This list includes all the real (and fake) books features in the Netflix series “The Queens Gambit”.
The first book shown in the show is:
The book is borrowed to Beth Harmon by Mr. Shaibel (chess player/janitor) after she started to regularly beating him.
Beth receives her second book in the school library:
Her next books are bought by Beth from her first tournaments winnings in the second episode. She buys herself another copy of “Modern Chess Openings” and five other books::
- Modern Chess Openings by Richard Griffith and Walter Korn
- Improving Your Chess by Fred Reinfeld
- Chess Mastery by Question and Answer by Fred Reinfeld
- Creative Chess by Fred Reinfeld
- Chess Attack and Counterattack by Fred Reinfeld
- The Batsford Guide to Chess Openings by Leonard Barden and Tim Harding
And while she is looking at the chess magazine at the shop when she is buying her mom’s medication, we can see a page about the book:
Her next books are bought to Beth by Harry Beltik when he offers to train her.
- Middlegame Strategy by A.I. Deinkopf (fictional book)
- My Chess Carreer by Capablanca
- Alekhine’s Best Games 1938-1945
- Rook and Pawn Endings by Meyer (fictional book)
- My Life in Chess by Vasily Borgov (fictional book)
When Beltik leaves, he gives her:
Another fictional book we see Beth read is “Opening & Tactics” by Benny Watts during the same tournament where she beats him in the finals.
- “Opening & Tactics” by Benny Watts (fictional book)
When Benny starts to train Beth they analyze books like “Basic Chess Endings” by Reuben Fine. Beth even find errors in the book where Fine overlooked some variations.
Other books associated with the series (not verified):
- Winning Chess Traps by Irving Chernev
- How to Improve Your Chess (Primary) by Israel Albert Horowitz
- Chess Strategy by Edward Lasker
What about reading the original book that inspired the Netflix series 👇
