With around 62 million global views in its first four weeks, Netflix’s Queen's Gambit is the most-watched scripted limited series to date. After being featured in Netflix’s top ten in 92 countries and reaching number one in 63 countries, it has won two Golden Globes awards in 2021.
As a chess player myself, it piqued my interest when I saw a series revolving around an orphaned chess prodigy on the top of Netflix’s trending list. As I started watching, I wondered if the representation of the sport was accurate, and by the end of the seventh episode, I was able to conclude that this show had some of the most precise portrayals of chess tournaments.
I later learned that chess advisors, including the former world champion Garry Kasparov, had guided the series and advised them in writing the finer details. Most of the content I was able to find about chess in the show were glimpses of games and references to materials. The positions were taken from previous and modern real-life references. With many grandmasters by the script writer's side, the analysis of games is spot-on. The actors were also taught how to pick up, hold, and move the pieces with familiarity.
This show presents the mental sport as a superb and exciting way of expressing oneself. Chess is unique in the sense that anyone can play it. Even those with mental and physical disabilities are shown to excel in the field. Catering to audiences of all kinds, the show has reported a worldwide gross of more than $190 million against a reported $40 million budget. Queen’s Gambit will definitely go down in history as one of Netflix’s best originals.
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