Chess has never been as alluring as how it's presented in The Queen's Gambit.
The miniseries follows a chess prodigy by the name of Beth Harmon, played by Anya Taylor-Joy.
Orphaned at a young age, she soon discovers she has a serious knack for the game of chess,
and she goes on to become one of the finest players in all the world.
It's captivating material, and there are a few similar movies that deal with the same
themes.
If you still need your fix of competitive sports and talented geniuses, check out these
great movies.
Anyone in the midst of a chess kick will definitely want to check out 2019's The Coldest Game.
It follows a math genius named Joshua Mansky who gets roped into a high-stakes chess match
between the United States and the Soviet Union after the previous American competitor ends
up dead.
The movie is set in 1962 when tensions resulting from the Cold War are at an all-time high.
American spies capture Joshua to get him into this tournament in what turns into a proxy
war between the two global superpowers.
"This is the guy you want to win the Cold War for us?"
The Coldest Game earned positive acclaim when it first came out on the festival circuit,
and now it's ready to heat up your queue all over again.
One of the most satisfying components of The Queen's Gambit involves watching Beth Harmon
go from being an unknown to become one of the most famous figures in her field.
For another underdog story that pulls at your heartstrings, watch Undefeated.
It's a 2011 documentary that follows the trials and tribulations of the Manassas Tigers of
Memphis, a high school football team that's had year after year of losses.
One day, Coach Bill Courtney comes into the boys' lives and promises to turn everything
around.
Over the course of the film, Courtney not only helps these young men win games but become
more academically well-rounded.
Undefeated was directed by Daniel Lindsay and T.J.
Martin and executive produced by Sean Combs, and it went on to win the Academy Award for
Best Documentary in 2012.
"On the outside everybody's trying to be hard and show they strength, but on the inside
it's like they're all flimsy and, you know, just skin and bones."
Some people have an innate drive to compete.
Beth Harmon had her struggles with drugs and alcohol but managed to get her life together
to fly to Russia for the world championships.
Likewise, Bleed for This, based on a true story, sees boxer Vinny Pazienza shoot up
to stardom after emerging victorious in a pair of world title fights.
However, his career is sidelined when he's involved in a near-fatal car crash that leaves
him with a broken neck.
Doctors tell him he may never walk again, but Vinny works with renowned coach Kevin
Rooney to defy the odds to not just walk, but to get back in the ring.
Boxing may be a very different sport from chess, but the passion that exists in the
players from both worlds is more similar than you might think.
"This, what we do here, this is calculated, okay?
We weigh the odds, we make a choice."
The Queen's Gambit has all the hallmarks of a sports drama, and one of the most overlooked
sports films to come out in recent years is 2019's High Flying Bird.
Steven Soderbergh directed the film about a sports agent, Ray Burke, who finds his job
in jeopardy after his company ends up in the middle of a lockout.
He needs to find a way to make money as well as help his client secure work.
As a result, Burke comes up with a controversial plan he needs to pull off in 72 hours.
Sports movies don't have to abide by the strict rules so many other films impose on the genre,
as both The Queen's Gambit and High Flying Bird prove.
The Queen's Gambit focuses just as much time on the relationships Beth Harmon forms along
the way as it does the actual chess tournaments.
This is the approach taken by the documentary The Speed Cubers.
While the movie shows the lead-up to the World Cube Association's World Championships in
2019, the driving force of the movie is the friendship that blossoms between Rubik's cube
rivals Max Park and Feliks Zemdegs.
The emotional throughline is that there doesn't have to be bad blood between two fierce competitors.
"Aw, look who it is."
"Hey, Max."
At just 40 minutes in length, The Speed Cubers is very much worth your time.
It presents a feel-good story about how people can use their passions for personal growth
rather than merely pursuing something for the sake of winning.
Everyone has obstacles they have to overcome in life, and Bethany Hamilton experienced
a particularly traumatizing hardship when she was attacked by a shark as a teenager,
losing an arm in the process.
However, she didn't let that slow her down.
In the documentary Unstoppable, viewers can learn how Hamilton struggled as she got back
on the surfboard and continued pursuing her passion.
It also follows her as she goes from childhood into motherhood while remaining one of the
most famous surfers on the planet.
The best things in life don't always come easy, and, as both The Queen's Gambit and
Unstoppable show, people can accomplish anything when they have a support network of friends
and family cheering them on.
You can watch either one and feel inspired to pursue your own passion knowing you can
overcome any hardships.
Thanks for watching.
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