Lady’s Game, the latest surprising success for Netflix

Adapted from the novel of the same name by Walter Teves, published in 1983, this seven-part series set in the years 1950-1960 narrates the meteoric – and fictional – rise of an orphan from Kentucky with a different addiction, Beth Harmon Being very masculine.

Impressive performances by lead translator, Anya Taylor Joy, elegant combos, chessboard duels even more engaging than boxing fights: the work of Scott Frank and Alan Scott, almost uploaded to Netflix at the end of October was welcomed on all sides, after word of mouth prompted her to The top of the most watched series on the platform.

Among the chess players occupied, is the excitement. As evidenced by the flourishing of videos and articles dedicated to the series through specialized posts or near-unanimous comments of fans of the game on social networks.

A series close to reality

It is the best thing I have seen in a game of chessFrench international senior educator Anthony Weerig said during an online conference organized by Learn chess website about the series within 24 hours.

Lots of people paid to see the good atmosphere air, this physical bond that we have with the game.

Same story with President of the French Chess Federation (FFE) Bashar Quatli. Yahia A wonderful series close to reality, Which is based on a Very dense literature And the Real partsTaken from real contests.

That’s because the series, which is highly documented, capitalized on the expertise of legendary Garry Kasparov, a former Russian world champion who worked as a consultant, with American coach Bruce Pandolfini.

The character of Beth Harmon is partly inspired by Bobby Fisher, an American prodigy who became a world champion in 1972 after Century match Anti-Soviet Boris Spassky, in the middle of the Cold War.

Some errors remained during editing, as noted by Anthony Werig, citing in particular a game played in a plane. French series title, Game mrs, Ticks too. The Queen’s gambit, English title, denotes an open chess which translates into French as Lady’s gambit (Not the “Queen’s Game”).

And the cast members do not have them Touch elegance Real players in TransportationBashar sees Quotli. It prevents, Filmed in a sublime manner, He insists.

A renewed enthusiasm for chess

Many will definitely start chess thanks to this seriesBashar Quotli expects.

In fact, Pierre Pettecono notes that the Learn chess site at 24 hectares has seen the number of visits multiplied by 10, from 600 to 6000 per day, since the series aired.

According to the British newspaper The Independent, Searches for chess games increased by 273% on the eBay auction site within 10 days of the series’ arrival on Netflix.

What to swell the ranks of players? In France, women represent only 22% of the workforce in this specialty, and they are often criticized for their gender discrimination. Too dilute side, according to some people, in the series.

In an interview with The New York TimesHungarian heroine Judit Polgar, who withdrew in 2014, thinks Beth Harmon’s opponents are Too cute with herIn light of the insulting comments she received so often, some even refused to shake her hand.

The situation has changed a littleJocelyn Wolfangel, the players’ director, believes FFEFrench Chess FederationIn parallel with mixed competitions, tournaments are organized for women to improve their performance and attract more.

Several times I heard boys say, “I lost to a girl, shame,” crying. The more women there are, the more real they will get.