The Queen's Gambit Chess - Gameplay Questions

What is Elo?

In chess, Elo is a rating given to players to calculate their relative level of skill when compared to others.

How do I change my Elo?

Elo will update when you finish an online game or showdown. How much it changes by will depend on whether you win and what your opponent's Elo rating is.

How is my Elo used in the game?

We use Elo to gauge skill levels and will match you up against other players with a similar skill level. This ensures that you’re always playing someone who is as close as possible to your abilities and creates a competitive environment where you are rewarded for improving.

What is Beth’s Journey?

Beth’s Journey is an immersive experience, allowing you to follow Beth’s path from novice to grandmaster. Along the way, you'll learn to play chess and take on a series of increasingly challenging puzzles.

How do I play Beth’s Journey?

After completing the tutorial or loading the game, you'll automatically be taken to the Beth’s Journey map. From there, choose one of your unlocked chapters and continue playing.

How do I select or change difficulty?

When you first enter Beth’s Journey you'll be given a choice of 3 difficulty levels: novice, intermediate, or advanced. Each difficulty comes with its own puzzles and lessons to explore.

To change your difficulty at any point, in the top right tap the difficulty bar (which shows your current difficulty). Each difficulty has its own progression, so you'll be starting a new journey when you change the setting. Don’t worry, though, you can change back at any time and pick up where you left off.

Can I reset my progress in Beth’s Journey?

No, there is no way to reset your progress. But you can go back and replay any completed puzzle or lesson at any time.

How do I earn all of the stars on a puzzle?

In order to earn all of the stars for a puzzle, you'll need to complete it in the shortest "Finish under" time or number of moves. You can see these targets as you enter the puzzle and in the bar at the top as you play.

If you don’t earn all the stars on your first try, you can always go back and try again.

How do I unlock the next chapter?

The next chapter unlocks when you've finished every lesson and puzzle in your current chapter.

How do I play lessons?

You’ll play through all of the lessons as you progress through Beth’s Journey. Tapping the Lesson Library building on the Beth’s Journey map will allow you to replay any that you want to revisit. 

How do I play a game of chess?

Games can be accessed from the home screen. Tapping the games button will take you to a menu from which you can choose which type of game you want to play:

• Games in progress - Continue an existing game

• Play Online - Play vs a matchmade opponent

• Play Practice - Play vs an AI opponent with a difficulty chosen by you

• Play vs. Friend - Play vs a player of your choice

• Pass & Play - local play between two players

After selecting your choice of opponent you can then set the game up as you like, using any of your unlocked content.

How do I invite a friend to play?

1. Create a Play vs. Friend game.

2. When you enter the table you'll be given a 6-letter code (e.g. ABCDEF). Share this code with the friend by text, email or message.

3. Your friend should then select Play vs. Friend, choose the Join option, and enter the code to join you at the table.

Where can I view my profile and game statistics?

See your statistics and player profile by tapping the Your stats button (pie chart) at the bottom left of the home screen.

What is Harmon Match?

Harmon Match is a measurement of how you play chess compared to Beth Harmon. The game analyses your moves to give you a total percentage of how similarly to Beth Harmon you play!

How can I share my match?

After the game ends you will be taken to a post-game analysis screen. Tap the More Info button and you'll have two options to share your game: copy FEN and copy PGN. These will copy to your clipboard and then can share them where you choose.

What is Beth's Vision?

Beth's Vision is based on Beth’s ability in the show to think through all possible moves and pick the best one for the situation.

When you use Beth’s Vision you'll look up to the ceiling where Beth will figure out and show you the best move to make next.

How do I use Beth’s Vision?

In the bottom left, tap the Beth’s Vision icon when it's fully charged. This will cause the Beth’s Vision animation to play out and then show you the best move on the board, and you can play it or ignore it.

How do I charge Beth’s Vision?

Beth’s Vision charges automatically as you play the game. It'll charge faster if you don't choose the best moves and if you make mistakes.

Where can I learn how to play chess in-game?

Playing through Beth’s Journey is the best way to learn. If you’re a complete beginner we recommend starting with novice difficulty and working your way up.

Where in-game can I find out about how each chess piece moves?

Learn how each chess piece moves by playing through Beth’s Journey at the Novice difficulty level. You can always revisit these later in the Lesson Library.

How do you win a game of chess?

There are three ways to win a game of chess:

• Checkmate: The main way to win a game, playing the game to completion. This happens when one of the players is threatening the other king and it cannot move to any other squares, cannot be protected by another piece and the checking piece cannot be captured.

• Resignation: When a player believes that they cannot win because their opponent is too far ahead, they may choose to resign, this is a win for the player who is left in the game.

• Timeout: If you run out of time, you automatically lose the game if your opponent has the minimum material required to force a checkmate.

What does a stalemate mean?

A stalemate is a draw in which neither player is able to secure the victory due to having insufficient material or the board becoming unplayable without the opponent's king in check.

What is Castling?

Castling is a special rule that allows your king to move two spaces to its right or left, while the rook on that side moves to the opposite side of the king. This is only available if there are no pieces between them and they haven't moved. Remember though, you can’t castle through check!

How do I read chess notation?

Chess uses an algebraic notation, which gives every square a coordinate based on white's perspective.

• The bottom left corner square is a1, the one above it is a2, above that a3, and so on. To the right of a1 is b1, then c1, etc., with the opposite (top right corner) being h8.

• In chess terminology, each row is called a rank, and each column a file. So as we move up the board in ranks it goes from 1 to 8 and if we move across the board in columns it goes from a to h.

• The pieces are labeled with the first letter of their name, with the exception of knights, which use an N, and pawns which don’t use a letter.
  
  If you’d like to know more make sure to check out the chess notation tutorial in the intermediate difficulty of Beth’s Journey.

What is a FEN?

FEN (Forsyth-Edwards Notation) shows all the information needed to describe the position the chessboard is at. It won't tell you much about what happened before that point in the game, but it does show if there are possibilities for castling, whose move it is, and the number of moves played so far.

What is a PGN?

PGN (Portable Game Notation) is an easy-to-read format that records both the moves of the game (in standard algebraic notation) and any related data such as the names of the players, the winner/loser, and even the date the game was played.

What are Coins and how do I use them?

Coins are used to purchase new locations, chess sets, and cosmetics for your profile. You can spend them in the item shop, which you can go to by tapping the shopping cart in the bottom left of the main screen.

How do I get Coins?

Coins are earned by playing games, finishing puzzles and lessons in Beth’s Journey as well as completing Goals.

How do I unlock more Avatars, Backgrounds, Frames, or Chess Sets?

These can be unlocked in the item shop. In the bottom left of the main screen, tap the shopping cart. Use your coins to get to add to your collection. Some items will need to be unlocked by doing something specific in the game. These are shown with a lock icon. You can find out how to unlock them by tapping the item that you’d like to unlock.

How do I change Avatars, Backgrounds, Frames, or Chess Sets?

For avatars, backgrounds, or frames, make changes by going to the Edit Profile screen. In the top left corner of the screen, tap your profile. Then choose the item you'd like to use from your collection. In the upper right, tap the X to close the screen.

For chess sets, after unlocking a chess set in the item shop you can then choose to use it when starting up any custom game of chess.

Where can I view my Postcards?

Postcards can be found by visiting the Post Boxes scattered across different locations in Beth’s Journey.

What decides my table side?

When starting a new online game, one of two things will happen: if there is already a player waiting, you will join their table as the black side. Otherwise, you'ill create a new table as white and wait for an opponent to join you.

When playing against friends or AI you can choose which side you would prefer to play during the initial game setup.

How does matchmaking work?

The matchmaking system works by attempting to find you an opponent with a similar skill level as quickly as possible.

Can I undo my previous move?

In Play Practice games, Beth’s Journey, and friendly games against the characters from the show you can undo your previous move, allowing you to try out different options and see the outcomes. Undo is not available in online multiplayer.

What happens if someone leaves mid-game?

If someone leaves an ongoing game, they will have until their time control runs out to return and make their next move. If they don't, they will be considered to have forfeited and their opponent will be awarded the victory.

What are Goals?

Goals are special objectives that you can complete for an additional reward. They are unlocked after playing the game for a short while. They're often things that you might complete as you play normally through the game but will usually give you something extra to work toward or something new to try out. You can complete them in your own time and challenges will never time out.

Where can I view my Goals?

At the bottom right of the home screen tap the Goals button (a star inside a flower shape) to see your challenges.

Can I swap my Goals if I don’t like them?

Each day you can reject one of your offered goals and replace it with a new random challenge.

How often will I receive a new Goal?

You will get a new set of goals each day, as long as you have an empty slot in your active challenges.

What decides which new Goals I'll get?

Goals are drawn at random from a pool of available goals for your current progress and chosen difficulty.

What are the rewards?

Completing goals will reward you with additional coins.