Beth asks Mr. Shaibel what the game is called
Skipping chapel, Beth finds the custodian alone at a board in the basement and asks him to teach her; he does not play strangers.
Tag
#shaibel
11 moments.
Girls do not play chess: the first lesson
Beth returns with an answer for Shaibel, shows what she has learned by watching, and he grudgingly explains how each piece moves before their first game.
The Scholar's Mate, three Sundays running
Shaibel beats Beth with the same four-move trap week after week and refuses to show her how it works.
You resign now: Beth refuses to lose gracefully
Shaibel tells Beth that losing her queen means resigning; she insists on finishing, swears at him and is thrown out of the basement.
Beth beats Shaibel and learns the Sicilian Defense
After her first win Beth is told not to gloat, then gets her first opening theory: the Sicilian, knight to KB3, and the news that squares have names.
The Queen's Gambit gets its name
Beth plays an opening Shaibel never taught her; he names it, decides they will take turns with White from now on, and she mates him again.
Modern Chess Openings and 'you're astounding'
Shaibel shares his whiskey secret, hands Beth the book she needs and, hearing she is only nine, tells her the truth about how good she is.
Jolene turns up at Beth's door with news of Mr. Shaibel
Jolene reappears after years, teases Beth about her house, brings word that Mr. Shaibel has died and lays out her plan to become a lawyer and a radical.
Shaibel's funeral: Deardorff's hip and the ten dollars
At the chapel service Jolene notes nobody is crying, reports Deardorff's fall after Beth left, and Beth confesses she still owes Shaibel ten dollars.
Beth finds Shaibel's wall of clippings in the Methuen basement
Beth goes back down to the basement where she learned chess, discovers Shaibel kept every article about her, and breaks down in Jolene's arms.
Press scrum: Beth makes Time print William Shaibel's name
Mobbed by reporters, Beth sets the record straight about learning chess from a janitor, then a Lexington reporter turns out to be a familiar face.