The Queen’s Gambit

Beth searches in every directory she can for Jolene. She takes tranquilizers in order to stop herself from drinking, even though she knows that they likely don’t help her brain either. She calls Methuen and is shocked when Mrs. Deardorff picks up. Mrs. Deardorff is just as surprised, telling Beth that they’ve been reading about her. Beth asks for Jolene’s number insistently, and despite the fact that they’re not allowed to give out information, Mrs. Deardorff eventually gives it to her.

On the phone with Jolene, Beth nearly cries in relief at hearing her friend. Jolene has been keeping up with Beth in the magazines; she’s at graduate school in Lexington. They make plans to get dinner that evening, and when Jolene arrives, Beth barely recognizes her. She has a Coco Chanel suit and a bushy afro. She looks like a movie star. As they sit down, Jolene hands her a manila envelope, and inside is Modern Chess Openings, which Jolene stole all those years ago. Jolene apologizes—she was mad at Beth for being adopted.

Beth and Jolene talk about Methuen for a while, and Beth starts to feel more and more comfortable as they reconnect. Jolene explains that she got a scholarship to go to college by playing volleyball. Afterward, she got a bachelor’s and now she realizes that she wants to be in law or government.

Beth and Jolene then talk about the tranquilizers they used to get, and Beth admits that she still takes them. Jolene notes that Beth doesn’t look very good. After dessert, they return to Beth’s house, and seeing it through Jolene’s eyes, she grows embarrassed at the stale smell and the empty bottles. Beth says she needs to stop drinking to play in Moscow the next year.

Jolene gives Beth advice, telling her to come over to the university gym the next day to work out together so she can start to feel in shape and get out of her funk. Beth agrees. After Jolene leaves, Beth has one glass of wine but stops herself after that. The next day, she goes to the gym, and though it’s difficult, Jolene coaches her through weightlifting and cycling. Beth does all she can, though she rages inwardly at Jolene. Jolene also helps Beth eat better. Beth hires a few students at the University to help clean her house, and she continues to work out with Jolene. They start playing handball, and within 10 days, Beth is able to win a game; she hates losing.

That day, a letter arrives from the Christian Crusade, asking if they can help pay for Beth’s trip to Russia—particularly because she grew up in a Christian institution. Beth calls Benny, who starts out icy, but when she tells him about the letter, he tells her to take it and asks if he can come along with her. He then asks if she’s coming back to New York; she replies that she’s staying in Kentucky a bit longer to work out and to enter a tournament in California. She then writes to the Christian Crusade, accepting their support.

At the tournament in California, Beth feels much fitter. She sits down at Board One, and everyone is looking at her. She’s a little nervous; the last game of chess she played was five months before in Kentucky, and she lost. She plays a cautious game, and when she starts to attack, she’s pleased with her opponent’s look of confusion. When her queen is poised to do major damage, he resigns immediately. There is loud and enthusiastic applause, and Beth smiles at her win. She gives autographs for fans, and it’s both exhilarating and frightening to have so many people admire her and compliment her. She regains some confidence in her own abilities.

Walking back to her hotel, Beth thinks about her trip to Russia in six months. She’s been studying for six hours a day, and she plans to keep it up. In early spring she might go to New York and play the U.S. Open and spend a few weeks with Benny. In the cool San Francisco air, Beth feels fresh and happy.

Beth comes home with $2,000 in prize money and a first-place trophy. She also discovers a $400 check from the U.S. Chess Federation and $4,000 from the Christian Crusade. The Christian Crusade’s letter speaks of the need to promote international understanding through Christian principles and to annihilate Communism. It makes Beth slightly uncomfortable, but she’s thrilled at the money and calls Benny immediately.

A few days later, Mrs. Deardorff calls Beth and tells her that Mr. Shaibel passed away the previous evening from a heart attack. Beth is surprised, and she immediately makes plans with Jolene to attend his funeral and to visit Methuen. As they drive to the orphanage, they talk a little about Shaibel, and also how little they know about their own parents.

Beth asks about what Jolene will do when she graduates; Jolene replies that she has a job offer from a law firm in Atlanta to do public relations. Beth says that Jolene is too smart for that—she could teach at the University. But Jolene assures Beth that she’s ambitious and she knows what she’s doing. She says that she wants to be like Beth—she wants to be the best at something.

Beth and Jolene pull into Methuen, and Beth relives several memories: stealing the jar of pills, playing chess with Mr. Shaibel, setting up chairs for chapel. She thinks that no one had ever really encouraged her except Mr. Shaibel—she could have been playing in tournaments at nine or ten like Benny. It would have been something for Methuen to boast about, but instead Mrs. Deardorff wanted to cut her off from the thing she loved.

Beth and Jolene don’t go inside; instead, they go to a motel before attending the funeral the next day. Only a dozen people are there, and none of the staff from Methuen attend. Beth and Jolene leave immediately after the service. Beth feels no grief for Mr. Shaibel; she only feels guilt at not sending him the ten dollars she owed. But as they pass Methuen on the way back, Beth asks Jolene to stop there.

Jolene stays in the car while Beth walks into the orphanage and into the basement. Beth sees Mr. Shaibel’s table and chair, along with something more remarkable: a partition covered with photographs and clippings from Chess Review and other newspapers. The clippings are her games and pictures of her. Beth returns to the car and cries quietly on the way back.

Soon after, two women from the Christian Crusade visit Beth to chat with her about the trip—and, Beth knows, to look her over. The women remind her of Mrs. Deardorff, and one of them asks if Beth would give a statement condemning the spread of Communism and atheism. Beth protests that she’s just a chess player, but they tell her that she is also a Christian. Beth is frustrated, feeling like the woman is threatening and bullying her into their cause. Beth contradicts them, saying that she has no intention of giving a statement. The women are shocked, noting that they have invested money in her trip. Beth immediately writes a check to give the money back.

When Beth calls Benny to tell him what she’s done, he says that she’s crazy. Nothing is paid for. Benny says that he doesn’t have the money to go and tells her to call the Federation or the State Department. She says that the Federation doesn’t like her because she hasn’t done much publicity for them. Benny suddenly gets angry, telling her that she can go to Moscow alone. Beth realizes, then, that she shouldn’t have given the check back. Benny gets frustrated, cursing at her and saying that he doesn’t want to talk to her anymore.

The Federation can’t spare any money for Beth, and a man from the State Department says the only thing they can do is send someone to accompany her. After getting off the phone, Beth resolves to take it in stride. She has studied Russian, and she can do her own training—she has been training alone most of her life.