Unlike the chessboards in most films and series, the boards in this series are always set up correctly, and the games and positions are realistic. National Master Bruce Pandolfini and Grandmaster Garry Kasparov consulted on the series.
The final scene of the series, in which Beth gets out of the car and walks through the park to play chess with old men, was actually shot in Berlin.
The scenes in which Beth moves imaginary chess pieces on her bedroom ceiling are the work of VFX supervisor John Mangia and VFX producer Arissa Blasingame. Neither of them knew much about chess until they joined this production. Mangia and Blasingame provided more than 700 shots for the series, including a virtual 1960s Las Vegas building. LIDAR scanning was used in the ceiling scenes to obtain accurate 3D measurements of the rooms and environments. Every moment Beth mentally moves chess pieces on her ceiling was based on real chess moves.
Series consultant and National Master Bruce Pandolfini trained future National Master Josh Waitzkin. At the age of 11, Waitzkin drew against fellow series consultant Grandmaster Garry Kasparov.
As the episodes progress from year to year, filmmaking techniques specific to each year are used. For example, the use of split screen in the 1967 games between Beth and Benny.
Despite the series' artistic qualities and overall accuracy, it contains some inaccuracies: * In an official game, a player almost never resigns by tipping over their king; this is considered rude (Benny tells Beth that this is not done in international play): the player stops the clock and/or shakes hands and signs the score sheet. * When Harry presents Beth with the book about Paul Morphy, it is unlikely that Beth would be discovering it. Harry lectures her about Morphy, which is unnecessary because Morphy is extremely well known. * A player, no matter how talented, cannot so easily beat three top-level players, including a Grandmaster and US Champion, in simultaneous speed chess: the pace across three different boards would be far too fast. * In official games, adjournments were not open to negotiation; after the time control (usually 40 moves), they were applied when a player requested it or when the first time period ran out, to prevent the game from lasting too long. (For information: This practice was abandoned in the 1990s with the development of computers and the shortening of time periods.) * In the USSR in 1968, a crowd would not be allowed to cheer an American player, especially after defeating Soviet Grandmasters. * A Soviet Grandmaster would not hug and applaud an American player after losing his game, or even any player. * Overall, Beth's high winning rate never occurred in the modern chess era (after World War II), even among male players. Bobby Fischer had some winning streaks, but not this much. Magnus Carlsen had a long unbeaten streak, but with many draws. Judit Polgar, considered the best female player in history, could not come close to Beth's performance. * We rarely see Beth practicing or studying, whereas highly competitive tournaments would require constant and meticulous work. José Capablanca, sometimes mentioned in the series, was a 'natural' talent like Beth, but he played far more than she did, and only before World War II, when Soviet Grandmasters did not yet dominate the world. * We rarely see draws, whereas at high levels of play they would occur at an average rate of more than 20%, even in the 1960s.
Falaise Hall, White Rock Gardens, Hastings, East Sussex really exists, but it is currently a gym.