The Queen's Gambit

Beth Harmon's path to the novel's climax is defined by two intertwined struggles: her rivalry with Soviet grandmaster Vasily Borgov, who has beaten her twice before, and her ongoing battle with alcohol and tranquilizer dependency. After a disastrous drunken loss defending her Kentucky title, Beth recognizes she is an alcoholic and reaches out to Jolene, her old friend from the Methuen orphanage. Jolene, now a graduate student, helps her get sober, and Beth returns to form, winning her next tournament clean.

Beth travels to Moscow for the international tournament, determined to finally defeat Borgov. A Christian anti-communist organization offers to fund her trip in exchange for propaganda work; she refuses and forfeits their money, leaving her to compete essentially alone, without her former coach and lover Benny Watts physically present as her second. In Moscow she wins her early games and observes that the Soviet players collaborate and strategize together while she has no team. Her decisive match against Borgov is adjourned overnight, and she struggles to analyze the position alone until Benny calls her from New York and helps her work through it by phone.

When play resumes, Borgov offers Beth a draw, but she refuses and plays on to defeat him, achieving the victory she has sought throughout the book. She begins planning toward a future world championship bid against him. At an embassy party thrown to celebrate her win, she feels out of place among the diplomats and dignitaries and leaves early.

The novel closes with Beth walking into a Moscow park, where she finds a group of elderly local men playing chess purely for the love of the game. She sits down to play with them, a quiet, hopeful final image suggesting she has reconnected with the simple joy of chess that first drew her to it as a child, now freed from both her addictions and her need to prove herself.

Same last game, same last image. Beth plays Borgov in Moscow, the game is adjourned, Benny phones from New York with analysis, and when play resumes she turns down his draw offer and wins. Then she walks away from the official celebration and goes to find the old men playing chess in the park.

What the series changes is who gets her there. In Tevis's novel Beth turns down the Christian organisation offering to fund the trip — the money came with anti-communist statements attached — gives their money back, loses Benny along with it, and goes to Moscow on her own; his help arrives as one phone call.

The series has Jolene lend her the money, after the two of them bury Mr Shaibel and Beth finds out he had followed her whole career. And it turns the phone call into a roomful of people: Benny with Harry, Matt, Mike, Wexler and Levertov, working the adjourned position together.