The Queen's Gambit Review : Pop Culture Happy Hour The new Netflix series The Queen's Gambit finds its story in the equally intense if less obviously bruising world of competitive chess. Based on a 1983 novel, it stars Anya Taylor-Joy as a young woman whose brilliance at chess is threatened by trauma and addiction as she goes from child prodigy to international star. We're joined by this year's Tiny Desk Contest winner Linda Diaz, who also happens to be a chess expert.

Does 'The Queen's Gambit' Cut It With A Real Champion?

Does 'The Queen's Gambit' Cut It With A Real Champion?

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/929229784/930351456" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Anya Taylor-Joy stars as Beth in The Queen's Gambit on Netflix. Phil Bray/Netflix hide caption

toggle caption
Phil Bray/Netflix

Anya Taylor-Joy stars as Beth in The Queen's Gambit on Netflix.

Phil Bray/Netflix

The new Netflix series The Queen's Gambit finds its story in the equally intense — if less obviously bruising — world of competitive chess. Based on a 1983 novel, it stars Anya Taylor-Joy as a young woman whose brilliance at chess is threatened by trauma and addiction as she goes from child prodigy to international star. We're joined by this year's Tiny Desk Contest winner Linda Diaz, who also happens to be a chess expert.

The audio was produced by Candice Lim and edited by Jessica Reedy.