The Queen’s Gambit Is a Merciless Takedown of Hollywood Anti-Communism
Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit shows a Cold War world far from the usual Hollywood tropes of freedom-loving Americans confronting evil Russian totalitarians. The villains in this piece aren’t our heroine’s Soviet chess rivals, but the middle-class tyrants of US suburbia.
Beth Harmon faces off against Soviet rival Vasily Borgov in the final episode of The Queen’s Gambit. (Phil Bray / Netflix)
In perhaps the most unforgettable scene in the Netflix miniseries The Queen’s Gambit, chess prodigy Beth Harmon refuses to sign an anti-communist statement.
By the time we reach this scene, Beth has earned the opportunity to participate in the World Chess Championship in the Soviet Union, after becoming the top-ranked player in the United States. Despite her status as national champion, she can’t afford the trip to Moscow alone. So, an organization called Christian Crusade volunteers to pay for her flight. But there’s a catch: in exchange for the funding, representatives from the organization demand Beth issue a public statement against the “spread of communism.”
As they put it, the fact that the spread of communism also implies the spread of atheism is simply a matter of “Marxist-Leninist fact.” After giving the pre-written statement a once-over, Beth unceremoniously rejects the offer. If it means having to attach her name to “fucking nonsense,” she’d rather not take the money.
This article is for subscribers only. Please login or subscribe to access our full archives and beautiful print and digital magazine starting at just $3 a month.