BRILLIANT IN BLACK AND WHITE

Every once in a while there is a TV programme that makes a remarkable impact on the viewer and, it has to be said, in a world where everyone has seen everything it's proving harder to create original content than ever.

The streaming platforms are bountiful and TV stations available are numerous so in many cases it's quantity over quality, but the show that has proved that an original concept handled the right way can deliver the goods is The Queen's Gambit on Netflix.

Based on Walter Tevis' 1983 novel of the same name about a Chess prodigy and her development in the 50s and 60's, It broaches subjects like drug and alcohol addiction, identity, politics and sexism.

The undoubted star of the show is Anya Taylor-Joy as the protagonist Beth Harmon and it does for Chess what Mad Men did for cigarettes and what the Sopranos did for Psychotherapy. The time and place are captured with real accuracy and the fact that it stands up to Mad Men in that respect is high praise.

Pitching the show as being about Chess would seem a hard sell but its more complicated than that. The way in which the actual Chess games are delivered is full of drama and tension. The relentless logic of the competitions portrayed makes for intense viewing. There are insights into Cold war politics, bullying and the cult of personality that are subtly included in the narrative at no cost to the development of the main characters. The way in which the processes of Beth's strategies are formed is shown in a highly imaginative and gasp inducing manner.

Taylor-Joy and the actresses who plays the young Beth (Isla Johnston and Annabeth Kelly) are all excellent as we see Beth's journey from orphanage to the world stage. As a study of the pursuit of excellence it's strength is Beth's underlying need to achieve, a need to excel that springs initially from insecurity and later from self realisation. 

The Queen's gambit has the highest Netflix rating for any Mini-Series and rightly so as it is really quite brilliant. it's a programme that is both intoxicating and, like Chess itself, is a work out for the mind.