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鈥淭he Queen鈥檚 Gambit鈥� is an anomaly in our pop culture Tower of Babel. At a time when television audiences seldom speak the same language 鈥� we鈥檙e all watching different shows and subscribing to different streaming channels 鈥� the Netflix miniseries about听fictitious chess prodigy Beth Harmon听feels like a lingua franca. The world hasn鈥檛 paid this much attention to the game since American Bobby Fischer defeated Boris Spassky of the USSR in 1972.听

What makes 鈥淭he Queen鈥檚 Gambit鈥� a universally resonant crowd-pleaser is that it鈥檚 about more than chess. All those moves on the board are a metaphor for the bigger game of life. The story asks whether achieving checkmate results in satisfaction. How does one attain fulfillment in life and, with it, find a sense of home and belonging?听

For Beth, those questions loom large. Her story begins during the mid-1950s when, at age 8, she鈥檚 the sole survivor of a car crash. Dispatched to a Kentucky orphanage, she鈥檚 met by a prim and frosty headmistress. The dank institution resembles an Army barracks 鈥� but with even worse food. Each day, the children line up for a dose of tranquilizer pills. The young girl (played by Isla Johnston) becomes addicted to them.听

It鈥檚 a relief, then, when a crack of light appears in the story. Beth ventures into the orphanage basement and comes across a lonely janitor (Bill Camp) playing a board game featuring 16 black and 16 white figurines. She鈥檚 eager to learn. A tender friendship blossoms between the taciturn mentor and the budding chess prodigy. Soon he鈥檚 introducing her to the chess club at a local high school. Playing multiple games simultaneously, Beth wipes out the older students like a bowling ball delivering a strike.听

Stories about the rise of chess prodigies can be innately thrilling 鈥� see also, 鈥淨ueen of Katwe鈥� and 鈥淪earching for Bobby Fischer鈥� 鈥� but 鈥淭he Queen鈥檚 Gambit鈥� ultimately demolishes the myth that raw talent, alone, is sufficient to get to the top. It鈥檚 a reminder that excellence requires work and practice.听

Beth鈥檚 big break is that she gets adopted by a childless couple. At first, adoptive mother Alma Wheatley (Marielle Heller) can鈥檛 fathom why her teenager (now played by Anya Taylor-Joy) has a proclivity for chess. But when Beth returns home victorious from a local tournament with a cash prize in hand, Alma鈥檚 eyes light up. Soon, the teenager and mother are bonding by flying across the United States to tournaments.听

The chess showdowns, in which players square off like gunslingers at high noon, are exhilarating.听The camera often spends more time peering at Beth鈥檚 face than the thrust and parry of the pieces on the board. In a star-making performance, Taylor-Joy utilizes stillness to convey her emotions through her Bette Davis eyes. Marvel, too, at how the actress changes her character鈥檚 walk during her transformation from awkward teen to confident adult. As Beth reinvents herself, the handsomely filmed production revels in outfitting her with elegant costumes seemingly straight out of Jackie Onassis鈥� closet.听

Yet, for all the 1960s glamour, there鈥檚 also a gritty storyline about Beth鈥檚 ongoing addiction to tranquilizers and alcohol. Walter Tevis, the late author of the 1983 novel from which the miniseries is adapted, drew from his own experiences of receiving heavy drug doses for a medical condition when he was a child. 鈥淭he Queen鈥檚 Gambit鈥� explores addiction within the context of characters seeking to fill holes in desolate lives.听听

In a telling scene, the young-adult Beth bumps into her former nemesis from high school, a popular queen bee named Margaret. During their unexpected meeting in a convenience store, Margaret tries to pretend that she has it all. She married her boyfriend right after high school and already has a baby. But there鈥檚 no coterie of friends with her. A few too many bottles of alcohol rattle in her shopping cart. Beth recognizes the quiet desperation in Margaret鈥檚 eyes because she鈥檚 seen it before 鈥� in her adoptive mother. Alma, too, relies on pills and alcohol to try to dull the languors of a life devastated by professional and romantic disappointment. Her other escapist vice? Mind-numbing television.听

Beth consumes pills not only because she believes they make her a better player, but also as a way of fleeing the emptiness that comes from feeling abandoned. But there comes a point at which she must confront the question of whether her relentless, go-it-alone quest to reach the pinnacle of international chess will bring fulfillment. The risk is that she鈥檒l end up a listless alcoholic like Alma.听

By contrast, other characters in the story find meaning in their lives by reframing the relationship between success and connecting with others. Beth can either learn from their example or choose the Queen鈥檚 Gambit, a strategy that entails sacrificing a pawn in order to win. In the game of life, it鈥檚 her move. And also ours.

鈥淭he Queen鈥檚 Gambit鈥� is available on Netflix. It is rated TV-MA and contains language, substance abuse, and sexual situations.