Queen of Gambit: tactics and real game theory behind the series

When it comes to the game of chess, there are many different approaches to it: different openings, mid-game plays, and closing plays. It is a game of immense strategy and rich history. With different levels to reach and those who excel at it usually being associated with being smart, with a great recollection of memory and application of strategy. One such move is called the ‘Queen’s Gambit’. 

You may also recognise this name as it was also a novel that was written in 1893 by Walter Tevis. And even more recently, as it was turned into a hit Netflix series that was and is still available on Netflix, written by and also directed by Scott Frank. People nowadays have plenty of gaming options as a pastime available to them, such as gambling on slots online or playing chess against people from around the world. 

What is the chess move?

Looking at the chess move itself, it’s one of the oldest openings in the game’s history, suspected of having originated as far back as the late 15th century, and despite centuries having gone by since then, it still remains a very popular opening set of moves for players of all skill levels. It starts with the following moves:

• D4 D5
• C4

So why is it called a gambit? Well, this is because if you’re playing as white, it almost appears that you are sacrificing your c-pawn. However, this isn’t as it first seems as if your opponent does indeed want to go ahead and take that pawn; they can do so freely, but it will then put them at a disadvantage. So it is almost like you’re holding a very attractive bait out to your opponent, which, if they go for it, will put them at a disadvantage. 

A slow rise in popularity 

When it was first created, the Queen’s Gambit wasn’t as widely used as it is today, nor was it as popular as it is today. Although it was first conceived back in the 15th century, it wasn’t until centuries later that it started to gain momentum as a popular opening strategy. The development in chess theory, and in particular the area of positional play, contributed hugely towards the growth of this as a strategy. In fact, back in the 1927 World Championship, it was so popular that it was used in nearly every game bar 2 in the championship. Of course, following that, people started to diversify their opening strategies so as to become less predictable to their opponents. 

How people countered the opening 

It was also a matter of time that, due to it being so widely used,  people would start to utilise defensive strategies in order to counter the Queen’s Gambit opening. One common way of counter-attacking this opening is to use an Indian defence; however, despite this, it is still commonly used but has steadily decreased in popularity following its peak in that World Championship. As developments in the game and also in strategy continue to diversify and evolve, we can expect for it to be less commonly used still. 

What is the Indian Defence?

An Indian defence is a broad term that covers a range of different openings that are mainly in response to a Queen Pawn opening and come under the category of hypermodern defences. They also gained huge popularity during the 1920s, at the same time that the Queen’s Gambit reached its zenith of popularity almost in the World Championship that we have mentioned already. Although this still does predate quite considerably, its peak in popularity was when it was first named or used back in 1884. It was commonly used by the Indian player Mohenschunder Bannerjee, hence the name Indian Defence. 

In the media

And so why was it made into a novel and also in a TV series on the hit platform Netflix if it is simply an opening in the game of chess? Well, both the novel and TV series in fact aren’t just about the strategy itself, but rather they revolve around a fictional chess prodigy who goes by the name of Beth Harmon, who, despite struggles with dependencies on alcohol and drugs, rose up to the world of chess. It was also praised by the chess community as it very accurately depicted high-level standards of chess playing, something that is seen as rarely achieved and being hard to reach. It is also credited with increasing interest in the game. 

Types of Queens Gambit

There are in fact two main categories of the Queen’s Gambit, and they are identified depending upon what the response to the opening move is by the black. They are the QGA, or Queen’s Gambit Accepted, and the QGD, or Queen’s Gambit Declined. And to keep it simple, the accepted means that the black does indeed take the bait and takes dxc4, giving up the centre to the player in white. Whereas the decline is where the player looks to hold d5. However, looping back to the popularity of the move, in early chess, queen pawn openings weren’t in fashion and were rarely used, and it did indeed take years to come to fruition. 

In Summary

Hopefully today this has given you a broad and thorough insight into what the Queen’s Gambit is. Not only what the novel and what the Netflix series resolve around, but actually looking at the game move itself and why it was so popular. And why also that it influenced and inspired a novel and also a TV series to be written? It is one of the oldest openings in the game of chess and also one of the most popular. It is so famous in fact that it is still being used today and has contributed hugely to the growth of the game itself. And thanks to the TV series and also to the novel, we are starting to see a huge surge in popularity of the game and the adoption of it by a whole new generation.