The True Story Behind Untold: Chess Mates

Hans Niemann and Magnus Carlsen —Courtesy of Netflix In its opening moments, Untold: Chess Mates contextualizes a cheating scandal that rocked the top tiers of competitive chess in 2022—which spiraled out of control with allegations of a player using vibrating sex toys—by explaining how the game has evolved culturally from its Cold War stereotypes. “When I say ‘chess player,’ people think of an old white guy from Russia,” Danny Rensch, the chief chess officer of Chess. com and a key figure in the controversy, puts it in the documentary.

But as revealed in Chess Mates —the latest installment in Netflix’s Untold anthology docuseries about scandals and wild stories in sports—things have changed significantly since the days of Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky . The documentary unpacks the rivalry between Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen , who for 15 years has been ranked No. 1 in the world (but who has not competed in the World Chess Championship since 2022), and Hans Niemann, a young American player considered an outsider who achieved grandmaster status in 2021.

How the internet changed the world of chess Chess. com , founded in 2007, exploded in popularity during COVID, and then again later in 2020 when The Queen’s Gambit became Netflix’s most-watched scripted limited series. Today's chess players mirror the ones of yesteryear—there's no shortage of players known for mastering the game at an early age and are suspicious of anyone who might question their talent.

What has changed is the ecosystem they play within. The advent of the internet massively affected where the game could be played, who the spectators were, and how its controversies unfolded. “Online, a new breed of glamorous chess “streamers” has sprung up, some of whom earn hundreds of thousands of pounds a year.