David Menuisier is in a game of chess as he agonises over Wonderful Tonight

For those telephiles who enjoyed Netflix's superb series The Queen's Gambit during the darkest days of lockdown last winter, an interest in the sport of chess might well have been stirred by the exploits of prodigy Elizabeth Harmon.

I became enthralled by cerebral qualities of the players, the God-given gift bequeathed to those seemingly born to decipher the game's tiny yet significant permutations and the intensity of the rivalries that emerged from the clashes between geniuses.

A few months have passed since I watched the show, but I have been reminded of it of late through a rather surprising source, from within racing of all places.