Did anyone think? (SPOILERS)

Now that is interesting. Well done, I hadn't thought of that.

Another thing that struck me was how Borgov reacted when Beth showed up to their match in Paris late and hungover. Normally you would expect him to be annoyed by her lack of professionalism or dismissive of her as a person or something like that. But Borgov seemed to be fascinated by her behaviour. I couldn't work that out at the time. But maybe in her obvious vulnerability he saw an opening.

This is a possible strand that could be developed in a second season if there is one.

No I did not, but that is a very interesting speculation.

😎

I didn't. And I don't understand how or why it would be a signal. Was is supposed to be a James-Bond-ish cellular device?

Personally I would've been VERY disappointed had Borgov wanted to defect or turn traitor

I thought the State Dept. guy was intended to seem over-the-top bureaucratic to the point of buffoonery. No doubt he was HOPING Borgov would turn defector, but the story didn't seem to be moving in that direction.

Likewise, I'd assumed the final morning's phone call from the States would be from the President, so I was VERY pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be Benny, Harry and the boys.

So here's my take: Borgov just wanted to surrender in a unique and stylish way.

They'd already dropped hints that he was losing his edge with age; he said as much himself. Luchenko (the old champion) seemed genuinely happy to have lost to her. So I interpreted Borgov's behavior as genuine relief to have lost to a worthy opponent. IIRC, in Mexico, he called her an orphan and a survivor while his comrades were commenting on her booze and drugs.

It's also why I saw Borgov as mildly disappointed in Paris, even if he'd been in on the "Cleo" scheme (I also agree with the theory that Cleo was a Russian asset who deliberately got Beth drunk - how else could the Russians have known about Townes?).

I was actually surprised that they fit Beth's entire redemption arc into that final episode, but it didn't feel rushed to me. She just needed to be shown that, far from being alone, she had a considerable circle of friends and supporters. Everyone worthwhile, including her Russian opponents, turned out to be on her side in the end.

I don't think so. The Russians admired Beth's chess skill at the tournament as she had improved much since Paris. The attitudes of the Russians in the final episode was the same as in the book. Nothing about signals.

Borgov was not entirely stoic; at the final match he left his board during a game to look at Beth's board after her opponent resigned.