Original subtitles

You know, most times when people tell us something's for the best,

it's for the worst.

This time it's true, okay?

I'll be right back.

Hi, my name is Alice.

Um, is Paul home?

- I'm sorry, ma'am, this isn't a good time. - Hey, what's going on?

- Paul, who is that? - I'm...

Take Christopher back inside right now.

- What are you doing here? - I came to say you were right.

I was wrong.

- Beth's in the car, just so you are aware. - No, Jesus! Alice!

It's been five years. You can't just show up here!

- I came because I can't do this. - Listen to me.

- Okay, I understand. - I cannot.

- I feel that I am letting her down. - You cannot be here. Listen to me.

I need you to get back in the car, and you'll come back.

- We'll talk another time. - We can't.

- We can talk now. - No, we can't talk now.

No, you shouldn't have brought her here!

- Why did you bring her here? - Because I need your help!

It's too late! Please go.

Mama?

Who was that?

A mistake.

A-A rounding error.

It's just a problem I gotta solve.

What problem?

What I do with you.

This whole house belong to you?

You're no orphan.

Not anymore.

You've been in Lexington this whole time?

Uh, Louisville.

What brought you back here?

You don't seem to like answering your phone.

Mr. Shaibel died.

There's a funeral day after tomorrow. I thought…

We could go together.

Thank you.

Mm.

God, Beth.

Yeah.

I know.

I'm working as a paralegal.

- You went to college? - I did, Kentucky State.

I got a Physical Education scholarship.

But when I found out the school used to be called

the State Normal School for Colored Persons,

it made me want to study history,

which pissed me off way more than I already was.

That's hard to imagine.

I switched my major to Poli-Sci.

I'm saving up for law school.

I know, me, a lawyer,

but the world is fucked up.

And if I'm gonna change it, I can't spend all my time

teaching white girls how to hold a badminton racket.

- I'm gonna be a radical. - Didn't know that was a career choice.

It will be.

Mm-hm.

Hm.

I still take them.

Looks like you're doing more than pills, honey.

Haven't had anything today.

Not yet, anyway.

I'm supposed to go to Russia at the end of the year.

- I'm afraid. - Then don't go.

I have to go.

If I don't, there's nothing for me to do. I'll just drink.

Well, looks like you do that anyway.

I need to quit the wine,

and the pills, and…

Clean this place up.

That'd be a good place to start.

I have to study chess eight hours a day.

They want me to play in San Francisco, be on The Tonight Show.

- I should probably do all of that. - Who's they?

Chess Federation.

Oh.

But what I want…

Is a drink.

If you weren't here, I'd probably have a bottle of wine now.

You sound like Susan Hayward in one of those movies.

I read about this pop artist once.

Bought an original drawing by Michelangelo.

When he got it home,

he took a piece of art gum, and just…

Erased it…

leaving nothing but a blank page.

I remember being really shocked by that.

Now, I wonder if I haven't somehow erased my own brain.

Let's pretend that you didn't just compare yourself to Michelangelo.

And let's look at where you're at,

which after being here all of five minutes,

looks like it's at the bottom of a fucking hole.

It's looking a lot like you dug it yourself.

My advice,

stop digging.

Well, maybe it's in my blood.

My mother went crazy.

Went crazy or always was?

I don't know.

She drink or any such?

No, never.

She gone.

Quit thinking about it. It's not doing you any good.

Besides…

I got you a present.

It was me all along.

I was pissed at you for being adopted.

What about for being a white trash, cracker bitch?

Who could forget?

How much does a paralegal make, anyway?

Not enough to buy this car, if that's what you're wondering.

Was a gift from one of the partners at the firm.

- Was it, now? - Mm-hm.

He wants to marry me,

soon as he divorces the wife he's already got.

Sounds like a real peach.

He's white, too.

Rick, his name is. He's teaching me how to play squash.

Squash?

A game rich white people play.

I bet you'd be good at it.

Whole firm is white. They hired me to keep up with the times.

Instead of the usual Black cleaning woman, they wanted a clean, Black woman,

with a nice ass and a good vocabulary.

- And you are very clean. - Mm.

When I did the interview,

I made sure to use a lot of words like "reprehensible" and "dichotomy."

They perked right up.

But I'm gone the second I pass the bar.

What I want is what you got.

You've been the best at what you do for so long,

you don't even know what it's like for the rest of us.

So, what will your fellow radicals think? You being with a rich white lawyer?

Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke.

A trailer?

Wow, you really were the gold standard

for white-trash girls everywhere, weren't you?

My mama came from money.

Then she married into more of it.

Then how did y'all end up way out here?

It's complicated.

I'll say.

You wanna go in?

Throw some rocks through the windows?

Choices have consequences.

No more chess.

You're here because your parents made certain choices.

You will need to learn

to make different choices.

I just realized I don't ever wanna go back in there again.

"Come to me,

all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

"Take my yoke upon you,

and learn from me,

for I am gentle and humble at heart."

Mrs. Deardorff isn't here.

None of them are.

Deardorff fell and broke her hip.

Right after you left.

She had to walk with a cane after.

Was never the same.

Made me almost believe in God.

I didn't know William Shaibel,

but I'm told he was not a religious man, so much as a solitary man.

None of them are crying.

And I'm told that for the past 23 years…

They all look like they're waiting in line at the bank.

- …Methuen Home for girls… - You okay?

- He performed his duties… - I feel bad.

…quietly and diligently.

I owed him ten dollars.

Shh!

Jolene.

The director of the Methuen Home, Helen Deardorff, says that…

He was beloved by the staff and students alike,

that he had an admirable work ethic.

I changed my mind.

I'll only be a minute.

You should be in chapel, young lady.

Yes, ma'am.

Beth?

Oh, honey.

Aw, did you bite off more than you can chew?

Aw, it's okay.

Shh. It's all right.

What we would really like from you, Elizabeth,

would be some kind of statement.

Statement?

Christian Crusade would like you to make your position public,

in a world where so many keep silent.

What position is that?

As we know, the spread of communism

is also the spread of atheism.

I suppose so.

Oh, it's not a matter of supposing.

It's a matter of fact, of Marxist-Leninist fact.

The Holy Word is anathema to the Kremlin,

and the atheists who sit there.

- I have no quarrel with that. - Good.

What we want is a statement to that effect.

- To the press? - Exactly.

We had something prepared. There you go.

I'm a chess player.

Of course you are. But you're also a Christian.

I'm not sure about that.

I have no intention of saying anything like this.

- Why not? - Because it's fucking nonsense?

Christian Crusade has already invested a good deal of money.

We paid for your last trip to San Francisco.

We were all very proud of you.

And we've already spent a good deal more on your upcoming trip to the Soviet Union.

Okay.

Fine.

I'll give it all back.

I hope you know what you're doing, dear.

Oh, it's official now.

You're crazy.

You are out of your fucking mind.

Maybe. Probably.

But I did it, and it's too late to undo it.

- Are the tickets paid for? - No.

Nothing's paid for.

You understand you gotta pay Intourist for the hotel in advance?

I know that.

I have 2,000 in my bank account.

It would be more, but I've been keeping up the house.

It's gonna take a thousand more to do it, at least that.

- I was wondering... - I don't have it.

What do you mean?

- You've got money. - I don't have it.

Did you gamble it all away?

What difference does it make?

You can call the Federation or the State Department.

The Federation doesn't like me.

They think I haven't done as much for chess as I could've.

Should have gone on Tonight, Phil Donahue…

Benny, come on. I don't wanna go to Russia by myself.

- Benny? - Are you kidding me?

- What? - First, you don't come back to New York,

and you basically tell me

that you'd rather be a drunk than be with me.

Now you pull this crap?

No, you can fucking well go alone.

Maybe I shouldn't have done it.

Maybe I didn't have to give the money back.

Maybe? Maybe is a loser's word, Beth.

- Benny… - Don't call me anymore.

What money the Federation has comes from the magazine.

Four hundred dollars is the most we could possibly spare.

State Department, please hold.

- Thought you said you could play. - I said I'm learning.

- Cultural Affairs, O'Malley speaking. - Hello?

Oh, my God, I won!

Three thousand dollars?

Yes, straight away.

I'll see what I can do.

- I'll get back to you in an hour. - An hour?

No dice.

I'm terribly sorry.

There's no way government funds can be handed out to you

without more time and approval.

Don't you have some petty cash or something?

I don't need funds to undermine the government in Moscow.

I just need…

Money for my trip.

I'm sorry. I'm really sorry,

but we will be sending one of our men with you.

Keep you safe.

Keep me safe?

- I shouldn't have bought the house. - Or all those dresses.

Three thousand is a lot.

It's expensive to go to Moscow.

I'll give it to you.

What?

No, you just said it's a lot of money.

I have it and more. I've been saving.

You need it for law school.

I do.

And you'll give it back…

When you win.

What if I don't win?

It's still worth it.

Or you could give me the black dress.

Or the purple one. I like them both.

You're like…

My guardian angel.

For crying out loud.

Hey, Beth.

Fuck you.

Shaibel isn't the only one who kept after you all these years.

I know how you lost to Benny Watts in Vegas and then beat him in Ohio.

I read the papers.

Even on a group trip into town, I spent my ice cream money

on the damn chess magazine had your ugly face on it.

For a time,

I was all you had.

And for a time,

you was all I had.

We weren't orphans.

Not as long as we had each other. You understand what I'm saying?

I'm not your guardian angel.

I'm not here to save you.

Hell, I can barely save me.

I'm here because you need me to be here.

That's what family does.

That's what we are.

Someday, I might need you.

It's doubtful.

But you never know.

But if I do…

You'll come, won't you?

I might.

You been to Russia before?

Have you?

Once or twice.

There's a few rules.

One, stay in your hotel at all times unless you're with me.

Two, do not answer your door or your phone, unless it's me.

How will I know it's you if I don't answer it?

Three,

no drinking.

You just offered me a drink.

That was a test.

Let me know if any of the Russian players tries to speak with you.

In particular, Vasily Borgov.

He sends a signal in any way, or sends a note,

I wanna know immediately.

What exactly would a signal look like?

Could be anything.

- He could do it in one of your matches. - How?

I don't know.

I don't play chess.

Just be on the lookout.

I'm told they may wanna talk.

Talk about what?

What part of the State Department did you say you were from again?

That the chess player?

She looks like Ann-Margret.

Let's hope the Russians like redheads.

This is definitely better than mine.

Remember, stay in your room at all times.

Do not leave the hotel unless you're with me.

I'll get you in the morning.

Will you knock two times fast and one time slow?

Good one.

Welcome to Russia.

Yes.

This will do nicely.

In the words of Thomas Huxley,

"The chessboard is the world,

the pieces are the phenomena of the Universe,

the rules of the game

are what we call the laws of Nature,

and the player on the other side

is hidden from us."

Ladies and gentlemen, dear comrades,

please welcome…

Elizabeth Harmon...

Thank you.

As far as they knew, Harmon wasn't at their level.

Someone like Laev

probably didn't spend a lot of time preparing for their match.

Elizabeth Harmon's not at all an important player by their standards.

The only unusual thing about her, really, is her sex.

And even that's not unique in Russia. There's Nona Gaprindashvili,

but she's the female world champion and has never faced men.

My guess is Laev was expecting an easy win,

and not at all the 27-move thrashing Beth Harmon just gave him.

Um, yeah.

Um…

Yeah? Okay.

Um…

Beth Harmon's games with Hellstrom and Shapkin were rigorous,

and I'm sure, for the young American, rather exhausting.

But there was a solidity to her opening moves

that she was able to maintain through the middlegame,

and on to the point each of them resigned.

Hellstrom, it must be said, clearly took it rather hard.

Didn't speak to Harmon afterwards.

Shapkin, however, was very decent, very civilized,

and took his loss with grace,

even though Harmon's win over him was decisive and merciless.

Vodka?

Nyet.

Luchenko's the oldest player here,

was World Champion before Elizabeth Harmon was born.

He defeated the great Alekhine in an exhibition when he was a boy,

played to a draw with Botvinnik and crushed Bronstein in Havana.

And while he's no longer the tiger he once was,

he's a dangerous player when allowed to attack.

Harmon will have to be very careful.

I don't understand. Did we win, or did we lose?

We adjourned.

Meaning?

Meaning we didn't finish.

So, uh…

When do we finish?

Tomorrow.

But right now, we really need some sleep.

And maybe she takes with check.

He takes back.

But then she takes his rook.

So what? He's got h5.

Yes, that's a nasty pin.

And she's done.

- Oh, good evening. - Good evening.

Harmon had her 90 minutes of play, and Luchenko had the same,

along with 35 minutes he had left from the day before.

This put three things against her.

Luchenko having the white pieces,

his still unstopped attack…

And that extra allotment of time.

So, it was all the more impressive

when she beat him with 25 minutes still on her clock.

Excellent.

What a brilliant recovery.

I resign with relief.

I've played your games since I was a small girl.

I've always really admired you.

You are how old again?

- I'm twenty... - Oh, no. Don't tell me.

It will only drive a stake through my heart.

I went over your games at this tournament.

You are a marvel, my dear.

I may have just played the best chess player of my life.

You will get used to it.

Thank you.

So far, Harmon is proving to be the biggest attraction

since the Youth Festival in 1957.

Some in Moscow are even calling her an ambassador of sorts.

This evening she played the English opening against Flento,

a sequence I've always found to be like the Sicilian in reverse.

He's nowhere near her level,

and I don't think she expected the game to go on for nearly four hours.

But Flento put up quite a fight along the two main diagonals,

and played the Four Knights Variation with a sophistication that looked,

for a while at least, like it was far beyond Harmon's.

But by the middlegame, she'd traded herself out of that position,

and ultimately forced Flento to resign.

The result being

she could come to her match with Borgov tomorrow, exhausted.

You shouldn't have brought her. Why did you bring her here?

- Because I need your help! - It's too late!

- Who was that? - A mistake.

A-A rounding error.

It's just a problem I gotta solve.

What problem?

What I do with you.

Mama?

Close your eyes.

Elizabeth Harmon plays pawn to Queen four.

Borgov plays pawn to Queen four.

Harmon plays pawn to Queen Bishop four.

The Queen's Gambit.

Borgov declines,

moves pawn to King four.

Borgov's second move is a bit of a surprise.

Normally, Borgov would do something more solid,

but here, he's going against his own style and playing a rare line to win.

He must win.

Harmon's response was a complete deviation from the Albin,

which must've surprised him right back,

whilst allowing her to get out into the open.

Now, the two of them can fight it out from here with their own wits.

Knight to G6. Go!

Knight to G6!

Adjourn.

Miss Harmon, Miss Harmon!

Paris Match, Time Magazine, The Observer, Reuters, UPI…

You're bigger than The Monkees.

Please, I just wanna go to sleep.

Don't be like that.

It'd be good to talk to them.

Tell them that being in Russia has made you feel lucky to be an American.

Ms. Harmon! One question!

Hi, Dick Evans from Time. Do you have a minute?

That depends. Will you put me on the cover?

- Hmm. Are you going to beat him? - I haven't made any mistakes so far.

Hm. Neither has he.

Is it true you learned how to play at an orphanage when you were two?

- I was nine. - Such a young age. Who taught you?

His name was Shaibel.

William Shaibel.

He was a janitor. We played in the basement.

- The janitor taught you to play chess? - That's right.

William Shaibel was a fine player.

He spent a lot of time at it, and he was quite good.

Now, will you please promise to print that?

Absolutely. Thank you.

Yes, yes. Sure.

Thank you. If you'll excuse me, I'm very tired.

Excuse me, Miss Harmon, I'm with the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Our readers back home in Kentucky would like to know if it's true.

That you're here all by yourself?

How did you even get a visa so fast?

The newspaper helped me.

I'm an associate editor now.

And the Moscow Embassy.

- Really? - Yeah.

I'm guessing they thought I'd distract you.

If they only knew.

I know you were angry with me.

And I'm sorry.

I should've told you the whole story.

No.

I'm sorry.

I should have let you.

I will admit…

I was a little…

Confused.

You really are something.

But, um, what I really wanted was for us to be friends.

And you kind of broke my heart.

I have a way of doing that.

Do you forgive me?

Clearly.

Consider me your second. What do we need to do to help you beat Borgov?

Well, what I need are…

The pills.

The booze. I need my mind cloudy to win.

- I can't visualize the games without them. - Really?

- You think that's what brought you here? - I think that's what I'm used to.

Yeah, but you've been doing fine without all that.

- Haven't you? - Yes, I…

Threw away the pills.

And then I asked the front desk where I could get more.

I just really need them right now.

Or I thought I did.

Hey.

Lady, you were out!

What time is it?

It's late.

Thank you.

I'll get it. Drink your coffee.

Yes, put him through.

You all there?

I'll put her on.

- Hello? - If he goes for the knight,

hit him with a king rook pawn.

Benny?

If he goes for the bishop, do the same thing,

but open up your queen file.

How do you know?

It's in the Times.

It's 7 a.m. here,

but we've been working on it for three hours.

We?

Hi, Beth.

Hi, Harry.

- It's really nice to hear your voice. - Oh, well, hang on.

Hey, Beth! Hey!

- It's Mike! - It's Matt!

We're so proud of you!

All right. Hey, assholes, this is costing me a bundle.

Beth, listen to me, you gotta open up that file, okay?

How do I do that?

There are four ways, depending on what he does,

and we've each been working a way through.

You have it handy?

Yes, I do. Yes.

Great, okay. Well, let's start with his knight to rook four.

We push that king knight pawn. You got that?

- Yes. - Great. I'll pass you back to Harry.

T here are three things you might do now.

So, after the queen to knight three,

you play knight to king six,

then if he plays rook to rook five, then you play pawn to king three.

Another variation: If he plays knight takes pawn on king five,

then you take the rook.

But if he plays rook to rook seven,

check, then play rook to bishop two.

Harmon! Harmon! Harmon! Harmon!

Harmon! Harmon! Harmon!

Benny?

It's almost five here.

Okay.

Go beat him.

Borgov withdraws his queen to G6.

Harmon's knight boldly invades E6.

Borgov attacks Harmon's king-pawn.

Shit.

- He's not doing what he's supposed to do. - Shh!

Draw?

Borgov never offers draws, but he's offering Elizabeth Harmon one.

If she accepts,

she leaves the stage in a tie with the world champion.

If they play on,

once the dust settles and the endgame emerges,

she could find herself in a very different position.

Borgov is death on endgames.

He's famous for it.

Harmon, on the other hand, is not.

She's more known for coming up early and strong,

demoralizing her opponents from the start.

So, I think she should accept the draw.

The world will see it as a solid achievement.

A draw, however, is not a win.

The one thing we know about Elizabeth Harmon

is that she loves to win.

That was the point of the sequence,

beginning with the bishop, cutting down the scope of the rook

by forcing it to a less threatening rank.

The question is…

What will she do now?

It's your game.

Take it.

She won!

Thank you.

Good for you, cracker.

Good for you.

Mm.

The president has invited you to the White House.

There'll be a chess board set up in the Oval Office,

and, of course, a photo-op of you kicking his ass.

Texas being more of a checkers state.

And there's a dinner tonight at the Russian Chess Club in Georgetown.

A lot of prominent dissidents belong, so…

We've prepared a list of talking points.

It's a big deal.

Beating the Soviets at their own game.

Could you stop the car, please?

I'd like to walk.

To the airport?

You're gonna miss the fli...

Harmon?

Liza Harmon?

Da.

Harmon!

Liza!

Let's play.