Chess on TV

Discuss anything you like about chess related matters in this forum.
User avatar
Greg Breed
Posts: 723
Joined: Thu Apr 05, 2007 8:30 am
Location: Aylesbury, Bucks, UK

Re: Chess on TV

Post by Greg Breed » Thu Apr 17, 2008 1:29 pm

Ernie Lazenby wrote:All things said its never going to happen again. TV does not want to know Chess- Poker well thats different because its very much high profile.
It's a bit 'Catch 22' Ernie - Poker is now high profile because it caught on by being televised!

It doesn't have to be Blitz or Bullet Chess, in fact I would think that those games would be too fast to commentate on. Better would be a highly edited version of a standard game with only a tiny percentage of the thinking time used to commentate on the position, possible tactics, comparisons to similar games and positions, etc. Bluuet or Blitz could be used as a kind of decider if their were some sort of televised League as in Premier League Poker.
Hatch End A Captain (Hillingdon League)
Controller (Hillingdon League)

User avatar
Charles W. Wood
Posts: 554
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 11:50 pm
Location: Bradford, West Yorkshire

Re: Chess on TV

Post by Charles W. Wood » Mon Apr 21, 2008 3:10 am

Chess is a Self Financing Economy in England which makes the target funds (or prize money) so low its just not interesting. Short Kasparov was for a decent sum, but it would have to be for millions to attract my in-laws to watch, and many of the nonplaying public. TV companies are not interested on developing something that is hard to spice up. If they showed top masters winning £50k the viewing audiences would be watching who wants to be a millionaire, we can not compete. As for poker I was watch some super American Poker Final the money on the table could fund a small country.

Even if it was tried, half the players wouldn't watch it, if it was on an evening say Tuesday around 9.00pm on some back of the digital spectrum channel the other half might well be playing. Most would not have that channel (which would you put the channel of programme on BSKYB or Virgin, its very hard to get both), and some would be so old they never get above 105 on the remote. Chess players are notorious for not supporting things outside of them playing OTB.

After a year watching the chess world under a microscope it gets hard not to be negative. If I was making a TV programme about anything it would be a sport: Hockey, Fishing, Darts, Snooker, Holiday and Sunday Leagues 5-a-side Masters Football anything but chess, because its easier.
Charles W. Wood
Captain of Legion

User avatar
Greg Breed
Posts: 723
Joined: Thu Apr 05, 2007 8:30 am
Location: Aylesbury, Bucks, UK

Re: Chess on TV

Post by Greg Breed » Mon Apr 21, 2008 10:52 am

Charles W. Wood wrote:If I was making a TV programme about anything it would be a sport: Hockey, Fishing, Darts, Snooker, Holiday and Sunday Leagues 5-a-side Masters Football anything but chess, because its easier.
You might get a bit of stick for that Charles. Chess IS a sport remember?!! :?
Hatch End A Captain (Hillingdon League)
Controller (Hillingdon League)

User avatar
John Upham
Posts: 7179
Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2007 10:29 am
Location: Cove, Hampshire, England.

Re: Chess on TV

Post by John Upham » Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:24 am

Charles,
A large number of persons have worked very hard for some years to enable chess to be recognised as a sport.

I find it rather annoying that you officially represent chess to some extent and yet you are saying the opposite.

This is a democracy and you are entitled to an opinion but you might like to consider the frustration to others by publicly stating it.

John
British Chess News : britishchessnews.com
Twitter: @BritishChess
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/britishchess :D

User avatar
Charles W. Wood
Posts: 554
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 11:50 pm
Location: Bradford, West Yorkshire

Re: Chess on TV

Post by Charles W. Wood » Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:30 pm

John Upham wrote:Charles,
A large number of persons have worked very hard for some years to enable chess to be recognised as a sport.

I find it rather annoying that you officially represent chess to some extent and yet you are saying the opposite.

This is a democracy and you are entitled to an opinion but you might like to consider the frustration to others by publicly stating it.

John
Please do not get me wrong, I would love to see chess on tv, but the BBc and other tv service organisations follow only one democracy, viewer figures. TV would be great but it will not pull in the figures needed.

Right this is TV: Huge Prize funds, Our largest names, fireworks and bright lights, cheep stage sets, and presenters with bulging bits. I think if we could raise a strong couple of million we could make a tasteful show, but we would do better. The AMCA badge next to your name has already become a brand a TV brand would be great, but we don't have the cash and following yet.

There is a Cameraman at Ealing Chess Club called Mr A Wood, ask him about Chess TV chances, and what we would give up to get on air. We would give up too much, heres a good question possed to me by a Children in Need producer "Would you let a live audience clap a cheer between moves?". Thats just one of hundreds of demands he would ask for, including a no holes barred background on both competitors (dishing the dirt).

But to rake my head in a little too, anything is possible and some studios are very fair and good, if someone has found this route good work, best of luck.

This is my oppinion not an ECF official line.
Charles W. Wood
Captain of Legion

User avatar
Martin Cruickshank
Posts: 11
Joined: Thu Jun 21, 2007 9:35 am
Location: Manchester

Re: Chess on TV

Post by Martin Cruickshank » Fri Oct 15, 2010 3:09 pm

May have been posted before, if so apologies.
A reconstruction, using the original soundtrack recorded 30 years ago, of the Mater Game Final 1981...
TV Chess - "The Master Game" Reconstructed - 1981 Final - Short v Miles - Part 1 of 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAgvAL60Blk

Neville Twitchell
Posts: 110
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 10:22 am
Location: Harlow, Essex

Re: Chess on TV

Post by Neville Twitchell » Sun Oct 17, 2010 8:29 pm

For one glorious minute a night or two back I thought I had unearthed a chess show on TV. I looked at the schedules and saw a programme listed there called "Pawn Stars" on the Bio channel, but when I tuned in it turned out to be about American pawnbrokers, or some such. What a disappointment! Although maybe not as much of a disappointment as some others received who perhaps thought that it was about Porn Stars! But of course we chessic nerds are not so easily deceived.

User avatar
Gavin Strachan
Posts: 676
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2007 10:06 am

Re: Chess on TV

Post by Gavin Strachan » Sun Oct 17, 2010 9:43 pm

I saw "From Russia with Love" on the box for the umpteenth time and saw the match Kronsteen v MacAdam which is supposed to be based on Spassky v Bronstein. Interesting article on it here:http://blog.chess.com/billwall/off-the- ... -with-love.

Got me thinking, were any top GM's spys? A world champ you probably would assume not considering the amount of publicity they would get.

Roger de Coverly
Posts: 21301
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 2:51 pm

Re: Chess on TV

Post by Roger de Coverly » Mon Oct 18, 2010 12:13 am

Gavin Strachan wrote:Got me thinking, were any top GM's spys?
Well CHO'D Alexander was high ranking at GCHQ from the late forties onwards. In fact he wasn't allowed to play in Eastern Europe or the Soviet Union.

Bletchley Park in 1939-45 had many of the top British players employed as code-breakers.

Geoff Chandler
Posts: 3486
Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2009 1:36 pm
Location: Under Cover

Re: Chess on TV

Post by Geoff Chandler » Mon Oct 18, 2010 3:16 pm

Hi Gavin. The Bill Wall article is very good.

It links another thread under discussion about copyright.

The game for the film was taken from Spassky v Bronstein,
USSR Championship, Leningrad, 1960. In the film the postion was altered
because the producers thought there was copyright on chess games so they
removed a few pawns to make the positional original.

User avatar
John Upham
Posts: 7179
Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2007 10:29 am
Location: Cove, Hampshire, England.

Re: Chess on TV

Post by John Upham » Mon Oct 18, 2010 3:19 pm

Gavin Strachan wrote: Got me thinking, were any top GM's spys?
GM Eddie Gufeld was allegedly a KGB agent along with other Soviet players.
British Chess News : britishchessnews.com
Twitter: @BritishChess
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/britishchess :D

Mike Gunn
Posts: 1023
Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2007 4:45 pm

Re: Chess on TV

Post by Mike Gunn » Mon Oct 18, 2010 3:39 pm

Those who went to David Pritchard's funeral will recall that two men turned up wearing bowler hats and raincoats and carrying umberellas. They described themselves as "work colleagues" of David who (I believe) worked for GCHQ (although he never disclosed or discussed what his job for the government was).

User avatar
John Upham
Posts: 7179
Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2007 10:29 am
Location: Cove, Hampshire, England.

Re: Chess on TV

Post by John Upham » Mon Oct 18, 2010 3:55 pm

Mike Gunn wrote:two men turned up wearing bowler hats and raincoats and carrying umberellas.
I suspect that they were Mortgage consultants from the Yorkshire area.
British Chess News : britishchessnews.com
Twitter: @BritishChess
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/britishchess :D

Justin Hadi

Re: Chess on TV

Post by Justin Hadi » Mon Oct 18, 2010 4:21 pm

Mike, was this David Pritchard of the Birmingham area? I played him once around 2005, seemed like a good guy.

Roger de Coverly
Posts: 21301
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 2:51 pm

Re: Chess on TV

Post by Roger de Coverly » Mon Oct 18, 2010 4:31 pm

Justin Hadi wrote:David Pritchard of the Birmingham area
I imagine it was this one

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Prit ... _writer%29
which tells us he had the rank of Squadron Leader but doesn't mention GCHQ.

Given that Ian Fleming based some of the characters and incidents in his books on real people , I've wondered whether he had a prototype in mind for Kronsteen from someone in the British Chess or Spying Establishments.

David Pritchard was best known for his work with chess variants as the wiki article suggests.