Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy), the master chess player at the center of The Queen's Gambit, develops several strong relationships over the course of the show, both friendly or romantic. One key relationship is her brief romance with Harry Beltik (Harry Melling), a former chess rival turned teacher. The fling doesn't last long, and they do remain in touch - Harry even calls her alongside Benny Watts (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) to give her advice in her match against Vasily Borgov (Marcin Dorociński). However, their relationship is toxic and detrimental to the both of them, even though neither character means to do the other harm.
Harry and Beth met at a Kentucky chess tournament, years before they began their romantic relationship, when he was the state champion and she was a newcomer to the scene. Beth beat Harry, and the victory launched her career. Harry reconnects with Beth in episode 5, "Fork," after she returned from a tournament in Mexico City where she has lost her mother, Alma (Marielle Heller), and her first match against Borgov. Harry offers to teach her more about chess, and Beth in turn offers to let him move in with her.
The subsequent relationship is brief, but it is clearly toxic for a number of reasons. Not only is it highly one-sided, with Harry pining after Beth, it also comes at one of the lowest points in Beth's life. Harry's parting message to Beth also drives home her own fears about obsession and madness, a fear that becomes realized in the following episode after her loss to Borgov in Paris.
Harry Loves The Idea Of Beth
Even though The Queen's Gambit subverts the trope of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl with its strong characterization and refusal to diminish either Beth's accomplishments or her flaws, Harry still falls victim to romanticizing a fantasy he's constructed around Beth instead of seeing Beth for herself. He's idealized her as a genius for years, by his own ission. He tells her how he's followed her career and cites her cover photo in Chess Review and the photos of her in the Lexington newspaper.
The problem with following Beth in this way is that he only sees her career and her genius and conflates that to who she is in her entirety. Pieces in magazines don't capture her entire personality or her complexities. For example, in episode 3, "Doubled Pawns," Beth complains that a story about her is mostly concerned with her being a girl. These are the kinds of stories that Harry has been reading in the years between their encounters, and they have narrowed his view of Beth to chess master only, nothing else.
On top of this, Harry tries to use his fantasy of Beth to fix himself. He its that Beth is the reason he got his teeth fixed, showing that he has been thinking romantically of her for quite some time. He also offers up his services as a chess mentor. On the surface level, this is a nice gesture, and some of his lessons prove to be helpful. However, in teaching Beth, Harry is inadvertently trying to fulfill his own fading dream of being a great chess player. The reality is that Beth is far ahead of him, and she is so much more than the chess genius fantasy he has constructed over the years.
Inappropriate Timing
Beth is in no position to be in a romantic or sexual relationship when Harry arrives. Not only did she suffer a defeat at the hands of Borgov in Mexico, her mother died as well. Alma was the most ive figure in Beth's post-orphanage life. Even though she was battling her own substance abuse problems, she ed Beth's chess career and choices. She was also the person Beth was closest to, so her loss is staggering.
At this moment, Beth is incredibly vulnerable and needs . Harry's chess mentorship does give her some comfort and respite from living alone, but his actions come from a place of obsession. Harry is so awe-inspired by Beth that he fails to see that she is undergoing a very real personal struggle.
These circumstances, including Alma's recent death, are what make their sexual relationship so uncomfortable. When Harry kisses Beth, she is surprised, and instead of expressing her desire for him, she simply sits there and tells Harry she is ready to continue. The sex is consensual, but afterwards Beth does not appear to have enjoyed it, and Harry is unsure of where this leaves them. It's clear Beth is not interested in Harry the same way he is interested in her. Neither of them are satisfied in this relationship, and this lack of satisfaction would remain should the relationship have continued.
The "Mad Genius" Concern
Harry leaves Beth after he realizes that he's taught her everything he knows, and that she isn't the ideal he thought her to be. He tells her that he's learned that he doesn't love chess as much as he did anymore. Since Beth and chess are nearly synonymous for him, this statement also implies that his feelings for Beth - his fantasy of genius - have lessened.
Before he leaves, Harry gives Beth a book about chess champion Paul Morphy, saying they have a lot in common. While Morphy was brilliant, he became overwhelmingly paranoid and died. He also retired at 22. Harry says he thinks Beth is on that same track, citing her jar of tranquilizer pills as evidence. Even though he now worries about and pities Beth as opposed to idealizing her, Harry doesn't help Beth any further. His comparison to Morphy doesn't help either; in fact, it does more harm than good.
Throughout the show, Beth struggles with the line between her love of chess and her obsession with it: genius versus madness. While she never states it outright, she is constantly thinking of her biological mother, as evidenced by the flashbacks at the beginning of several episodes. In these flashbacks, Beth re her mother Alice Harmon (Chloe Pirrie) as brilliant but unstable. There's a worry that Beth, too, is doomed to madness, and Harry's comparison of her to Morphy does not help matters. He reinforces her fears in his last few moments with her, and these fears in turn become a self-fulfilling prophecy as Beth spirals in the next episode, "Adjournment."
Neither Beth nor Harry mean each other harm in their brief relationship, and it's clear they both care for one another. However, it is still toxic - Harry was so caught up in his fantasy of Beth that he failed to see that she was in a vulnerable place after her mother's death. Their mutual respect for each other and enjoyment of chess still serve as a bond between them, but they are much better off as friends.