Last Call

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chess LIFE LESSONS & THE GAME OF

Quarantine-weary amid a pandemic raging outside, And a new kind of tournament debuted, surpassing all millions of Americans curled up in their pajamas last expectation: “PogChamps” became a crossover hit that November to watch “The Queen’s Gambit,” a Netflix mini- featured streamers popular from other video games. These series that took the airwaves by storm. internet personalities, learning chess from scratch under the

Fiercely feminine in her 1960s style and radically inde- tutelage of grandmasters, were pitted against one another to pendent, we watched Beth Harmon’s obsessive talent for comic effect. New lingo did away with stodgy terminology as chess pull her from a Kentucky orphanage to the hushed chess won a fresh rebrand. “PogChamps” granted chess arguhalls of the greatest tournament of her time, battling drug ably the widest audience in history. addiction along the way. Chess brought down language Besides its magnetic draw for just about anyone, “The Queen’s Gambit” also manages the impossible—making BESIDES ITS MAGNETIC barriers, too. It was a special feeling that, united in the same tragic struggle of the pandemic, you could face an opponent chess cool again. DRAW FOR JUST from Mumbai, or Moscow, or Berlin.

The newly obsessed flocked to toy ABOUT ANYONE, We also gleaned lessons from the stores and the timeless game began a sea-change to digital. Chess.com saw its membership double in a month. With their tournaments cancelled, grandmasters took to streaming live before “THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT” ALSO MANAGES THE IMPOSSIBLE... game itself. We learned that things aren’t always what they seem; that rigid rules could be bent. We discovered the best move isn’t always most apparent. We learned to lean on intuition when millions of fans. The game couldn’t MAKING CHESS logic failed us, and to value checkhave asked for better timing. COOL AGAIN. mate over material gain. Most of all?

We were stuck inside, yet we dis- We learned that sometimes you have to covered a world of possibility under give up a little to gain a lot. our fingers. For some, it was a needed escape from within Over the chess board, as in life, Beth Harmon fights one four walls. For others, it was a renaissance of the mind. pawn down. Surviving her mother’s suicide by car and raised

For introverts, the pandemic was the perfect excuse they in an orphanage, she learns to turn weakness into strength. had been waiting for as they relished quiet mornings over During these times, we’re all playing one pawn down. We have the board. The meditative act of chewing on a particular all had to give up something dear to us, whether it’s a cherished position, or taming their mind of worry, did wonders for social life or a way of making a living. their mental health. I’ll even say this—some of us are living without their knight,

Extroverts blitzed out moves in online speed chess or worse, their queen. But maybe, just maybe, we’ll learn to “rooms” or simply tuned into “streamers” on Twitch, danc- ensnare our foes in the best played gambit of our lives. ing circles around their opponents while responding to the chat with quick-witted banter. For some, this became a MARCO FREY : bona fide profession. marcofreythinks@gmail.com