Do we like them?

Do we like Beth Harmon?

A character from The Queen's Gambit (2020)

Our score: 8 out of 10. Yes, we'd back her. She's brilliant, driven and fiercely loyal to the few people she trusts. Her worst enemy is herself, and that makes her easy to root for.

Beth is orphaned at eight and sent to a strict Kentucky orphanage. There the janitor, Mr. Shaibel, teaches her chess, and she turns out to be a natural. The story follows her from that lonely start into her late teens and beyond, as she enters tournaments and climbs the ranks. The orphanage also gives the children tranquilizers, and that starts a dependency which stays with her.

She is intense, blunt and fiercely independent, with an almost unshakable belief in herself. She hates losing and enjoys proving wrong the people who underestimate her. Chess is the one place where she feels in control, and she plays it with a mix of intuition and relentless study. She is also guarded and finds it hard to open up. When things go badly, she turns to pills and alcohol.

We score her an 8 because her flaws are real but they mostly hurt her. She is brave, hard-working and loyal, and she grows more considerate as she gets older. The series is about her learning that she doesn't have to do everything alone, and that is why we'd follow her.

Her big turning point comes at an international tournament in Mexico City, where she suffers a crushing defeat to World Champion Vasily Borgov. She hits bottom, then rebuilds with help from the friends she had pushed away. Her eventual win over Borgov in Russia shows that her dedication and those friendships are what carry her through.