by Walter Tevis
The Queen’s Gambit is a book about a young chess prodigy’s journey as a growing teenager. In this book, Beth Harmon is 8 years old when she loses her parents and moves into an orphanage. She learns chess from the janitor, Mr. Shaibel, who noticed her talent and potential to become a chess champion. She gets adopted by Mrs. Wheatley and they travel all over the USA for chess tournaments. Mrs. Wheatley dies suddenly. Beth is then chosen to compete in Russia, the chess country. She wins the tournament against powerful Russian players and becomes the world champion.
One thing I liked about this book is how the author described Beth’s emotions in detail, often using analogies. For example, when Beth was in her first competition in Kentucky, she was described as experiencing “the feeling you get when you go up in an elevator.” It helped the reader understand more vividly the emotions and relate to the visceral sensations of the character.
Another thing I liked was how the author informed the reader of almost every chess move in each game. This helped the reader picture what is happening. It was very informative. Although many people may not understand it, we are thankful that the author took his time to write out the steps.
A challenge I had with this book was the vocabulary which was confusing. There were many words I didn’t understand or comprehend and I had to search them in a dictionary. This took time off my reading and interrupted the flow of the story. It would be very beneficial to me and other young adults if there were a children’s version of this book, especially since the protagonist was a child, then a teen.
Overall I really liked this book and I look forward to watching the TV series.