Interview with Thomas Brodie-Sangster aka Benny Watts from the Netflix hit series The Queen's Gambit

American Chess Magazine #20: The Oklahoma Kid

'You are forced to dive into and explore the chess world with the eyes of someone very passionate about it. It's a beautifully simple game and yet so complicated, " says an English actor - a rebel, a loner, a cool, mysterious guy - and what about that accent!?

The cover of issue #20 features another hero from the Queen’s Gambit – Thomas Brodie-Sangster (a.k.a. Benny Watts). Beth Harmon has become our chess darling, but who is Benny Watts – rogue or Romeo?! What’s the relationship between Beth and Benny? How difficult was it for an English actor to perform with an American accent?

Interview with Thomas Brodie-Sangster, a.k.a. Benny Watts from the Netflix hit series The Queen's Gambit, is the feature story on the cover of American Chess Magazine issue #20, titled "The Oklahoma Kid." In the interview, the English actor discusses his portrayal of the character Benny Watts, his relationship with Beth Harmon, and the challenges of performing with an American accent. Thomas also shares his personal connections to chess and his experiences filming the series behind the scenes.

In the "Readers Voices" column, American Chess Magazine presents extensive coverage of the feedback it received from its readership on whether the hype generated by The Queen's Gambit is only momentary. The editors of ACM hope to keep the momentum of the current chess boom going for as long as possible, as chess is the reason why they started the magazine in the first place.

Issue #19 of the magazine featured U.S. Champion GM Wesley So, who analyzed two of his games in detail, with a focus on his clash with runner-up GM Jeffery Xiong. In this issue, Jeffery offers his own view of that same game and comments on a few more of his encounters, following up on the mirror image analysis.

GM Illia Nyzhnyk, the winner of the very strong SPICE Cup Open, provides analysis and commentary on his games, offering value to ambitious players seeking to improve and chess fans of all strengths looking to gain an understanding of the intricacies of over-the-board chess.

The issue also includes a complete repertoire for White in tackling the Scandinavian Defense, prepared by GM Alex Mista, and a new column on the historical genesis of openings and their names by new contributor Patrick McCartney.

The magazine's commitment to featuring young and talented players and writers brings 14-year-old national master Grayson Rorrer, who reports on a fantastic comeback that enabled GM John Burke to win the 2020 U.S. Junior Championship, and 10-year-old Oliver Boydell, who has already published his own chess book.

Other features include GM Vladimir Belous' extensive work on the middlegame strategies of the popular King's Indian Defense, and GM Peter Prohaszka's in-depth analysis and discoveries of an incredible endgame from 50 years ago.

Regular columns such as GM Aagaard's All-Round Training, Chess Tech by Jon Edwards, Book Reviews by FM Carsten Hansen, Chess Puzzles, and ACM excerpts from 1897, provide readers with hours of reading and fun. The guest in the "5x5 Where Grandmasters Advise Young Players" column is U.S. Junior Champion, twice U.S. Olympic Team Captain, successful chess coach, and writer – the legendary U.S. Grandmaster John Fedorowicz.