Chess
Queen's Gambit, which gave Indian chess new impetus, wins Golden Globe Award
Another checkmate for Beth Harmon! Netflix’s miniseries on chess "Queen's Gambit" won two top prizes at Sunday night’s Golden Globes awards: limited series, anthology or TV movie and limited series/TV movie actress for star Anya Taylor-Joy.
It is the first major prize for “The Queen’s Gambit,” as well as the first prominent award for actor Taylor-Joy. During her speech, Taylor-Joy especially thanked co-creator, writer and director Scott Frank.
“Scott Frank, my god, I love you,” she said. “Thank you for letting me be part of the journey and thank you for trusting me with Beth.”
“It’s obviously wonderful that everyone has seen the show, but I would do this project again and again and again,” she went on. “I learned so much. I’m so grateful, and thank you to the audiences that have watched it and supported the character. It meant the world.”
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the 87 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognising excellence in film, both American and international, and American television.
At a time sporting activity was hit hard across the globe due to COVID-19 pandemic, chess is one sport which kept ticking, thanks to technology as online tournaments kept players busy. There had been a spurt in the number of online chess events during this coronavirus-forced lockdown. After the Online Nations Cup, FIDE (world chess federation) president Arkady Dvorkovich said the chess world was moving online which would help the sport reach its full potential.
The chess culture also exploded, a month after Netflix began streaming the original series “The Queen’s Gambit.” Set in the 1950s and ’60s, the show features as its main character an orphaned young woman named Beth Harmon, a chess prodigy who climbs the American and international circuits while battling personal trauma, self-doubt, and addiction.
Its depictions of concepts such as fighting-against-all-odds, women empowerment, and talent-triumphs-privilege have resonated globally. Since the release of the series on October 23, Google reported that searches for ‘chess’ are at their highest level in 14 years. Search volumes for ‘How to play chess’, according to Netflix, has hit a nine-year peak. The Queen’s Gambit has become Netflix’s most-watched scripted show ever, with a record 62 million households having watched it in the first 28 days, making it one of the top 10 in 92 countries and No 1 in 63 countries.
