Killer queen of chess

A chess miniseries called The Queen’s Gambit is being called “perfect”. Released by Netflix on Oct 23, the series has earned overwhelmingly positive reviews with an audience score close to 97 percent on review website Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 9.2 out of 10 on Douban.
一部名为《后翼弃兵》的国际象棋题材的迷你剧口碑爆棚。10月23日开播的这部网飞电视剧收获大片好评，观众们在影评网站“烂番茄”上打出了97%的新鲜度，豆瓣评分为9.2分（满分10分）。

Based on US novelist Walter Tevis’ 1983 novel of the same name, the seven-episode adaptation tells the story of an orphaned chess prodigy Beth Harmon who learns chess in a basement from a janitor at the orphanage and grows into a champion.
这部7集电视剧改编自美国小说家沃尔特·特维斯1983年的同名小说，讲述了父母双亡的国际象棋奇才贝丝·哈蒙的故事。她在孤儿院的地下室里与一位看门人学下象棋，并逐渐成长为一位冠军。

However, unlike many TV shows that depict women falling into cliched romantic relationships to make the heroines become independent and stronger, “the hit chess drama has changed the game”, The Telegraph commented. “It allows Harmon’s talents to shine, and to place the friction firmly on the battles with the existing demons in her mind, rather than with men.”
许多电视剧都会千篇一律地让女性坠入爱河，而这段浪漫关系会让女主角们变得独立又强大，但“这部热门象棋题材剧改变了这些套路”，《每日电讯报》评论称。“这部剧让哈蒙的天赋绽放光芒，剧中设置的冲突完全是围绕着她与心中存在的恶魔展开，而非关于男性与女性。”

Harmon suffers from severe mental issues, but with support from her friends, she manages to battle the pressures of fame and her internal demons.
哈蒙饱受严重的心理问题折磨，但在朋友们的支持下，她努力对抗着名气所带来的压力，以及自己内心的恶魔。

Harmon’s first chess teacher, Mr Shaibel, discovers her immense gift and teaches her to play and win at chess. Jolene, her childhood friend at the orphanage, accompanies her and tells her that “I was all you had. And, for a time, you were all I had. We weren’t orphans ... as long as we had each other”.
哈蒙的国际象棋启蒙老师沙伊贝尔先生发现了她的惊人天赋，指导她下象棋以及如何在棋局中取胜。她在孤儿院的童年好友乔琳也陪伴着哈蒙，并且告诉她：“我曾是你的一切，而你也曾一度是我的一切。只要我们还拥有彼此……我们就不是孤儿”。

In one scene, Harmon’s friends all gather around the phone in New York to help her with strategies during the half-time of her game with her nemesis, Russian champion Vasily Borgov. Harmon eventually becomes the world champion in the then-overwhelmingly-dominated male game of chess and also realizes the true value of friendship.
在一幕中，哈蒙的朋友们都来到了纽约，他们守在电话旁，在哈蒙与劲敌、俄罗斯冠军选手瓦西里·博戈夫比赛的中场休息时间为她出谋划策。最终，哈蒙在完全由男性主导的象棋界获得了世界冠军，也感受到了友谊的真正价值。

In such a special year with a pandemic, the show is certain to strike a chord with many.
在疫情之下如此特殊的一年，这部剧无疑引起了许多人的共鸣。

The Queen’s Gambit helps us “to remember that our friendships are, in the end, almost the only thing we have. Other people matter to us, and we matter to them”, newspaper Malay Mail said.
《后翼弃兵》让我们“想起，友谊或许是我们最后所拥有的唯一之物。他人对我们很重要，我们也对他们很重要”，《马来邮报》报道称。

以上文章内容选自《21世纪学生英文报高中版》，详情请见《21世纪学生英文报高中版》高三730期