You must be wondering what this Netflix effect is? Before getting on that, answer me. When was the last time you saw a movie in a cinema hall or a theatre? How about the last time you watched a movie or show on Netflix? If you’re like most consumers, you’ve done the second thing more often. Even as films bring in record amounts of money at the box office, Netflix grows its number of subscribers by around 10% a year.
A survey showcased that while Amazon Prime Video was the most subscribed platform, nearly followed by Netflix and then Hotstar, the most popular platform amongst subscribers was Netflix with a 60% majority. There’s no doubt Netflix is the definitive modern media company, and its impact is felt in several industries. It’s what experts call the Netflix Effect.
We often wonder what to watch on Netflix, even the platform has a section named "what to watch on Netflix" this platform caters to the need and desire for quality time.
According to reports, teens, adults, and even children are being impacted by the “Netflix Effect.” The disadvantages for teens who binge-watch television include slipping grades, being late to work or class, not going outside to be active, thereby gaining weight, and closing themselves off from having a social life. Some may put Netflix and chill under the Netflix effect, but we all know the meaning behind it, don't we?
But wait, this is not something we are going to talk about in this article. These things we already know subconsciously and have been hearing about the same from our elders. Then why read an article about it again, right? This article is dedicated to one phenomenal show of 2020 which was streamed on Netflix – The Queen’s Gambit. It even featured in the best Netflix series suggestions.
The Show
Although for the prior few years the vastly popular Queen on Netflix was Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, as portrayed by Claire Foy and Olivia Colman in The Crown, this October another type of queen made her mark: Beth Harmon, the captivating protagonist of The Queen’s Gambit, a Netflix original that became an overnight sensation. “The Queen’s Gambit” premiered on Netflix on October 23, 2020 is a fictitious story about an orphaned Kentucky girl in the 1960s who evolves (no spoilers here) as a chess champion while still in her teens. The precocious main character, Beth Harmon, battles obsessions with pills and alcohol and some sexist assumptions about her chess skills while crushing one male grandmaster after another.
The show is based on Walter Tevis’ 1983 book of the same title. It lends chess a glow of retro cool, sending an increasingly glamorous young Beth to tournaments in Las Vegas, Mexico City and Paris while scoring points with chess enthusiasts for its authentic portrayal of the game. The title of the series/book refers to a chess opening of the same name. In the series, Anya Taylor-Joy plays Elizabeth/Beth Harmon, who has done an outstanding job, but the breakout star of the show, maybe even more than Taylor-Joy, is the sport itself.
The Game
Chess is a game that dates back more than a thousand years between two players. It is played on a square board, made of 64 smaller squares, with eight squares on each side that can produce infinite strategies of attack and defence. Each player starts with sixteen pieces: eight pawns, two knights, two bishops, two rooks, one queen and one king. The object of the game is to checkmate your opponent’s king by surrounding him with pieces that limit his movements. Chess rewards players who can visualize the board in creative ways and see various moves ahead. Chess has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years, with the current world champion Magnus Carlsen, a young Norwegian and a former prodigy himself, becoming a household name. There are many variants of chess that utilize different rules, pieces, or chess boards. One of these, Fischer Random Chess, has gained widespread popularity as well as official FIDE recognition.
The Statistics
It’s been a big year for chess. The surging popularity of chess was spurred by the success of Netflix’s original show, as a record, 62 million households watched “The Queen’s Gambit” in its first month. In the first three weeks after its debut, sales of chess sets went up by 87% in the US and sales of books about chess leapt by 603%, according to marketing research company NPD Group. Before 2020, sales of chess books and chess sets had remained flat or declined for years, said Juli Lennett, toy industry adviser for NPD. Even eBay said it had a 273% increase in searches for chess sets in the 10 days following the show’s release, the UK’s Metro newspaper reported.
Judit Polgar, a Hungarian player, widely considered the greatest female chess player, believes the Netflix series can help shift that dynamic. Toy retailer Goliath Games has seen chess set sales spike in November and December, up “1-100% from that time last year.” Valentin Goux, president of the French luxury furniture maker Rinck, reveals that he added a chess table to the brand’s 2021 line after being inspired by the show. Chess channels on Twitch (an online live streaming platform) continue to grow their following through virtual tournaments among gamers that increase viewership and subscriptions to channels. Over 70,000 viewers more than can fit in your average Major League Baseball stadium tuned in to watch chess on Twitch, across channels, on Dec. 11, as grandmasters Magnus Carlsen and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played the semi-final of the Online Speed Chess Championship.
The Hoax
What if I tell you that everything you read above is not entirely true, the show has made real progress, the game is as intense as stated, the statistics are authentic, then where is the hoax? As per my perception, the effect this article is all about is a bit of a ruse, as Netflix has produced over 1,500 original titles since it began producing original content in 2013 and never have we heard of anything of this sort, have you? There are multiple reasons for the success of the show and the rise in popularity of the sport. For starters, it provided an escape from the pandemic. An Indian stand-up comedian named Samay Raina started streaming chess with grandmasters around the world and had a viewership of over one lakh when he was live on YouTube during the Online Chess Olympiads in which India and Russia were declared joint winners in 2020. So, similarly, there were multiple streamers and a series of events that led to this astonishing hoax of the Netflix Effect.
Not sure if it is the “Netflix Effect” or something else, but now I spend most weekends engaged in intense chess matches with my 87-year-old grandfather. We stare at the board for hours and plot our next moves, consumed by a new shared pastime. While traditional across-the-board games can last hours, online chess’ shift to speed chess has brought excitement to the game. Unlike most sports, chess can be played at its highest level online and both new and veteran players are embracing online play.
