And it was Jerry Lewis who, in a touching ceremony, presented De Funès with a much-deserved César for Lifetime Achievement in 1980, three years before a second heart attack killed him.

Beth Harmon, the protagonist, has everything: the determination of those who want to get to the end, to show the world what she's worth. A difficult past that she still can't completely overcome and that, like it or not, comes back in her daily nightmares. The charm of the beautiful and damned that leads her to get close to everyone, but never really reach anyone (and here emerges all her more tormented side). And, finally, the spiral of addiction to anxiolytics and alcohol, the only apparent source of salvation from the pain and stress that grips her. A perfect mix that leads the viewer to become more and more attached, rooting for her cause.

The story begins in the 1960s when, after a car accident, Beth loses her mother (we later find out that she had been suffering from mental illness for some time and had removed the child's father from their lives) and arrives at the Methuen Home for Girls. Life at the orphanage is marked by the strict rules of Miss Deardorff, the institute's director - with her affectionate but austere character - who tries to integrate young Beth, still shaken by all the events of her childhood. Where the guardian fails, Jolene succeeds: another child in the structure, with a restless soul, and a sort of leader of the group. It is she who explains to Beth how to use the anxiolytics that are prescribed to the girls, leading her, unintentionally, to an early addiction.

One day Beth, who finds herself in the basement of the Methuen, makes the acquaintance of Mr. Shaibel, the janitor, a solitary chess player. The little girl is immediately fascinated by the game, by the fluidity of the moves and by the chessboard that - as she will later admit as an adult - is a sort of entire world that she can easily control (unlike the real one). The man, initially gruff and grumpy, becomes fond of the girl and decides to teach her everything he knows about the game of chess, noticing first her incredible skills.

Beth will begin to associate the anxiolytics, which she takes every night to tame the nightmares about her childhood, to the repetition of the moves she learns from her master. And that she relives every night, when in bed she imagines a giant chessboard on the ceiling, where she replays all the games she could have played. Thus entering, slowly, into an early whirlwind of addiction and obsession. Which, once discovered by the director of the institute, will lead her to be removed from the game.

Everything changes when, at the age of fifteen, Beth is adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Wheatley, Alma and Allston, and finds herself having to deal with a new "family", which, although on the surface may seem traditional and well-to-do, in reality (like all of them) hides its own problems. Allston and Alma are in fact about to break up. Shortly after Beth's arrival, Mr. Wheatley will leave for Denver, abandoning his wife, addicted to alcohol and suffering from strong migraines, and their new daughter.

But his departure will only benefit the two women who, finding themselves alone, will establish a new partnership. This laid the foundations for Beth's future success, as she resumed playing chess and entered local tournaments. Immediately affirming herself as a new, young champion and destroying all the competitors in front of her. And here we finally get into the heart of the narrative, arriving at the chapters dedicated to tournaments, regional and otherwise. The competitions show how fierce the world of high-level players is, along with the incredible strength and ability of our protagonist. Her talent quickly brings her to the forefront, gaining more and more success and fame. But it also brings back her addiction to tranquilizers, with which she will fight all her life.

Along with the first important victories, Beth will also know the teenage heartbeats. The world of chess masters is in fact populated by bold young men, some of whom manage to attract the attention of the young girl, causing her new and unknown sensations. Alongside her rise to success, she will discover sexuality, unrequited love and the need to open up to others (which, for her, is extremely painful) in order to create lasting bonds.

So far I have listed some of the main elements, which i find in the plot of The Queen of Chess. But I don't want to spoil the whole story for you (hoping that among readers there is still someone who wants to start this compelling series), so i will leave you with some final instructions. Beth, an unstoppable chess machine, makes an incredible rise, destroying many international champions. But her goal is only one: to beat Vasily Borgov, the number one player in the world. Will she succeed? And between loves that come and go and few friendships, who will remain next to her when another mourning hits her young life? Will her addiction to anti-anxiety drugs, which she has had since she was a child, affect her future? That, is for you to find out.

What i can tell you is that certainly, The Queen of Chess, is a perfectly orchestrated series, able to combine the precision of the game of chess - with all its rules and moves - to human introspection (only in the season finale Beth will really be able to overcome, and understand, the ghosts of his past). A work that investigates the value of human relationships, loneliness (another main theme of the story), talent and passion. A challenge against everyone and, first and foremost, against oneself. A checkmate that makes the production win hands down.

The Queen of Chess is a little gem in the Netflix collection. A series that, although born under the pretext of celebrating the community of chess grandmasters and lowering even the most inexperienced viewers into the exciting high-level games, actually shows all the colorful varieties of the human nature. More than recounting the talent of young protagonist, it shows her intimate weaknesses: the irreparable wounds of childhood, the desire to assert herself and gain status (for example, there is frequent mention of Beth's love for high fashion clothes, a passion she has had since she was a teenager and a sort of redemption that represents her victories).

In addition, of course, to the necessity of love. Not only in relationships, but entirely in life. The love of a mother, of a father, of a friend, of a mentor. The love for a game, the game of chess, which can give you much more than you could have imagined.

In addition to the plot and narrative twists, certainly intriguing, The Queen of Chess also impresses with its shots, particularly well cared for. In addition to multiple close-ups on the gaze and face of Anya Taylor-Joy, which focus attention on the emotions of the protagonist, eviscerating them, i often find sequences designed to exemplify its genius in the game. I was catapulted into the mind of the protagonist and observes the rapid movements of the pawns that take place in her imagination (with flashbacks to her childhood games), even before the game is played on the chessboard. A ploy that brings the audience closer to the figure of the player himself, making the different games much clearer and more interesting.

In addition, another note of merit, must surely be given to the soundtrack of the series. Although the songs proposed are few, they are chosen for the most opportune moments (and alternated with the numerous, symbolic silences). In addition, the songs selected for The Queen of Chess have been specially composed by Carlos Rafael Rivera, a faithful collaborator of Netflix productions.

Seeing it again today, GNG appears in a different light, filled with tasty irony, in some cases I don't know how voluntary. Think of the beginning, with the brave Arthur lying on the ground in a cemetery (!), in his underwear (!!), with his beauty next to him doing I don't know what (!!!). But look also at his temporary transformation into a frog, with a hilarious croaking, in case you hit a tombstone too many times (you know, never awaken the eternal sleep of an evil magician) and the fearless knight who faces the monsters without spot, without fear, but, in case he loses his armor, with his boxers in full view. Yet this condition has never made us laugh, because we feel naked, uncovered, without a barrier separating our mortal body from those stinking creatures, which actually seem more spiteful than disgusting. Above all the Red Arremer, a recurring mid-boss and true centerpiece of the game, equipped as it is of those seemingly random patterns that have made damn more than one generation of players. In the unfortunate event that takes flight, we find ourselves to rejoice if you can defeat him, or to curse in the event that a dive sorties the right effect (for him) and to stare at the face full of evil satisfaction, for a few moments mockingly imprinted on the screen. Capcom's graphic designers must have been geniuses. Today we would like to smack them, but obviously, if this is the result, some credit should be given to them. But the charisma of the red gargoyle has been noticed by the same Japanese software house, if it came to repropose it as a playing character and even the protagonist of other titles (above all, the never too praised Demon's Crest/Blazon for SNES). But GNG is also a mechanism that needs to be assimilated in all its dictates, in the hope that in those few random points the luck will come our way. GNG is not synonymous with fun, not right away. Only after so much dedication you can get some results and the secret is just that: insist, do not be demoralized, because the results come. And once you have entered its inflexible schemes, once you have acquired the right rhythm, then you will have fun. But at what price! The title is comparable, perhaps a little 'unfairly, almost to a laser game, a sort of dark fairy tale of Burti's memory, with a beautiful story to live spread over the scary but fascinating views, prior torture with the cumbersome game system. GNG is two sides of the same coin, only that to discover the other, you have to arm yourself with patience, patience that not everyone is willing to invest, and to tell the truth there is no blame. There are those who will insist, clinging in moments of discouragement to those minimal but tangible progress made so far, and those who will decide that the game is not worth the candle, pardon, the lamp.

GNG is a seminal hymn to innovativeness, a melting pot of ideas, with its diversified and transcendent levels, even with the graphic limitations of the period that conditioned its rendering. Paradoxically, a constraint that blocked its construction but that acted as a stimulus to our fervid imagination, which would have probably come to figure out what would have represented the official sequel, Ghouls'n Ghosts. But we know very well that in that distant 1985 our imagination made up for the obligatory lack of technique. The design of the stage is commendable and the imaginative power of some breathtaking sections is immense: glissando on the historic cemetery initial, you can not leave out the striking bridge on fire and the last two, in an anxious climb to reach the summit, where waiting for us we will not find the beautiful to us ignobly stolen, but his relentless kidnappers. In the meantime, it will happen to curse because of the difficulty in piloting Arthur when crouching or near a ladder, and to discover that, of all the arsenal available, apart from the initial and trusted spear, the only valid weapon is the quick dagger, while the torch and the axe are to be avoided like the plague, with their descending and limited trajectory. In the midst of this trinkets, the shield (or cross in the less difficult Japanese version Makaimura), the ultimate weapon, and not because the best of the lot, as the one required to finish the sixth and final level, able to parry the opponent's blows (but not the final boss, a huge Lucifer) on the one hand, but from the terribly short range on the other, forcing a dangerous face to face with enemies. And, like it or not, you have to take the courage in four hands. Always having in mind that the shining armor is inexorably disposable, providing protection only once, after which you will remain in underwear, figuratively and practically speaking. And, after the boxers, the next step of this strip is extreme, coming directly to the skeleton. This is not enough, even if you reach the aforementioned Luciferone with the required weapon, once defeated you will learn that you have to repeat the entire round, because the one you have just laboriously completed is pure illusion! Yes, but the neurosis will be real, especially thinking about the increased difficulty of the whole thing. And to finish it again will be an epochal enterprise, perhaps with the help of a pinch of good luck (and some providential bugs ...), but certainly not by chance: how many can aspire to enter in this restricted hall of fame? GNG would have already had the better of most players hands down, but to want to win and ridicule them, to show off playful meanness to such an extent, is not exactly fair. Nevertheless, a title to love unconditionally, it's up to you to decide whether to do it despite or because of this.