Media comments on chess

[Sean Parker]

I wish pundits would stop the .."it's like a game of chess." every time a game gets a bit turgid it's thoughtless, lazy and makes my blood boil!! Rant over.

[Simon Rogers]

Here is another one about 10 minutes ago:
BBC2 Masters Snooker
John Higgins v Yan Bingtao
The commentator Dennis Taylor said "John would make a very good chess player."

[Matt Mackenzie]

Would he actually cheat, though?

[Reg Clucas]

I wish pundits would stop the .."it's like a game of chess." every time a game gets a bit turgid it's thoughtless, lazy and makes my blood boil!! Rant over.

It's used so often these days in football commentaries that it's hardly worth reporting any more. Even Barrow v Scunthorpe was a game of chess, according to Radio Cumbria commentary yesterday.

[Simon Rogers]

Great result for Barrow.
Good to see them playing in the football league.

[Geoff Chandler]

Hi Sean,

We will just have to live with it, it has become part of the stock in trade amongst commentators.
If it is a dull game then they will soon run out of the standard metaphors and if they come up with
one of their own then there is a good chance they will botch it and end up in 'Coleman's Balls' in Private Eye.

A couple of times have heard the fellow commentator answer with '...Chess is more exciting than this."

Reg is right, fail to see why we must be made aware of it every time one happens. But what ever.
Maybe next time there is a dreary nil-nil and chess has not been mentioned, that may be worth reporting.

I'm struggling to think of another game they can compare it with. (any ideas?)

'It's like playing Scrabble with no vowels."
(Nah, one of them will cock it up - 'It's like playing Scrabble with no voles." )

[NickFaulks]

It's like playing Ludo with no dice.

[Matthew Turner]

Cluedo without Mustard

[Matt Mackenzie]

Great result for Barrow.
Good to see them playing in the football league.

Don't know if you are aware of the history, but their ejection from the FL in 1972 was a pretty shabby affair.

[Nick Grey]

That Dion Dublin used the phrase twice shows how dull it was. Chess is not exciting to most football fans.

[Stewart Reuben]

Sunday 17 Jan the final of The Master Snooker on BBC2.
John Higgins was arranging his bottles on the occasional table by his seat. The commentator said, 'John would make a good chess player.' It did indeed look like he was analysing chess moves.
I have just noticed Simon Rogers had already commented on this.

I don't mind commentators saying 'it's like a game of chess out there'. It isn't always negative. But then, I never watch football.

[JustinHorton]

El Jueves do The Queen's Gambit, not hilariously

[Tim Spanton]

From Wikipedia's "Did you know ..." section today:

... that more than 41 million hours of online chess have been watched on Twitch during the COVID-19 pandemic?

[JustinHorton]

The source for this claim appears to be a New York Times article (which is perfectly OK as far as I can see)

[Tim Spanton]

It appears to have been written by an intern:

On a recent afternoon, thousands of noncombatants watched from the sidelines as their general ordered his troops across the battlefield and became locked in a fierce duel with the enemy.