ Why does the sun go on shining? ♪
♪ Why does the sea rush to shore? ♪
♪ Don't they know ♪
♪ It's the end of the world? ♪
♪ When you don't love me anymore ♪
♪ Why does my heart go on beating? ♪
♪ Why do these eyes of mine cry? ♪
♪ Don't they know ♪
♪ It's the end of the world? ♪
♪ It ended when you said goodbye ♪
♪ I wake up in the morning and I wonder ♪
♪ Why everything's the same as it was ♪
♪ And I can't understand ♪
♪ Why life goes on the way it does ♪
♪ Why do the birds go on singing? ♪
♪ Why do the stars shine above? ♪
♪ Don't they know ♪
♪ It's the end of the world? ♪
♪ It ended ♪
♪ When you said ♪
♪ Good-bye ♪