The Queen’s Gambit

Three years later, when Beth is 12, Mrs. Deardorff calls Beth into the office to meet with an excited woman and a disinterested man—Mrs. Wheatley and Mr. Wheatley. Mrs. Deardorff explains that Beth is at the top of her class, but she says nothing about the chess or the pills. Over the next few weeks, Beth forgets about the visit—until one day Fergussen tells her that she’s being picked up the next day. The couple has decided to adopt her.

As Beth packs, she can’t find Modern Chess Openings. She asks if Jolene has seen the book, but Jolene says that she hasn’t. Jolene asks if she’s leaving, and Beth glumly says yes. When Jolene asks what’s wrong, Beth apologizes that Jolene didn’t get adopted. The next day, Mrs. Deardorff goes out with Beth when Mr. Wheatley and Mrs. Wheatley come to pick her up. Mr. Shaibel is also there. Beth wants to go over to him, but instead she simply waves goodbye.

When Beth arrives at the Wheatley home, Mr. Wheatley goes upstairs, comes down with a suitcase, and immediately leaves for Denver on business. Mrs. Wheatley and Beth have tuna casserole for lunch, which is far too salty for Beth. Mrs. Wheatley tells Beth about all the invasive questions the adoption agency had for them—like whether she had been in psychiatric care. She then chatters constantly and excitedly until Beth asks politely to go to the bathroom. There, she goes into the tiny blue bathroom and immediately vomits up the tuna.

Later, Mrs. Wheatley shows Beth her room. It looks enormous to her, with a double bed and a pink bedspread, a rug, a dresser, and a desk. Beth is stunned; she’s never had a room of her own. She can even lock the door. Beth unpacks into a closet that is bigger than her mother’s had been. She wishes that Jolene were there to share it with her, but she knew that the Wheatleys would never have adopted Jolene. That night, Beth stretches out happily on her bed and lays awake for several hours. She’s thrilled that her door is closed and locked—no one invading her space and no one quarreling.

On Monday, Beth starts at seventh grade at the public high school. Her clothes make her stand out among the students, but they mostly ignore her. She gets books and a homeroom and realizes quickly that school will be easy for her. At lunch, she tries to sit alone, but another girl comes up and sits with her. Beth asks if they have a chess club at the school. The girl replies that she doesn’t think so—but Beth could be a junior cheerleader.

After a week, Mrs. Wheatley wonders if Beth has any hobbies, though when she asks it seems like she’s not really listening to Beth. Beth explains that she used to play chess. Mrs. Wheatley gets excited about this, though she notes that it’s mostly a game for boys. Beth insists that girls play too, but Mrs. Wheatley seems miles away in her mind.

Soon after, a woman from the orphanage stops by to check on Beth, and Fergussen comes along as well. They ask how she’s getting along at school, and Mrs. Wheatley assures them that she’s adjusting great. She also says that Mr. Wheatley is getting to spend a lot of time with her, he just couldn’t make it that day because he’s working so hard. Beth is astounded at Mrs. Wheatley’s ability to lie. Fergussen bids her goodbye, and Beth wishes that he could stay.

A few days later, Beth and Mrs. Wheatley take the bus to Ben Snyder’s department store to shop for clothing. On the way to the clothing department, Beth excitedly notices that there are chess sets there. Mrs. Wheatley assures Beth that they can get them on the way back down, but they never stop by. Beth tries on various coats and sweaters, and the next week at school, girls make fun of Beth for her cheap clothing.

While mid-term exams are ongoing, one morning Beth has no tests. So, she takes the bus downtown, carrying her notebook and 40 cents she has saved. She goes into town and finds a bookstore, seeking out a new copy of Modern Chess Openings. She realizes, however, that she can’t afford the book, and instead she finds a whole section of chess books. She starts to memorize some of the games before returning to school.

Beth’s Junior High School has some social clubs, but you have to be pledged to join them. The girls in them are always attractive, nicely dressed, and usually very wealthy. When Beth looks at herself in the mirror, she is disappointed with her straight brown hair and dull brown eyes. She would never belong to a club like that—all the other girls make fun of her for her smarts, and she usually walks alone in the hallways. Beth misses Jolene dearly.

One day, Mrs. Wheatley says that she has a cold and sends Beth to the pharmacy for some cigarettes with a note. At the pharmacy, Beth notices a chess magazine. Beth learns in the magazine that there are tournaments for chess, and she reads a profile of a famous chess player named Morphy. The pharmacy owner tells her she has to buy the magazine to read it, but she doesn’t have enough money for the magazine. So, Beth pays for a newspaper and uses it to hide the magazine inside it as she leaves.

On the way home, Beth goes over a Morphy game that she had been reading about earlier. She is amazed when she realizes that Morphy could have made a better attack, ending the game seven moves earlier. She had found a mistake in a grandmaster’s game. Her mind feels “as lucid as a perfect, stunning diamond.”

At home, Mrs. Wheatley explains that Mr. Wheatley has been detained on one of his trips, and she doesn’t know when he’ll be back. Changing the subject, Beth asks if she can get a job, but Mrs. Wheatley seems offended that Beth doesn’t feel provided for—insinuating that only Black girls need to work at her age. Beth is upset: joining the U.S. Chess Federation costs $6. Another $4 gets a subscription to the magazine. Beth learns in the magazine that there is an upcoming Kentucky State Championship five weeks away that Chess Federation members can play in—the entry fee is $5 and the prize money is $185, and she wants to play.

Beth continues to be made fun of at school, particularly by a popular girl named Margaret. Meanwhile, Mrs. Wheatley starts to complain that she doesn’t know where her money is going. She only has $7 left out of her monthly budget when she should have $20. Beth doesn’t admit that she took $6, particularly because she knows that Methuen sent Mrs. Wheatley $70 to take care of Beth, and Mrs. Wheatley doesn’t spend that much on her.

For the $5 entry fee, Beth writes to Mr. Shaibel, explaining her predicament, and assuring him that if he sends her $5 she will pay him back $10 if she wins any prize at all. As the tournament approaches, Beth is worried that she hasn’t heard from Mr. Shaibel. Beth takes one more dollar from Mrs. Wheatley’s purse and buys another issue of Chess Review. She finds several games that she can improve upon, including one from the young U.S. Champion and grandmaster, Benny Watts.

Mrs. Wheatley gets another cold, and she sends Beth to pick up her medication at the pharmacy. Beth realizes when she picks the medication up that it’s the green tranquilizers she used to take at Methuen. At home, Mrs. Wheatley wonders why the bottle is only half full, but she thinks little of it. Beth continues to buy copies of Chess Review, puzzling over the different games and noting some of the grandmasters’ errors.

One day, while changing before gym, Beth realizes that Margaret didn’t lock her locker after changing. When she opens the locker, she finds Margaret’s purse and takes out her money clip. Beth steals $10 out of the clip and replaces the purse. She then swallows two green pills to calm her nerves.

That night, Beth receives a letter with $5 from Mr. Shaibel. Beth holds the bills in her hand, now having more money than she needs. She realizes that Mrs. Wheatley’s prescription has three outstanding refills, which cost $4 for a bottle of 50 pills. Beth goes to the pharmacy, pays with the money from Mr. Shaibel, and puts the prescription slip back in Mrs. Wheatley’s desk.