Netflix is celebrating its first ‘Emmy‘ series. The well-known historical drama series, ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ won the award for outstanding limited or anthology series at the ceremony on September 19, 2021. The series won 11 awards out of 18 nominated categories. Some of the winning categories include outstanding direction for limited or anthology series. Outstanding single-camera picture editing, outstanding period makeup (non-prosthetic), etc. Here are 7 interesting facts about The Queen’s Gambit.
7 interesting facts about The Queen’s Gambit
Based on the novel
The series is an adaptation of the novel of the same name. Walter Tevis, the author of the novel has used some of his real-life experiences and incidents in the protagonist’s story. Tevis spent a lot of time at a convalescent home during his childhood due to his health complications. He saw his early drug use as a forerunner of his later alcoholism. The parallels are obvious in the book.
Expert advice
The creators of the show, to bring utmost authenticity to the storyline, consulted chess experts Pandolfini and Kasparov. In an interview, Kasparov says he did several changes to replicate the book.
Best seller novel again
After the series gained popularity, Queen’s Gambit, the novel published in 1983, once again made it to the list of New York’s best-selling novels.
Actors actually played the game
In spite of the fact that each game was created by professionals, the actors memorised and played them all by themselves.
Harry Melling – The Harry Potter connection
Harry Mellin has played the chess champion, Harry Beltik. He is none other than the chubby-cheeked cousin of Harry Potter, Dudley Dursley. He has also starred in a couple of films, “The Old Guard” and “Devil All the Time.”
Women were not allowed to participate in chess championships until the 1980s
The series is based in the 1960s. However, women were not allowed to participate in the World Chess Championship until the 1980s. Hungarian player Judit Polgár became the youngest chess grandmaster in history at just 15 years old in 1991. Susan Polgár, her elder sister, fought for women’s rights to qualify in the World Chess Championship in 1986.
Most watched scripted limited series
In the first month, the seven-episode series had a viewership from 62 million households. In 92 countries, it was one of the top 10 Netflix shows, and in 63 countries, it was the top show.