This New Netflix Film Starring A ‘Squid Game’ Favorite Is A Must-See For Fans Of ‘The Queen’s Gambit’

When I first watched The Queen’s Gambit, I had a rudimentary understanding of chess, but that didn’t stop me from diving head-first down the rabbit hole of the world and its characters. I watched A Beautiful Mind never having taken a calculus class, and Interstellar with little more knowledge about the cosmos than how to identify Orion’s Belt.

I lead with this preface, because the majority of American viewers have probably never heard of the game Go which serves as the premise of Netflix’s newest film, The Match. Dating back to 548 BC China, the two player board game is considered the oldest continuously played to the present day. The black and white stones and gridded board will draw visual comparisons to chess and checkers, but I’m not here to explain how the game is played, because I still don’t know.

I have an interest in learning after watching the film, but my key takeaway is that as with most cerebral storylines, you don’t need a personal working knowledge to enjoy the ride. Based on the true story of Korean Go legends Cho Hun-hyun and his student Lee Chang-ho, the film follows the evolution of their relationship from an apprenticeship to a rivalry.

We’re introduced to Cho Hun-hyun, played by Squid Game‘s “The Front Man” Lee Byung-hun, as he becomes an international success winning the Ying Shibei World Go Championship in Singapore. Facing off against Chinese competitor Nie Weiping, who is wearing oversized glasses and breathing out of an oxygen mask, Cho Hun-hyun grabs a cigarette from his sport coat pocket and lights it, while three more packs sit next to him on the table, and boom, just like that, we’re smack dab in the 80s.

Following this international success, Cho Hun-hyun is in high demand, fending off bribes from wealthy would-be patrons looking for him to tutor their grandchildren in the game. It’s not until Hun-hyun encounters Lee Chang-ho, the relative of another professional player, that he finds someone worth his time and investment in coaching.

The two men enter into a formal apprenticeship, with Chang-ho moving in with Hun-hyun, his wife, and children to dedicate his life to becoming a professional Go player. As with The Queen’s Gambit we see the obsessive and competitive nature this vocation brings out in both men, and the clash of Hun-hyun’s tradition with Chang-ho’s new and innovative ways of thinking. There are also moments of “do as I say, not as I do” lecturing, where Hun-hyun’s habit of taunting his opponents is brought into question by Chang-ho.

The story reaches a climax when Chang-ho becomes Hun-hyun’s opponent much faster than expected, and he takes the titles his teacher has long defended. This fall from grace inspires Hun-hyun to rededicate himself to the game and become a worthy opponent once more for his protégée. It’s a deep investigation of sportsmanship and self-improvement, with both men learning that competing with themselves is the greatest challenge and calling of all.