Check this show out, mate – you definitely won't be board

A Netflix original TV series about chess set predominantly in the 1960s perhaps doesn't seem like an 18-year-old lad's cup of tea but The Queen's Gambit is certainly that – and more.

- Sami Wobschall on The Queen's Gambit

Released in 2020, it just preceded chess's rise in popularity among young people courtesy of YouTube channels such as Gothamchess.

It tells a captivating story about a fictional chess prodigy turned world champion named Beth Harmon, played by Anya Taylor-Joy.

Although of course the show is very chess-focused and rewards viewers with references to the age-old game if they understand them, the show stands alone as a cultivating story, and you don't need to be a chess grandmaster to enjoy and gain entertainment from it.

The show is particularly clever as the name itself 'Queen's gambit' is an opening in chess and, for that matter, a thought-provoking, exciting one as it involves a sacrifice from the player with the white pieces on just the third move.