The Queen’s Gambit tells the story of a young chess prodigy named Beth. She is an underdog that faces addiction, loss, and abandonment. Despite those hurdles, she is able to find success. This Netflix limited series has been a huge success. Just yesterday the streaming giant revealed that this series has become their biggest limited scripted series ever!

You know it did well as Netflix does not have the habit of releasing numbers. In its first twenty-eight days they saw a record-setting 62 million households watch The Queen’s Gambit. It’s been in the Top 10 in 92 countries including Russia, Hong Kong, France, Taiwan, and Australia. Also has ranked number one in sixty-three countries! Including the UK, Argentina, Israel, and South Africa. Maybe that is why it has a rare 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Queen’s Gambit has had an effect on its source material as well. Despite being 37 years old, the book is now on The New York Times bestseller list. Google search queries for chess have doubled. While “how to play chess” searches have hit a nine-year peak. Interest for chess sets on eBay are up 250% percent and Goliath Games have reported that it’s chess sales have gone up 170%.

Here is the synopsis for the series in case you have not watched it yet.

Based on the novel by Walter Tevis, the Netflix limited series drama THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT is a coming-of-age story that explores the true cost of genius. Abandoned and entrusted to a Kentucky orphanage in the late 1950s, a young Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy) discovers an astonishing talent for chess while developing an addiction to tranquilizers provided by the state as a sedative for the children. Haunted by her personal demons and fueled by a cocktail of narcotics and obsession, Beth transforms into an impressively skilled and glamorous outcast while determined to conquer the traditional boundaries established in the male-dominated world of competitive chess.

It’s a great series where Anya Taylor-Joy’s Beth Harmon is fantastic. It is interesting how a series can affect the way a game is seen. For example, we saw the rise in popularity and interest in Dungeons and Dragons in part because of Netflix’s Stranger Things. Also, I wonder how much power of suggestion Netflix’s Top 10 lists has on people’s choice on what to watch next. It’s great a way to nudge people in the right direction to watch a good series that they may have otherwise ignored.

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Have you watched the series yet? Let us know what you thought in the comment section below!

The Netflix limited series, The Queen’s Gambit‘s seven episodes can be seen exclusively on their streaming service.