Set in the 1950s, The Queen’s Gambit tells the story of Beth Harmon (played brilliantly by Isla Johnstone and Anya Taylor-Joy). Aged eight, she survives a fatal car crash only to end up in an orphanage. She finds relief from the institution’s cruelty and monotony in a janitor’s basement: there a mentor and a talent are discovered and so begins her difficult journey from orphan to prodigy to international chess champion.