Suddenly you know it: I'm going to play chess

After The Queen’s Gambit, I suddenly saw myself as a budding chess player. Including the hair, the red lipstick, and those nice outfits of course. The series made the sport magical for nitwits. Not that I've touched a pawn in the meantime, but due to these remarkable facts, I'm considering learning it again.

The story goes that a chess player once lost ten kilos during a tournament. Someone who plays chess must also be physically fit. Hence the claim that chess is not a real sport, because you don't physically chase after something. Quite logical, when you consider that the longest chess game on record lasted 24 hours and 30 minutes. Then you must not only be mentally well-rested, but also sit in the same position for a very long time. Good lord, I already get a wooden derrière at the thought. In theory, the longest chess game could be 5949 moves.

You didn't hear it from me (but from Chess.com), but chess could keep you sweet. ‘There are 400 different possible positions after one move each. There are 72,084 different possible positions after two moves each. There are over 9 million different possible positions after three moves each. There are over 318 billion different possible positions after four moves each. The number of distinct 40-move games in chess is far greater than the number of electrons in the observable universe. The number of electrons is approximately 10^79, while the number of unique chess games is 10^120.’ I have the feeling that people who are afraid of the infinity of the universe find this terrifying as well (hi Wieke).

In the series, Beth often looks at the ceiling to consider all options for moves. That may seem remarkable, but it might not be so crazy after all. There are chess grandmasters known for often looking at the ceiling during their games. So there could be something going on up there.

Also fun: Albert Einstein played chess. He only did this later in his life, because at the beginning he (of course) had no time for it. His choice for chess is not so remarkable, as one of his best friends was a world chess champion.

It seems that chess has a positive effect on improving your memory, but you can also solve complex problems better because of it. Often the idea is that you need to be intelligent to play chess, but it could very well be the other way around. Chess makes you smarter.

The chess sport boomed after The Queen’s Gambit, the online platform Chess.com suddenly received five times the number of visitors. The fun part is that many women have started playing chess because of Beth. Men dominated the sport until recently, but there is a shift happening.

Okay, first I need to master Greek and Pilates, but then chess is seriously on the list.