There's more to The Queen's Gambit than chess

If this year you hear the distant rumble of dusty games’ compendia being brought down out of attics, it’s safe to say you can blame Netflix’s latest smash hit series The Queen’s Gambit, which seems to be convincing everyone that chess can be cool. App stores are reporting a surge of searches for a game first brought to England ten centuries ago by Vikings.

Set in the 1950s The Queen’s Gambit tells the story of Beth Harmon (played brilliantly by Isla Johnstone and Anya Taylor-Joy). Aged eight, she survives a fatal car crash only to end up in an orphanage. She finds relief from the institution’s cruelty and monotony in a janitor’s basement: there a mentor and a talent are discovered and so begins her difficult journey from orphan to prodigy to international chess champion.

This is brilliant lockdown viewing. Clocks start and stop. Players sweat and strategise. The drama of the matches will have you blitzing through the series like a game of speed chess.