The Queen's Gambit: Why Beth Rejected Benny (And Why He Forgave Her)
Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Benny Watts (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) appear to be a match made in heaven, but their relationship in The Queen's Gambit, is rather complicated. Both are talented chess players isolated somewhat by their own genius and ambition, but they find that they are less lonely in each other's company. Despite this connection and their eventual romance, the show concludes with them as friends. Why did Beth reject Benny in the first place, and how did they reconcile?
Beth first meets Benny at the US Open, where he beats her in her first professional loss. However, he is still impressed by her playing, especially since she is a child prodigy. When they meet again in episode 5, «Fork,» Beth beats Benny, further intriguing him. Benny's apartment in New York then becomes a regular haunt for Beth when he begins mentoring her. As Benny trains Beth for her match in Paris against Russian grandmaster Vasily Borgov (Marcin Dorociński), the two push each other to improve their chess skills. They also begin a sexual relationship, which is where the first signs of their relationship not being tenable become clear.
Related: The Queen's Gambit: What Every One Of Beth's Relationships Mean
After they have sex for the first time, Benny begins strategizing about how Beth can beat Borgov. Beth is visibly exasperated by the fact that he can only talk about chess at this pivotal moment in their relationship. It is as if Benny only sees Beth's chess abilities, not her feelings — a problem which also plagued Beth's relationship with Harry Beltik (Harry Melling). He is too obsessed with chess and his mentorship of Beth at this point. As Cleo (Millie Brady) points out to Beth in Paris, nobody can compete with Benny's love for
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