Tanzina Vega: In the new Netflix series, The Queen's Gambit, an orphan chess prodigy named Beth Harmon takes on the male-dominated world of chess in the 1960s, all while learning to navigate addiction and the emotional trauma of her childhood.

Beth Harmon: It's an entire world of just 64 squares. I feel safe in it. I can control it, I can dominate it, and it's predictable, so if I get hurt, I only have myself to blame.

Tanzina: Since it premiered in late October, the series has boosted the popularity of chess worldwide. According to the International Chess Federation, searches for chess sets on eBay surged 273% in the 10 days after the show's release. The Queen's Gambit isn't just driving interest in the game itself, it's also renewing conversations about sexism in chess and the obstacles women still face in front of the chessboard today.

Reporter: Miss Harmon, what do you say to those in the Chess Federation who accuse you of being too glamorous to be a serious chess player?

Beth Harmon: I would say that it's much easier to play chess without the burden of an Adam's apple.

Tanzina: I'm joined now by two-time US Women's Chess Champion, Jennifer Shahade, who is also the women's program director for the US Chess Federation. Jennifer, glad to have you with us.

Jennifer Shahade: Hello, thank you.

Tanzina: Were you surprised by the popularity of The Queen's Gambit?

Jennifer: Yes, I was. I didn't expect it to be that popular. When I saw it, I understood. I think that it has a lot to do with the time right now. It seems like people are craving this insight into an introspective game that you can lose yourself in.

Tanzina: Now, let's start with your background in chess. When did you first get into it, and what was it about it that attracted you?

Jennifer: Well, my family all plays chess, my brother and my father. My older brother is an international master, and my dad is a many-time state champion. He taught me when I was basically too young to remember, probably five or six. I really got attracted to it a little bit later, maybe in high school. Part of it for me was the social aspect, and as we see in The Queen's Gambit, the way that chess can bring you to so many different places and people that you would normally not interact with.

Tanzina: Speaking of interacting, we heard before at the top of the introduction here, there was an exchange between a reporter and the chess player, Miss Harmon, who's in The Queen's Gambit, sort of making fun of the fact that she was a woman in this game. Did you experience similar sexism when you were coming up in chess?

Jennifer: Definitely. I think it really helped that I had-- Both my school was a chess championship school, and then my family, so I had all these support structures, but certainly, there were people who didn't believe that I was on board one, thought that I was actually supposed to be on the last board. That happened to me a couple of times. Also, which wasn't shown as much in this series, there's also a lot of positive attention, which we saw, like people who are excited that women and girls are entering this sport where they haven't shined as much. Then, there's also harassment, people who are giving you unwanted attention as well as welcome attention. I think that was probably the primary thing that sometimes stops girls from playing.

Tanzina: What does the field look like today in terms of the percentage or the number of women who are working in this field, who are playing chess in the United States today, at least, at that level?

Jennifer: Well, in terms of tournament competition, about 14% of members of the US Chess Federation are female, although that number is starting to rise with this Queen's Gambit effect, as we call it, and then-

Tanzina: So you are seeing an effect?

Jennifer: Oh, yes, definitely. We're starting to see it. I would say it's more among teenagers and adult women though that are joining chess.com or US Chess, partly, because kids are often not allowed to watch the series because it has a lot of adult content. Sometimes, I hear from parents who are like, "I want to teach my niece or my daughter chess now," but you don't usually hear from the kids themselves because 8 to 12-year-olds, a lot of times, aren't allowed to see it. I have one girl from one of my classes who told me that her parents tell her, "Come in, come in. It's the chest part. You can watch the chest part."

Tanzina: But not the other parts, understandable, understandable there. How do we explain that you said 14% of the players who are in tournaments are women or girls? What explains that gender gap? I mean, this is a sport that really relies on the brain.

Jennifer: Well, I think a lot of it is that chess is actually very social. Beth in the Netflix series is a loner, and she likes being in her own world, in her own thoughts. Girls who identify with that would certainly not have any issues with chess, but there's a lot of kids of both genders who just love the social aspects where you travel to another city, and you get to stay in a hotel, and sometimes, your school supports you to do that.

It's about having friendships, people to talk about, and get better with. We really did see that in the series too, whether it was the Russian team or the American team. A lot of getting better in chess is about the people around you, showing you what your weaknesses are, and helping you, even if they're not as strong as you. I think with girls, sometimes, they leave because they don't have that support network.

Tanzina: What about the other barriers like cultural barriers, financial barriers, institutional barriers because we know that for many sports, particularly the more elite the sport is, the more difficult it is for people, low-income folks, girls, people of color to get involved.

Jennifer: Absolutely. One of the things about chess is that we have a lot of philanthropic support, which helps us to bring everybody into the party. There's so many organizations around the country that raise money to get kids into the game, to bring it into schools so everybody has a chance. That's one of the missions of US Chess. You have organizations like Chess In The Schools, and it is very powerful. That said, during this time of pandemic, it's an increasing worry in education and that is true for chess as well.

So much of chess has gone online, which is amazing in many ways, because if you do have a strong internet connection and a device to use, the entire chess world is at your fingertips. I mean, you can watch Magnus Carlsen, the world champion, or Hikaru Nakamura, the best speed chess player in the world, play games and talk to you about how they're playing the game. You can look at all games that have ever been played on free servers. You can play with people all over the world, but if you don't have that access to having your own device and a strong internet connection, then, it's not easy at all. In one hand, chess is very inexpensive and accessible, but you need to have that ability to have your own space online to improve.

Tanzina: At least, there's been some increased interest in the sport. Jennifer Shahade is a two-time US Women's Chess Champion and women's program director for the US Chess Federation. Jennifer, thanks so much.

Jennifer: Thank you, and yes, good luck to you. I hope that you start playing some chess as well.

Tanzina: Let's see.

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