Judy M writes:
The Economist has called the Netflix tv-mini-series “The Queen’s Gambit” the best serial of the winter! And I watched the whole thing TWICE, as I filled up my time during the pandemic, learning about the sport of chess! My jello entry then falls into three of the Jello Contest categories: 1) How I used with my time – 2) Best Tale Told AND, 3) What I learned this year!
I sent a photo of my jello chessboard to my 12-year-old chess-playing grandson Oliver Gilman in Portland … with the two white pawns standing in the middle of the jello board meeting the one black pawn – the replica of the opening moves for the Queen’s Gambit. It’s a very old opening move – and it appears that the black pawn will have an advantage, able to take the white pawn – but beware! Oliver showed me how the white side can now open up the board to destroy the black side! Tricky!
Storyline: (don’t worry – no spoilers!) Nine year-old orphan Beth Harmon is quiet, sullen, and by all appearances unremarkable. That is, until she plays her first game of chess. Her senses grow sharper, her thinking clearer, and for the first time in her life she feels herself fully in control. By the age of sixteen, she’s competing for the U.S. Open championship. But as Beth hones her skills on the professional circuit, the stakes get higher, her isolation grows more frightening, and the thought of escape becomes all the more tempting (source). Based on the book by Walter Tevis.
Trivia: In an interview, Anya Taylor-Joy (who plays the lead character, Beth Harmon) said that before taking the role, her level of chess knowledge was “0, none.” She went on to say that throughout the filming of the series, she was “invited into a very secret world…” “it was so exciting to be able to have the pressure of ‘you have to learn this very complicated sequence, over 3 boards, as quick as you can in 5 minutes’…” “it’s up there with the proudest I’ve ever been of something that my brain was able to do because I tricked myself into believing I was a really good chess player” (source).
Like Beth, my brain tricked me into thinking I could create a jello entry that could compete with the likes of Jim Good and all – with their skill and artistry with the colorful gelatin! This is my first-time ever entry into this jello contest, although I’ve feasted on the hot dish potluck dishes and desserts for years at the Hoedown! Thanks Karen, for giving me this opportunity to expand my horizons!
Oh, and Oliver said he hadn’t yet seen the tv movie (he doesn’t get that much recreational screen time these days – cuz he’s on zoom calls for school – hours on end – already!)- But he did read the book – and really liked it!