The Queen's Gambit

The novel pits addiction against talent to illuminate the destructive nature of addiction. Have you known people with addictions whose talents have suffered as a result?

Is this story more character-driven or plot-driven?

Discuss your thoughts on this quote from the novel: “It's an entire world of just 64 squares. I feel safe in it. I can control it; I can dominate it. And it's predictable. So, if I get hurt, I only have myself to blame.”

How does the novel compare with the Netflix television series?

What were your overall thoughts about the novel? Were you immediately into the book or did it take a while for you to connect to the story?

What were your thoughts about Beth? What about the character did you like or dislike?

What does chess symbolize in the novel?

Do you play chess? Does knowledge of the game make a difference to a person’s reading of the book?

Walter Tevis stated in an interview in 1983 with The New York Times that the story “is a tribute to brainy women.” What evidence from the book do you find that supports or disproves this idea in the 2020s?

The author wrote novels that were turned into films – The Hustler, The Color of Money, and The Man Who Fell to Earth. Have you read any other books by Walter Tevis or seen any of his other movies? What comparisons would you draw between The Queen’s Gambit and his other works? If you haven’t read anything else by him, are you now considering it?