![]() #Chess queen series#The show’s streak as one of the most popular limited series on Netflix has also led to massive interest in chess-related items. But in a year of uncertainty and social distancing, it seems that 2020 and online chess are on opposite ends of the spectrum.”Ī record 62 million households watched “The Queen’s Gambit” in its first month. “I would say that under normal conditions, it’s an apt metaphor for life. It’s a game of socializing, and a game of building intimate relationships,” Barton said. “Chess is a game of complete information, it’s a game of certainties and equality. Phil Bray/NetflixĪnd in a chaotic year when the outside world can seem threatening, the stability and intimacy of a chess game can provide a welcome escape. The seven-part series builds to a final confrontation between Beth and a Russian grandmaster. #Chess queen how to#“You saw this at the beginning of the pandemic as people were learning how to bake or by taking on a new language, and it’s no different with chess.” “There’s been a worldwide culture shift over the last decade or so in which self-improvement and acquiring new skills are more highly valued than ever before,” Barton said. The object of the game is to checkmate your opponent’s king by surrounding him with pieces that limit his movements.Ĭhess rewards players who can visualize the board in creative ways and see several moves ahead. The game dates back more than a thousand years and is revered for the way its seemingly simple elements – 32 pieces on a 64-square chessboard – can produce infinite strategies of attack and defense. Since March, it has added 12.2 million new members, including 3.2 million who joined after the show’s debut in late October.Ĭhess has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years, with current world champion Magnus Carlsen – a young Norwegian and a former prodigy himself – becoming (almost) a household name. Millions of new fans have flocked to for games, lessons and puzzles, giving the site its biggest annual growth since it launched in 2007, he said. “It also doesn’t hurt that the chess scenes were a brilliant and mostly accurate portrayal of chess at the highest level,” Barton said. Many viewers can relate to its themes of addiction, loss, personal conflict and overcoming adversity, he said. Nick Barton, director of business development at, says the show has been a cultural phenomenon for chess fans. CHARLIE GRAY/NETFLIX/CHARLIE GRAY/NETFLIX "The Queen's Gambit" has been one of the most popular series in Netflix's history. It lends chess a sheen of retro cool, sending an increasingly glamorous young Beth to tournaments in Las Vegas, Mexico City and Paris while scoring points with chess enthusiasts for its authentic portrayal of the game. The show is based on Walter Tevis’ 1983 novel by the same title. The precocious main character, Beth Harmon, battles addictions to pills and alcohol – and some sexist assumptions about her chess skills – while beating one male grandmaster after another. “The Queen’s Gambit” is a fictional story about an orphaned Kentucky girl in the 1960s who becomes (no spoilers here) a chess champion while still in her teens. Sales of chess sets have spiked, and former casual players like Bradley are dusting off their skills. ![]() Then came “The Queen’s Gambit,” and interest skyrocketed. Chess had already grown more popular this year as people pursue hobbies at home while under siege from the coronavirus pandemic. Once he watched the show’s teenage protagonist upend the male-dominated world of chess with her brilliant play, he wanted to take up the game again – this time with his daughter. “I imagine her in her room staring at the ceiling and replaying our games.”īradley is 58 and grew up mastering his chess skills with his grandfather, but had not played in 15 years. ![]() We play from the time she gets up – noon like a lot of teenagers – to bedtime, with breaks in between,” he said. Zoe had never played chess before but took to the game quickly, Bradley said. Their ongoing rivalry began this fall after the Toronto father and daughter began watching the “The Queen’s Gambit,” a Netflix miniseries about a female chess prodigy. They stare at the board for hours and plot their next moves, consumed by a new shared pastime. David Bradley spends most weekends engaged in intense chess matches with his 15-year-old daughter, Zoe. ![]()
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