Anya Taylor-Joy joined the project before there was a script

Anya Taylor-Joy, who plays chess genius Harmon in the miniseries, agreed to take part in co-creator Scott Frank’s project before there was even a script. As soon as he sent her a copy of Tevis’ book she was sold. She said: “I’m not a runner, but I ran to meet Scott. I was at the end of Hyde Park and I ran to meet him in Mayfair. I thought I was going to walk so I could show up and be cool, but I got too excited. I was so passionate about the character and story.”

The Queen’s Gambit was originally going to be a movie

Heath Ledger, of Brokeback Mountain and The Dark Knight fame, planned to act in and direct a film adaptation of Tevis’ book. He even contacted screenwriter Allan Scott to express his interest in making what would have been his directorial debut, before he died of an accidental overdose in January 2008.

Allan said: “‘Heath was full of ideas for the other cast, mainly from his list of acting friends. We were planning to make a movie at the end of 2008.”

Taylor-Joy was a rookie at chess when she joined the show

Taylor-Joy didn’t know anything about chess when she agreed to star in the series. However, she saw that as a positive. The actress said: “I knew nothing, but I think that helped me a lot … Beth is discovering the world of chess, and I could bring that awe and magic to it as well.”

The matches shown are all real

The actors in The Queen’s Gambit had to learn chess moves to play the game on-screen, as all the matches shown feature the actors’ own hands – not doubles – even the speed chess matches! The moves were orchestrated by chess consultants Bruce Pandolfini and Garry Kasparov, who taught the actors how to move the pieces, just like choreographing a dance.

Natalie Wood was a huge influence

Many of Beth’s looks and hairstyles are based on those worn by the late film star Natalie Wood in the 1960s. A number of wigs were used to replicate the styles, which were set overnight with rollers to maintain the waves. When it came to Beth’s hair colour though, there was never any question that Beth wouldn’t be a redhead. When Taylor-Joy first met director Frank, she told him: “‘It’s not all about chess! And she needs to be a redhead!’, and he was like, ‘I agree! Sit down, let’s have this discussion!’”

The series saw Thomas Brodie-Sangster return to screens after two years

The Netflix series makred Thomas Brodie-Sangster’s first acting credit after a long break. His confident and charismatic character Benny is loosely based on chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer and comes head-to-head with Beth as a rival and love interest. The actor had already worked with Scott Frank on 2017 Western Godless and accepted the role immediately when asked.

Harry Potter actor Harry Melling also knew nothing about chess

Harry Melling, who plays Harry Potter’s cousin Dudley Dursley in the Harry Potter series, has a supporting role in the series. He plays chess prodigy Harry Beltik and admits he was also terrible at chess before filming began. He said: “I knew a chessboard, I knew what the pieces looked like, but I had no idea how they moved, where they went, what the rules were. So I was starting from scratch.”

Beth wears chessboard-inspired outfits

The wardrobe team behind The Queen’s Gambit deliberately picked outfits for Beth that were inspired by the white lines or squares of a chessboard, showing how chess was an integral part of her character.

It was mostly set in Berlin

Although much of the drama is set in the US and includes scenes in Paris, Russia and Mexico, the film was mostly shot in Berlin, Germany or in Canada. The scenes of the tournament in Moscow were filmed in the Bärensaal in the Altes Stadthaus in the centre of Berlin, for example. Other locations were enhanced by technology to look the part. The Hotel Mariposa in Las Vegas is really Berlin’s Palais am Funkturm building, but modified to add palm trees and a new building.

Taylor-Joy would make another series

Finished watching all seven episodes and wondering if you’ll hear more from Beth? It looks like there is a chance of a second series and Taylor-Joy for one says she would be happy to reprise her role. When asked about another season, she said: “I adore the character, and I would certainly come back if I was asked to, but I do think we leave Beth in a good place.”

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