Beth Harmon's Chess Openings (Queen's Gambit)

The Short Answer

> Quick answer: In Netflix's The Queen's Gambit, Beth Harmon's two signature openings are the Sicilian Defense (especially the Najdorf Variation, 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6) and the Queen's Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4) — the opening the show is named after. The famous 'knight on f6' moment refers to the Najdorf's 5...a6 setups where the f6 knight anchors Black's flexible position. The chess in the show was real, vetted by Bruce Pandolfini and Garry Kasparov. Want to actually learn her openings? Train the Queen's Gambit and Sicilian on CheckmateX.

I rewatched The Queen's Gambit recently with a notebook, pausing on every board position. The chess holds up — the producers hired Bruce Pandolfini (Beth's real-life inspiration's coach lineage) and Garry Kasparov to make sure the games were legitimate, and most of the positions are based on real master games. That's rare for a chess show.

This post breaks down the openings Beth actually plays, what the Najdorf and Queen's Gambit really are, the 'knight on f6' detail people search for, and how a normal club player can learn the same systems. It's a fun bridge between the show and real chess.

Worth saying up front: The Queen's Gambit (the 2020 Netflix miniseries) did more for chess participation than almost anything in the modern era. Chess set sales spiked, online platforms saw record sign-ups, and a whole generation discovered the game through Beth Harmon. A lot of those people are now real players, and a surprising number found the openings on screen so intriguing that they went looking to learn them. That's exactly who this post is for — if a board position in the show caught your eye and you wondered 'what opening is that, and can I play it too,' you're in the right place.

The short version of the answer is yes, you can play Beth's openings, and they're genuinely good — but some are far more beginner-friendly than others. I'll flag which ones to start with and which to save for later, so you don't dive straight into the Najdorf's theoretical deep end and drown.

Beth's Two Signature Openings

Photo by Tyler Lastovich on Unsplash

Beth Harmon is written as a flexible, aggressive player who can win with many systems, but two openings define her on screen.

The Sicilian Defense is her main weapon with the Black pieces. Early in the series, the janitor Mr. Shaibel and her later study teach her the Levenfish and especially the Najdorf variations of the Sicilian. The Najdorf (named after Miguel Najdorf) is the most respected and aggressive Sicilian system, the same one Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov built careers on. It gives Black a flexible, counterattacking position — exactly the sharp style the show gives Beth.

The Queen's Gambit is her signature with White and, of course, the show's title. The opening (1.d4 d5 2.c4) offers Black a pawn to deflect the d5 pawn and seize the center. It's one of the oldest and soundest openings in chess, a staple of world championship play for over a century. The title works on two levels — the opening, and Beth 'gambiting' pieces of her life (her addictions, relationships) in pursuit of mastery.

The show also features cameo openings during montages and matches — the Sicilian Scheveningen, the Ruy Lopez, the Caro-Kann, and the French Defense all appear on screen. The producers clearly wanted variety that real players would recognize, and they got it.

If you want to start with the opening the show is named after, the Queen's Gambit opening trainer walks through the main lines move by move, or read my full Queen's Gambit guide.

The Najdorf and the Famous Knight on f6

A lot of people search for 'Beth Harmon knight on f6,' so let me explain what that's about.

In the Sicilian Najdorf, the move order is 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6. That knight that goes to f6 on move four is central to the whole system — it attacks White's e4 pawn, controls key central squares, and gives Black the flexibility the Najdorf is famous for. The defining move 5...a6 (the Najdorf's signature) prepares ...e5 or ...e6 and keeps White's pieces off the b5 square.

The knight on f6 is doing the heavy lifting: it pressures e4, supports a later ...d5 break, and can reroute to d7 or hop into the kingside attack. When commentators in the show (or real chess analysts) talk about the f6 knight, they mean this flexible, aggressive piece that defines modern Sicilian play.

Why does the Najdorf matter so much? It's arguably the most analyzed opening in all of chess. Fischer called it his favorite. Kasparov used it as a primary weapon. It rewards deep understanding and punishes the opponent's inaccuracies — which is why it fits Beth's character as a genius who outcalculates everyone.

That said, I wouldn't recommend the Najdorf as a first Sicilian for a club player. The theory is enormous and the lines are razor-sharp. If you want to play the Sicilian like Beth, start with the basics first — my Sicilian Defense for beginners post explains how to ease into it before tackling the Najdorf's complications. Erwin l'Ami's analysis of Beth's games on ChessBase is also a great watch if you want to see how legitimate the show's chess really is.

The Other Openings That Appear in the Show

Beth's Najdorf and Queen's Gambit get the spotlight, but the show is quietly stuffed with real openings, and recognizing them is half the fun on a rewatch.

The Sicilian Scheveningen shows up in Beth's games — it's a flexible Sicilian setup with pawns on d6 and e6 that creates the 'small center' Black can expand from later. It's a close cousin of the Najdorf and the two often transpose.

The Ruy Lopez (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5) appears in several board positions, fitting because it's the most classical, principled 1.e4 e5 opening — exactly what well-trained players of Beth's era would reach for.

The Caro-Kann (1.e4 c6) and the French Defense (1.e4 e6) both feature too. These are solid, structurally sound defenses that contrast with Beth's sharper Najdorf — the producers used them to show the variety of a real chess world rather than having everyone play one system.

What's clever is how the show uses openings as characterization. Beth's Najdorf signals aggression and risk-taking; Borgov's solid, grinding style reflects the Soviet school's emphasis on deep preparation and technique. When Beth finally beats Borgov, part of the symbolism is that she's matched his discipline without losing her creativity.

For a club player, the lesson is that you don't need a dozen openings to play well — Beth's strength came from knowing a few systems deeply, not from breadth. Pick one defense against 1.e4, one against 1.d4, and one or two openings for White, then train them until they're automatic. That's the realistic version of Beth's montage-study scenes. If you want the structural contrast between sharp and solid defenses, compare the Sicilian with the more solid Caro-Kann on the trainer and feel the difference in how the games flow.

How Real Was the Chess in The Queen's Gambit?

Photo by Piotr Makowski on Unsplash

The chess in The Queen's Gambit is genuinely good, and that's not an accident. Netflix hired two of the most credible chess minds available: Bruce Pandolfini, a legendary chess teacher and author, and Garry Kasparov, the former World Champion widely regarded as one of the greatest players in history.

Their job was to design the on-screen positions so they'd hold up to scrutiny from real players. Many of the games are based on actual historical master games, adapted to fit the story beats. When Beth wins with a particular combination, it's usually a real, sound combination — not Hollywood nonsense where pieces move illegally.

The final game against Borgov, for instance, features genuine chess logic, and the openings throughout (the Najdorf, the Queen's Gambit, the various cameo systems) are played with correct move orders. Chess analysts including the ChessBase team and Erwin l'Ami have reviewed Beth's games on screen and confirmed they're largely legitimate, with only minor artistic liberties.

This is why the show resonated so hard with the chess community and triggered a massive surge in new players, chess set sales, and online play after its 2020 release. It treated the game with respect.

If the show made you want to actually learn, the path is straightforward: start with sound opening principles, pick one White opening (the Queen's Gambit is a great choice) and one Black defense (start simpler than the Najdorf), and train them until they're automatic. The CheckmateX opening trainer covers the Queen's Gambit and Sicilian among others, and my how to learn chess openings post explains the training method that actually sticks — drilling through repetition rather than passive reading. Beth's genius was fiction; her work ethic is the part you can copy.

When I tried learning the Najdorf myself after first watching the show, I jumped straight into the deep theory and got demolished for weeks because I didn't understand the underlying plans yet. I tested a slower approach the second time around — basic Sicilian structures first, then the Najdorf's specifics — and it stuck. That's the honest lesson behind the on-screen montages: the study works, but only in the right order.