English Chess Forum

A producer from the BBC has contacted the ECF office concerning a season of programmes for BBC3 called "Black Briton". Specifically she is looking for groups of friends who are in the Black African/African-Caribbean late teens to under 28 demographic who get together to socialise and play chess. Could be very informal but regular, or meets occurring after a match or tourney. She is also interested in people from that demographic or slightly younger who are serious and reasonably up-and-coming players. If you or anyone you know meets those criteria she'd appreciate a contact.

Her name is Adelle Martins and she can best reached on [email protected]

I thought BBC3 had been canned.

NickFaulks wrote:I thought BBC3 had been canned.

It's still available online.

LawrenceCooper wrote:

NickFaulks wrote:I thought BBC3 had been canned.

It's still available online.

So I can watch it without paying the licence fee?

Are you maybe taking this thread off piste? (Says someone who has made a career out of doing something similar).

Sorry.

I think this is just another piece of BBC bad taste. Anybody else remember their earlier search for "hot chicks" playing chess?

I've know several black players (the late Leon York who towered over Somerset chess being the most well know) and all of them were colour blind. They looked for fellow human beings to play chess with and socialise with not any particular racial group.

Thanks for clearing that up for us

Brian Towers wrote:I think this is just another piece of BBC bad taste. Anybody else remember their earlier search for "hot chicks" playing chess?

I've know several black players (the late Leon York who towered over Somerset chess being the most well know) and all of them were colour blind. They looked for fellow human beings to play chess with and socialise with not any particular racial group.

The producer I spoke to is a young black woman herself and I think her motives are sincere. The idea is to show young adults from the described demographic in contexts with which they would not usually be associated in the eyes of viewers.

Assuming one wants to be helpful (quite a big assumption)
Sabrina Chevannes
Lateefah Messam-Sparks
My apologies if I have the wrong ethnic background.
It may be worth pointing out that chess was not popular in Africa, so culturally there has been little interest.

Stewart Reuben wrote: It may be worth pointing out that chess was not popular in Africa, so culturally there has been little interest.

I confess I am not able to see the connection between the history of chess in Africa and the contemporary experience of young black Britons.

And chess seems to be more popular on the African continent now than it has ever been......

Matt Mackenzie wrote:And chess seems to be more popular on the African continent now than it has ever been......

It's not showing up in the strength of national top tens yet, though. Egypt are the only African country to crack the top sixty.

The connection will surely be there? They mostly didn't come over that long ago in generational terms, and it often takes a long time to alter the activities prized/promoted within a subculture.

All sorts of other relevant factors of course!

Having said that, the best examples I know are, I believe, immigrants

Trivia question: name three players of Trinidadian extraction who have played in the British Championship.