Samuel Ch.’s Reviews > Birth of the Chess Queen: A History – From Medieval Europe to Isabel of Castile, an Investigation of Female Sovereigns and Power > Status Update

Eleanor's history was interwoven at many levels with the spread of chess in France and England, and with the expansion of the chess queen. During Eleanor's lifetime, the queen continued to replace the vizier throughout Europe, so that by the end of her reign there was hardly a sign of the vizier on the European board, except for Spain, where Arabic chessmen coexisted with European pieces into the late Middle Ages.

One reason for the popularity of chess among women was that it could be played indoors. Even if one had to be confined to the home for reasons of childbirth or illness, women could play chess sitting up in their beds.