The thing which really helped her and gave her an avenue was chess.com, Lewis told Deadline.
It was taken up by a whole new epoch and generation of people.
Swiftly, she was winning tournaments, tutoring chess and was in a relationship with a fellow fanatic.
L to R: David Howell, Sue Perkins, Anthony MathurinBBC
I realized this wasnt past tense, it was present tense.
So even if you dont understand it you have these people playing and commentators who are totally passionate.
And then youve got Sue Perkins.
Phil Bray/Netflix
BeforeThe Queens Gambitpeople didnt realize you could watch chess and find it engaging, said Lewis.
The Queens Gambitstarts with a chess match and goes on for quite a long time.
That is quite a powerful and brave thing to do in TV terms.
It made my job a bit easier but [Chess Masters] would have existed without it.
From day one it felt like quite a special project, she added.
I deeply believe that many distributors can work on many different formats.
