Netflix recently announced that
The Queen’s Gambit, its new show about a chess prodigy, is the company’s most popular limited series show to date. What may be more surprising is that chess sets have become popular holiday gifts for the first time since Bobby Fischer won the World Chess Championship in 1972, defeating Boris Spassky.
Many people misinterpret just what the Queen’s Gambit, as a chess strategy, actually is. A gambit is the sacrifice of a chess piece for an advantage. The Queen’s Gambit is White’s chess opening that sacrifices the c-pawn, in front of the Queen’s Bishop, in exchange for a dominant position in the center of the chess board. It is the d-pawn, the Queen’s pawn, which may remain after Black’s response. This chess opening dates back to at least 1490.