English Chess Forum

Episode 39 comes swerving and skidding at you from the turn of the millennium. And 1993. We wonder why a Short boom didn’t materialise to the same degree as the Fischer-Spassky boom, analyse Aronian’s distractions with a dollop of Firouzja’s panic, and the quiz gets all linguistic. The Chess Pit is...

Episode 38 is here! The sorry tale of Isa Kasimi dominates proceedings this week but what can be done about game integrity when the world governing body doesn't seem to care? In more cheerful news, we cover the stalemate rule, try to fix the perfect chess dinner party, and discuss streaking (specif...

Episode 37 is here! It's time to talk as we start a conversation on chess and mental health. But there's still room for other nonsense, including a brief roundup of Altibox Norway Chess, the pointed chess musings of President Gerald Ford, and whether Alex Holowczak is or was an Olympic boxer. The C...

Why did Britpop die? When did chess hustling start being a thing? Is Toy Story 3 a good allegory for how children's chess books can be useful for adults? These are august questions, but it's October now, so we only partially answer them in Episode 36.

This week in Episode 35 we discuss the evolutionary prowess of pandas, devote some more time to the mechanisms of adult chess improvement, and engage in cancel culture. Available on all podcast platforms and please do spread the word if you enjoy what we get up to. The Twitch streams are also coming...

Episode 34 is a fun romp through years of failure, decline and ineptitude. We recap Chess 9LX, muse over what correspondence players do in their spare time, and ask what the topical Rule of Six could look like in chess. Enjoy!

The Chess Pit is available on all podcast platforms. For your health.

Who enjoyed Chess or Cheese from the latest episode? Anyway, Frankie Mitchell has made us some brilliant new artwork for all our social bits. We're dead happy with them and you should definitely hire her for all your design needs. https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_banners/1223206774343438340/1600101282/...

Thanks, Nick!

Episode 33 has been unleashed and sees us get a bit grumpy about having our ideas stolen but then brazenly come up with yet more original material. Which will probably be stolen.

Thanks, David!

We’ve just published Episode 32 as well. We pay tribute to Wolfgang Uhlmann, as well as to FIDE being clowns. Hugh has views on jeans, and Jon has a sing-song. Available on whichever podcast platform you choose!

Episode 31 is here! We speculate whether elite online chess is completely oversaturated, whether chess can learn anything from franchise cricket, and discuss a sad missing persons case.

Thanks, Loz!

Please do rate and review us on your podcast platform of choice if you like what we’ve offered over the past seven months.

Episode 30 is an interview with English WFM Kanwal Bhatia about her careers in chess and machine learning. We also discuss the state of the game in the country with particular reference to women and girls. Kanwal's a thoughtful and engaging speaker and well-placed to make such judgements.

And here is Episode 29! How comparable are chess analytics to other sports, and should comparisons even be drawn?

Episode 29 will be out this evening and features special guest Thom Lawrence, CTO of StatsBomb, who was able to bring a broader analytical spectrum to our usual waffle about the current state and future of chess. Here's a little preview.

We're still on holiday so in Episode 28 I've been talking to John Ashworth, CEO of Caplin Systems who sponsor the Hastings International Chess Congress. John talks about how he came to become a patron of our game, and his general journey in chess.