3 Airbnbs with Backyard Chess Boards That Will Bring Your “Queen’s Gambit” Fantasies to Life This Summer

If you’ve played a game of chess in the last year, go ahead and mark off that space on your pandemic bingo card. “Queen’s Gambit,” a show about a spectacularly talented young girl chess player, shot the game into the spotlight last fall — and interest in it hasn’t waned since.

As the show got more popular, chess games got bigger — literally. Now there’s a slew of Airbnbs rentals with giant chess as part of the home perks. So if you fantasize about basically destroying everyone in your path with chess pieces, check out these three Airbnbs where you can stay and play.

This four-bedroom estate rental may be right in the heart of wine country, but you’ll want to get your bottles to go and entertain your wine-loving friends at home instead . After you spend time swimming in the heated outdoor pool, enjoying a meal from the outdoor kitchen around one of two fire pits, and playing a game of air hockey or Skee-Ball in the game room, head out into the yard for a giant chess session. Benches on either side of the board means each player can have their own squad to cheer them on. And if any kids get bored, they can have their own fun on the zipline or in the under-deck hideaway.

Indoor and outdoor meld together in this six-bedroom desert rental home. You’ll feel like you’re at a spa resort with entire walls that open seamlessly to the outside, where there’s a massive pool, a jacuzzi, a private minigolf course, outdoor showers, a fire pit, an outdoor dining room, loungers with umbrellas, and a giant chess set on a perfectly manicured grass board. If the sun is too hot and you’d rather hang inside, you have your pick of Nintendo, Super Nintendo, XBOX One, or ping pong.

Caves Manor, a secluded luxury rental home, is focused on spending quality time with your family. And you can bring a lot of family — the house has six bedrooms (three with ensuite baths), eight beds, and accommodates ten guests. But it’s the family-focused features that make it a great time: a fire pit, an outdoor theater, a pizza oven, and — best of all — a giant chess set sunken down into the picturesque backyard. It’s surrounded by ambient light, so your strategic moves to destroy your brother’s pawns will shine extra bright.