Has Anya Taylor-Joy in Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit got you into chess? Here’s how to join the millions of others hoping to be the new Beth Harmon – from their phones
Covid-19 is in its fourth wave, prompting many to binge TV shows – and take up online chess, with the Chess app seeing 100,000 sign-ups a day and even grandmasters like Daniel Naroditsky joining in
Millions of people across the world are turning to online chess following the release of Netflix’s hit series The Queen's Gambit.
The Netflix Original series, released on October 23, documents orphan Beth Harmon’s quest to become the world’s greatest chess player.
Searches for chess sets on eBay almost tripled after the show’s release, but most fans are looking for their fix in online matches. Both Chess.com and its accompanying app Chess have soared in popularity.
Nearly every day in November, the website set an all-time record for new members joining in a single day, Nick Barton, Chess.com’s director of business development, said. In the third week of November, more than 100,000 new members registered for the website each day. That’s roughly five times more than average.
The website’s previous weekly peak in new registrations was back in mid-March, when 378,000 new players signed up in a week as national lockdowns began.
Though some of the popularity in November can also be attributed to the pandemic – many European countries and US states have re-entered lockdown – the release of The Queen’s Gambit has had an “undeniable” effect on Chess.com’s growth, Barton said.
The website has even launched Harmon bots so that users can play a game against the series’ protagonist.