Anya Taylor-Joy reveals the secret of filming 'The Queen's Gambit' chess scenes

Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit is an American biographical drama that is based on the 1983 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis. The Queen’s Gambit received a lot of love from the audience as it portrayed the journey of the very popular chess player, Beth Harmon as she rose to the top of the chess world after struggling with alcohol and drug dependency. The very well-known Argentine-British actor, Anya Taylor-Joy was appreciated for her brilliant on-screen performance as Beth Harmon.

For all The Queen’s Gambit lovers who must be wondering the “secret” behind how the cast and crew shot the very popular chess scenes, Anya Taylor-Joy has recently revealed The Queen’s Gambit chess scene secrets. Read further ahead to know more about The Queen’s Gambit chess scene.

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The Queen’s Gambit chess scene “secret” revealed

Anya Taylor-Joy revealed The Queen’s Gambit chess scene secrets while having a candid chat with IndieWire during an interview. The actor said that the initial plan to shoot the chess scenes was for her to memorize each move for each and every game that they shot at the moment.

But, as Anya Taylor-Joy arrived on the sets of The Queen’s Gambit, the actor thought of a more “natural and instinctive method” of creating those chess scenes and suggested that it would be better if she learned the moves “on spot” before giving each take. 

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Anya Taylor-Joy disclosed that this is what ended up becoming the way the cast and crew shot all the chess scenes, that the actor too “geekily” started loving. She mentioned that she comes from a dance background and is used to the following choreography. She would go to the dance class and the teacher would expect her to follow the same steps after only having seen it once. So, this way of shooting for the chess scenes was the “exact same thing” for Anya Taylor-Joy, but only with her fingers. This method of shooting The Queen’s Gambit chess scene also allowed the actor to get some sleep, which she really appreciated.

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Talking about how Anya Taylor-Joy felt about playing the character of Beth Harmon, she said that at their core, both of them are very similar. The actor has revealed that her characters are “real” to her and she cares about the characters she plays. Anya Taylor-Joy confessed that her relationships with “her characters” are as real as the relationships she has with people that she doesn’t play.