The Mock Turtle

Thank you! I am watching a really annoying but useful video on the basics on youtube, so maybe I'll be ready to play against Liv soon, sounds like we'll be the same level.

I don't know how to play so Liv will be ahead of me! She seems quite into it so maybe she's a future grandmaster

Just don't let her near any tranquilisers*.

* if you haven't watched The Queen's Gambit I appreciate this post will sound a little unhinged.

(I am LOVING chess.com. I just beat a beginner bot. This will be my new obsession for at least a week).

Ha, I was just popping on to say chess.com! I'm going to try and persuade F to get back into it, maybe he can start to use his brains again rather than obsessing over girls!

Yeah, that sounds like a losing battle.

Margo wrote: ↑Wed Oct 28, 2020 10:04 pm The Queen's Gambit is the most beautiful, stylish and entertaining series I’ve seen in a very very long time.

The sets, clothes and actors were perfect, and the story was absolutely gripping.

You really must watch it!

Yes, to all of this!

I finished it last night and loved it.

We watched it all last weekend and really enjoyed it. Dudley Dursley!

Beth reminds me of a good Villanelle. It's that intense single-mindedness and brilliance.

I was a bit disappointed by the ending.

Mountain Goat wrote: ↑Fri Nov 13, 2020 11:42 am Beth reminds me of a good Villanelle. It's that intense single-mindedness and brilliance.

The actresses look slightly similar too.

The only thing that's been annoying me about The Queen's Gambit is the ages of some of the actors/roles. I don't think these will be spoilers, but if you're particularly sensitive to advance knowledge, stop reading now




Jolene at the orphanage must be at least 13 when Beth arrives, aged 9, but is still there 6 years later.
The Mexican would presumably be within a year or two of his American penpal, but the actors are 13 years apart.

I was surprised at how young the actress playing her (adoptive) mum is!

Oh, I did not clock Dudders at all! Whereas I know the adoptive mum from somewhere but IMDB hasn't helped me and it drove me a bit mad after a while

Luce wrote: ↑Thu Nov 12, 2020 3:34 pm Thanks for the tips, chaps. I’ll make sure not to give up - not a chance I’ll be able to follow the moves. Hopefully he won’t make me angry the way poker playing in films does!

This is one of my biggest movie pet peeves! So many films have key scenes that pivot around the elaborate reveal of certain cards, EXTREMELY dull if you have no idea if they're good or bad.

I enjoyed it overall, but [not spoilers but feel free to skip if you haven't finished yet]
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I was disappointed about how much [i.e. how little] screentime/story Jolene got in the end, and my interest was HUGELY piqued by the female Russian player who got the 2 second reference of not being allowed to play men. That's a storyline I would've loved to follow a bit further, there but for the grace of god and all that.

Dudders was in series 1 of His Dark Materials, too. Only in 1 (or maybe 2?) episodes, though.

Leap wrote: ↑Fri Nov 13, 2020 12:36 pm Oh, I did not clock Dudders at all!

They kept focusing on his teeth MrPG was horrified.

I knew I recognised him! I spotted love actually boy straight away. He’s like Macauley Culkin. Cute child, ropey looking adult.

Jojen / Love Actually child is 30!!! So 23-24 in GoT.

Beatrix wrote: ↑Sun Oct 18, 2020 9:43 pm Lily Collins (Emily in Paris) is in a terrible film on Netflix: Inheritance. It is not light or fluffy. She should stick to being Emily.

I’ve just discovered that she’s Phil Collins’ daughter. This might already have been mentioned.

I finished the series yesterday and loved it in a bad, guilty way.