David Bradley spends most weekends engaged in intense chess matches with his 15-year-old daughter, Zoe. They stare at the board for hours and plot their next moves, consumed by a new shared pastime.

The chess is the spine of The Queen’s Gambit and I’m not sure any director has ever had to find this many ways to generate action from two nerds staring at carved figurines on a 64-square board.

In the Netflix series “The Queen’s Gambit,” the character Benny Watts walks up to Beth Harmon, the show’s heroine, at the start of the 1967 United States Chess Championship.

Linda Diaz, who won this year's Tiny Desk Contest at NPR Music, is a chess expert and international chess champion. She sat down to talk with us about the Netflix series The Queen's Gambit.

Anya Taylor-Joy stars in ’The Queen’s Gambit,’ a surprisingly gripping series that’s like ’Cobra Kai,’ only with chess.

David Bradley spends most weekends engaged in intense chess matches with his 15-year-old daughter, Zoe. They stare at the board for hours and plot their next moves, consumed by a new shared pastime.

Perhaps that’s why The Queen’s Gambit, which is currently Netflix’s number one show in the US, is so addicting: It’s a dance.Suffice to say very few people watching understand chess at the ...

Anya Taylor-Joy as Beth Harmon in “The Queen’s Gambit.” An eBay official said the company had recorded a 215 percent increase in chess set and accessory sales since the show debuted in October.

David Bradley spends most weekends engaged in intense chess matches with his 15-year-old daughter, Zoe. They stare at the board for hours and plot their next moves, consumed by a new shared pastime.