Kings & Queens of Qatar

As Qatar steps out of the shadows and seeks a place on the world stage, its aspirations for its chess players are no different. After all, the game of chess is steeped in history, especially with the Middle East. In recent decades, the Qatar Olympics Committee has shown greater and more serious interest in the sport through its Qatar Chess Association, and by extension, its players. For the women's team, they are Qatar's first generation of female players. The notion of chess players conjures stereotypical images of introverts and nerds; women in abayas conjure images of reticence. Hip, cerebral, witty, and with ebullient personalities, this film unravels the stories of a group of Qatari players, especially that of the female team, as they compete against opponents from around the globe at the 2012 World Chess Olympiad in Istanbul. But is this 1500-year old game still relevant in the modern world? —Allibhai, Shamir