LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Ryan Velez should be celebrating.

The Louisville native is an acclaimed "National Chess Master," having learned the game at three years old. His rating of 2,200 places him in the top 1% of players in the country.

"I can say I'm in the top 1%, but I am the bottom of the 1%," he joked during a Monday Zoom interview. Velez is also secretary for the U.S. Chess Federation, a regular tournament organizer, and, possibly his favorite title, a teacher of his beloved game to others.

"You don't have to be a master to gain the benefits from it."

Though chess sets can be found for less than $10 at big-box stores, the game can be perceived as a whiz kid's endeavor. Images come to mind of a crystal board and pieces collecting dust in the corner of a dimly lit mansion parlor. 

Alas, since October, eBay reported inquiries for chess sets are up 250%. It is due in no small part to "The Queen's Gambit," a Netflix limited series that was released during that time.

The show, adapted from a 1983 Walter Tevis novel, chronicles the fictional life of a chess prodigy. Netflix reported it as the streaming service's most viewed limited series ever. What's more, the show is largely set in Lexington, Kentucky.

Then why isn’t Velez jumping for joy?

"My business is down about 66%, in terms of the number of students and revenue," he said. "So, it’s been very significant. In fact, currently, I’m not taking a salary so that we haven’t had to get rid of anybody."

The same pandemic that attracted so many quarantined viewers to the show has forced the classes — taught by Velez and a few other chess veterans — completely online. They and their students are making the best of it.

"I have seen a lot of improvement from kids who have clearly been playing a lot of chess while they’ve been out of school, and stuff like that," said Richard Williams, a teacher alongside Velez and a senior tournament director in his own right. "So, you know, it’s an opportunity as well as, kind of, a set back at the same time."

The students are exceptionally attentive. I was invited to join one of the group's hour-long classes, featuring a few dozen pupils in the same chat room. Though the teachers did, admittedly, have the ability to mute the kids' microphones — a feature many school educators would likely welcome once they return to physical classrooms — the students seemed to wait their turn, raise their hand, and ask insightful questions.

The teachers told me the move to a 2D virtual board could benefit or stunt a given player. It's only a matter of preference. A player, they remarked, might get nervous sitting down at a table during an in-person tournament. That same player could thrive online. The reverse can also be true.

Many of Velez's students will merely end up learning a new skill. But there might just be a future grandmaster in the bunch. 

"And we do discover those kinds of people."

Velez is holding out hope that this new interest in the game remains post-pandemic. He also hopes "Gambit" — which features a brilliant woman as the main character — can bring one thing in particular to his beloved game.

"Chess has a great history, but it also has its blemishes, and one of those blemishes is women in chess… So I’m hoping that that’s the first thing that gets somewhat correct, or at least addressed in a heavy way, that we see more enrollment in tournaments and chess clubs and everything of women and girls. That’s the first thing that I’d like to see."

Until the pandemic subsides, he'll teach as many kids as he can, however he can.