When the game is adjourned, Beth receives a surprise phone call from Benny Watts and her former rivals back in the US. They have spent the night analyzing the board, providing her with the collective strategy she needs to win—a sharp contrast to the solitary life she previously led.

After years of using pills and alcohol as crutches, Beth enters this final match sober, facing Borgov without her chemical "safety net".

Before the flight to Russia, Jolene (played by Moses Ingram ) reappears to help Beth find closure following Mr. Shaibel's death.