Season synopsis
Contains spoilers for this season and earlier seasons.
Beth Harmon discovers chess in the basement of a Kentucky orphanage, where custodian Mr Shaibel reluctantly becomes her teacher. The institution also introduces her to tranquilizers, which she begins associating with the ability to picture moves on her bedroom ceiling. Adopted as a teenager by Alma and Allston Wheatley, Beth enters the Kentucky championship with money Shaibel sends for her entry fee. Her victory gives Alma a reason to support further tournaments. After Allston abandons them, their travels become a shared livelihood, carrying Beth from local competition toward the strongest players in the country.
Success brings money and recognition without resolving her dependence on pills and alcohol. Soviet champion Vasily Borgov defeats her in Mexico City, where she also finds Alma dead in their hotel room. Back in Kentucky, Harry Beltik helps her train, though their relationship falters. Beth later beats Benny Watts for the U.S. championship and accepts his invitation to prepare in New York. She reaches another final against Borgov in Paris, but a night of heavy drinking leaves her unable to compete at her best. The loss sends her home into worsening isolation.
Her childhood friend Jolene returns and helps her recover. Attending Shaibel’s funeral, Beth discovers that he quietly followed her whole career; Jolene also lends her the money for Moscow. There, Beth progresses to another match with Borgov. When play is adjourned, Benny and her other friends pool their analysis over the telephone. Beth returns able to visualise the board without tranquilizers, refuses a draw and wins. Instead of going straight to the airport, she stops among the older men playing chess in a park, accepting an invitation to sit down and play.