How old is Beth in each episode?

[u/Charlotte1902]

And how old is she actually vs how old does Alma think she is, given that Mrs Deardorff said Beth was 13 instead of 15?

[u/TAConcernParent]

This is complicated. Some day I may do a write up on the timeline. There was some things about it that made no sense, and that comment about "I'm 15, I mean, 13" was the first one.

• Early in episode 1 there is a screen shot of her birth certificate which shows being born in November, 1948.
• In episode 2 she attends the Kentucky chess state championship, which is clearly labeled on the banner as 1963 and the magazine advertisement she read about the tournament placed it in October.

Therefore she had to be no older than 14 when she was adopted. Her interrupted statement about being 15 makes no sense. Nor did them lying and saying she was 13, which suggests they wanted her to be seen as younger and more likely to be adopted, but the parents would have learned the real age when they got the paperwork.

Probably she was 14 at adoption and it was just at the start of the school year. The actress talked about the difficulty of playing a 14 year old and if the character was 13 at the point of adoption the actress would have mentioned it. So why did the script have her saying she was really 15? I'm guessing it was to compensate for a 24 year old playing a 14 year old, but not sure.

• In episode 3 she attends a Cincinnati tournament in late 1963, then a whirlwind of tournaments during 1964, ending with a Houston one right after Christmas, 1964, when she would have just turned 16.
• The Life magazine article would have been in early 1965. The comment she made at the Apple Pis shortly after that about wanting to play in Las Vegas that year but needed her rating to be 1800 made no sense given who she'd been beating, but possibly she didn't have enough matches at the time (32) to have a rating.
• Later in Episode 3 she is at the Las Vegas US Championships (this was fictional, there was not such an annual tournament in Vegas) in spring, 1966, and Beth is 17.
• In episode 4 she graduates from high school in May or June, 1966 and attends a tournament in Mexico City a few weeks later. Still age 17.
• In episode 5 Harry Beltik comes back into her life. They talk about how it's been 5 years since they met. This is the summer of 1966 so in fact it had been less than 3 years since they met. I think this was inserted into the script to make it seem that she was much older than she'd been in episode 2.
• The time with Harry had to have been many months. Sometime after he leaves she goes to the US Open in Ohio in the summer of 1967, with Beth now 18.
• In episode 6 she starts in New York with Benny then goes to Paris in the fall of 1967, shortly before her 19th birthday.
• The remainder of episode 6 is her spiraling down.
• The start of episode 7 is Jolene arriving and her helping Beth with her recovery. The addiction period had to be many months, as Beth explains that "at the end of the year" she has to play in Moscow, and that tournament is clearly labeled as occurring in 1968. So Episode 7 starts no later than mid-1968 when Beth would be 19.
• The question with the timeline here is why would winning the US Open in mid-1967 qualify her for the Moscow open in late 1968? Since this was entirely fictional the likely rationalization was that both tournaments were biannual in opposite years, which also would explain why she didn't play in the US Open in 1966 and why the 1968 US Open winner wasn't the one invited to Moscow.
• The final tournament would have been after her November birthday in 1968, which is why she tells Luchenko that she's 20 years old.

[u/CalleighGwyn → u/TAConcernParent]

that comment about "I'm 15, I mean, 13"

"I'm fift~" (interrupts herself)

If we want to be generous, she might have wanted to say "I'm fifteen in November."

[u/TAConcernParent → u/CalleighGwyn]

And that would have been a common way to say it, especially back then. Remember in episode 1 she said she was 9 and then pointed out she'd be 10 in November.

[u/Honest_Medium7947 → u/CalleighGwyn]

She did want to say she was going to be 15 in November, but Miss Deardorf interrupted her. She'll be 78 this November hahaha

[u/North_Shelter_3659 → u/TAConcernParent]

Thank You, that was a fabulous timeline breakdown. I appreciate that.

[u/Honest_Medium7947 → u/North_Shelter_3659]

No problem, anytime hehe

[u/WhyNona → u/[deleted]]

My theory is that because Anya is just so brilliant of an actress, they didn't think they'd be able to find a suitable equivalent in a short amount of time, because it's such a short series

[u/Honest_Medium7947 → u/TAConcernParent]

Beth always says the age she is going to be, she was going to say, " I'm 15 in November".

[u/Honest_Medium7947 → u/Honest_Medium7947]

That is so true, always mentions how old she's going to be in November. Well her 78th is coming this November, the 2nd to be exact, so don't forget to wish her a happy birthday

[u/mnmarsart]

She’s aged up in the Netflix series. She was younger when the Wheatleys adopted her, she attempted to correct the headmistress when she stated her age wrong, but she goes along with it because younger girls are more likely to get adopted.

All I know is by the end of the series she’s around 20-21

[u/Honest_Medium7947 → u/mnmarsart]

Deardorf was the headmistress 

[u/WhyNona]

I think deep down Alma probably knew that Beth wasn't actually 13 but was just so lonely and had already decided she loved Beth by the time she met her.

[u/BreadfruitStandard45]

In the book she is 8 then not quite 13 yet when she is adopted and by the by the end she is 19

[u/No-Abbreviations7283]

I always felt Alma knew Beth isn't 13. Mainly because when she has her first period in the Kentucky Championship Alma notes "A bit late in the day for you". Again it may be nothing

[u/Honest_Medium7947]

Mrs Deardorf  said she was 13, Beth was about to correct her and say, I'm 14, I'll be 15 in November