User Reviews

Beth after having won the world title is asked to embark on a political propaganda on behalf of the white house against the Russians.But she will have none of it.She doesnt care about political issues ,for her Russians are people who love chess and she feels good around them.She leaves the car and the state department man and walks to the park where regular old people are playing chess,people who love what she loves,they dont have her talent but its still people in her world because her world is chess.She is like when she was a liitle girl taking her first lesson in chess,her smile says it all she feels good there much more at home than with people who want to use her for political reasons. The most amazing ending to a most amazing series.

I was hoping that she would meet with Mr. Shaibel and share with him anything.

That scene where she found all the articles and their picture on that board broke my heart.

When I watched 'Chernobyl' (2019) series, I was amazed at the achievements of modern American cinema - about how accurately and realistically the spirit and atmosphere of the Soviet Union can be conveyed. In 'Chernobyl', it was done so much better and delicately than in most of the modern Russian movies. Never seen it better, I would say.

Here, the first six episodes were almost perfect; I would rate 10/10 most of them, no failures, amazing script, great characters, everything seemed to be realistic (as to me). Remembering the "Chernobyl" experience, I was expecting that here, the USSR consultants would be at least no worse.

But the "Soviet" part, I mean, the second half of the seventh episode, caused a series of disappointments. Almost everything is wrong there.

Starting with the neon sign on the hotel: in the USSR, there were almost no luminous signs, and totally no neon ones. The sign on the hotel is a Google translation of "Moscow Palace" from English - Dvorets Moskva - it even does not sound Russian, and there could have been no "palaces" in the Soviet Union. It was simply called "Moscow Hotel".

People really watched the chess championships, but the Soviet people could not show such emotionality as the crowd in front of the chess tournament door, - and especially they would be afraid to praise the United States citizen that good. In this episode, we see again a cliche transferred from the U.S. behavior, which could not exist in the cold Russia.

The honor guard, which stood along the carpet and then in the hall, could be brought to greet the diplomatic missions, but not the chess players!

The host of the chess championship could hardly announce the participants - especially while introducing Borgov - like he was warming up the boxing tournament public. This would have been done so much more calmly.

A boy delivering vodka in a hotel restaurant - this is impossible; there was no child labor in the USSR, all the children (at least in Moscow) went to school. And the vodka was not poured through the metal dispenser, the Russians first saw the bottle dispensers probably in the late 1980s.

Before the final part of the last game Harmon got some advices by telephone. This would almost certainly mean that her opponent knows all her strategy. All the foreigner's phone calls were monitored.

Elizabeth got out of the car on the way to the airport and went into town: but why don't we see these ten (no less) KGB agents behind her?

And, actually, the most disappointing part is that this character itself which is completely fictional. She is like James Bond of chess. The fictional hero can drink vodka, eat kilograms of tranquilizers, and then play geniously without losing her mind and abilities - or do whatever else she wants; she could even turn into Shrek in the evenings. It is clear that it is a fairy tale. So actually at the end I had the feeling that I was another superspy movie. She should have had a real prototype behind her, like it was with 'Chernobyl' characters.

On the other side, this is a wonderful super-emotional series with excellent actors, some day, I would most likely watch some of the first six episodes again :)

It was a good episode until the last 15 minutes. It started The moment she realized she had to look up and do her thing in her head to beat her rival. I know it connects back to something she did early in the season but it still made me roll my eyes. And don't get me started on the bit with the old men. Such a Forrest Gump ending. I know people will love it because everyone loves cheesy happy endings.

Of the 64 ratings I've given on IMDB, I've given out only 2 perfect 10s and about a dozen 9s to my favorites. This is a 9.5, if I was able to give it that extra 0.5 to differentiate it from the others. I agree with the other reviewers, gensbill and stefanlubben, but will try and add what impressed me most about the series. It follows a young girl (the excellent Anya Taylor-Joy), Elizabeth, abandoned by her birth mother, socially awkward and feeling a bit out of place at her Catholic orphanage (with a single friend, the out-front Jolene), who meets the facility's reclusive janitor (the equally excellent Bill Camp) who plays chess alone in the basement. He starts to teach her (rather reluctantly, at first) the finer points of the game, at which she goes on to both excel, and over which, ultimately obsess to a rather unhealthy degree, leading to addictions (partially explained in the series' last episode), as well as other antisocial behavior. When her adoptive parents split up, her new mother starts (rather reluctantly, at first) to support her trips to/play at chess tournaments. After her mother's untimely death, she buys their house from the absentee dad (more to spite him than anything else) and continues to pursue her dream of becoming an international chess grand master. But all of this is just plot, and the best creative works are always more about the story's characters and their interactions with one another, and that's what the outstanding screenplay by the writer-director Scott Frank mostly focuses on. Beth has several, mostly short-lived and ultimately unsatisfying, opposite-sex relationships, while her "true love" remains just out of her reach. Finally, her ultimate career goal of beating the seemingly unbeatable Russian chess master(s) is within reach, and all her experiences and relationships prove to be invaluable in its pursuit. A fantastic script, superb acting, and an uplifting POV add up to a near-10!

Oooooo look all her friends come to help her at the end!! So cheesy man come on. Ruins the show for me honestly