Online chess site sees record-breaking sign-ups as The Queen’s Gambit hits Netflix

Chess has just become trendy again thanks to a new Netflix show.

The Queen’s Gambit, which is now Netflix’s biggest scripted limited series ever, follows a young chess prodigy on her rise to becoming the world’s best player.

The show, which stars Anya Taylor-Joy, has been enthusiastically praised by critics and those in the chess community for its realistic portrayal of the game.

The show’s popularity has also resulted in a huge surge of interest in chess.

Inspired by the show and eager to alleviate lockdown boredom, fans of The Queen’s Gambit seem to be heading over to eBay in huge numbers to find their own boards.

According to the auction website, there was a 237 per cent increase in searches for chess sets in the 10 days following the show’s release.

But those eager to play chess are also finding less conventional ways to play the game.

A major chess website has announced a record number of people signing up to play online.

Chess.com says that nearly every day in November, the website has set an all-time record for signing up new members.

People are signing up to the website roughly five times more than average, Chess.com’s director of business development toldBusiness Insider.

Last week alone, more than 100,000 new players joined every single day.

To capitalise on the success of the Netflix series, Chess.com has also introduced a bot themed on The Queen’s Gambit.

Members can now play against the show’s protagonist – Beth Harmon.

Sounds like a lot of fun.

Quick game of chess, anyone?

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