It’s time for a game of chess – With insights from The Wall Street Journal

After watching the riveting Netflix show referenced in the article below, I've dusted off my chess set and started to polish my Ruy Lopez opening and Sicilian Defence. Lining up the pieces has been like finding an old friend. I'm one of millions of long-lost chess players inspired back to the game by fictional wunderkind Beth Harmon. Chess's appeal is timeless, with the advantage nowadays that you don't need to head off to a local club for a game, as Mike Kerrigan writes for our partners at The Wall Street Journal. – Alec Hogg.___STEADY_PAYWALL___.Nobody knows I'm a bad chess player .Online games are always available at any skill level – even none whatsoever..By Mike Kerrigan for The Wall Street Journal.Nov. 27, 2020 6:16 pm ET.'The Queen's Gambit," the streaming television drama about fictional chess prodigy Beth Harmon's quixotic quest for glory, was Netflix's most popular show until surpassed by "The Crown." You might say it was captured by the queen..The entertaining miniseries based on the Walter Tevis novel raised chess's profile. It also likely terrified would-be players who were intimidated by what they saw. Ms. Harmon plays entire matches in her mind, visualizing every move and countermove. She also can play multiple chess games simultaneously, moving swiftly from one board to the next..If this seems impossible, it isn't. In recent years I've been on the losing end of the aptly named Fool's Mate—checkmated in two moves. A completed game like that isn't hard to visualize. Anyone can stride confidently in the park from board to board, provided no passerby sticks around to see how badly you're playing each game..No one should be intimidated by chess. You don't have to be, or pretend to be, a savant. You don't even need a live opponent. All you need is a smartphone and an account on a site like Chess.com. There you can play at any skill level—even none whatsoever—and always find a game..This isn't as demoralizing as live chess, in which your teenage nephew, who calls his knight "the horse" as he insouciantly checks Instagram, beats you effortlessly. Online you're a grandmaster, as far as everyone else in the family room is concerned..As my own example suggests, you don't have to be good at chess to enjoy it. Spatial reasoning is such a weakness of mine that when staying in hotels, I can't immediately identify my side of the bed. Despite this tactical deficiency, I have a tremendous time playing chess..Some of this is patriotism. On Chess.com, my opponent's national flag appears prominently underneath his online avatar. When I see anything other than Old Glory, it's no longer a friendly game. It's a grand geopolitical struggle..This, in turn, raises the stakes of every move: I didn't sacrifice a pawn, America did. It isn't quite the exhilaration Winston Churchill described of being shot at without result, but the feeling you get when your queen escapes capture is heady..Such tension leads to the occasional outburst. After all, face-to-face rules of etiquette don't apply. Frankly, I play computer chess the way NBA center Dikembe Mutombo guarded the paint in his prime—demonstratively and loud..When this happens, my kids roll their eyes and say, "Dad, it's just a bot." To this I reply, "A bot flying the tricolor flag of India, the birthplace of chess." I don't expect them to understand the pressure I feel..Consider a game for yourself in a quiet moment this winter. If you do, and whatever else you do, protect your queen. Especially against Emir from Turkey..Mr. Kerrigan is an attorney in Charlotte, N.C..Appeared in the November 28, 2020, print edition.

It’s time for a game of chess – With insights from The Wall Street Journal

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