Studies have found chess can help kids improve reading and math skills. But beyond that, they should learn how to play because it’s fun.

My own son began asking to learn how to play chess around Brownscombe’s optimal age of seven or eight. But since I myself didn’t know how to play, I avoided the request for a while.

Thanks to the pandemic and hit Netflix show The Queen’s Gambit, interest in virtual chess has spiked. More Americans now play chess than tennis and golf combined, and most of that is online. In ...

Chess has always had followers. But since The Queen’s Gambit attracted huge viewing figures on Netflix millions more people have felt inspired to take up the game for the first time.