Chess Masters: The Endgame (THE POLL)

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Details of this impending BBC2 broadcast (Chess Masters: The Endgame) here:

https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/broadcas ... 64.article

Rights for the format have been optioned ahead of launch by Mediawan in France, ITV Studios in Spain, Endemol Shine in Australia, Filmpool in Germany, IDTV in the Netherlands and All3Media Belgium.

Have set up a poll to survey opinions of forumites. Pick as many options as you want.

Post here to explain why you picked the countries you did, and to name "other" countries.

I have added Russia, China, India and the USA. Just to make things interesting.

Have left open the option to select all the choices, but please be sensible and don't pick conflicting options.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Some postings required to keep the poll visible. If you want to see David Howell as never seen before, see what Geoff Chandler posted here.

[Geoff Chandler]

I went UK, (I think other countries may borrow or already have the same idea) I also said I'll watch all episodes and I want to be a presenter. I already have my Private Eye look-a-like ready. Me and Eddie Deezen from the 1941 move.

[Simon Rogers]

It's just been announced that it starts on BBC2 on Monday 10th March at 8pm.

[Ian Thompson]

It's just been announced that it starts on BBC2 on Monday 10th March at 8pm.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0028x4b.

Does "They face a brain-boggling puzzle and a high-stakes speed chess battle." mean it's not just games of rapidplay chess, but also includes solving studies and/or problems?

[GrahamStuart]

There has been a trailer released which shows some of the players. I recognised one player, but I am sure more will be known to others.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsTzEoK3HcQ

David Howell is also meant to announcing something today, which I presume is related.

[Ian Thompson]

I recognised one player, but I am sure more will be known to others.

I recognised one player as well, I think - a chess streamer who gained some notoriety a few months ago for posting revealing photos of herself. There are name plates in the shots 10 - 12 seconds into the video, but they're all partially, or completely, obscured by the pieces.

Assuming I've correctly identified the player, and the organisers have chosen players all of roughly the same level, the playing standard is going to be 1600 - 1700 rating.

[Mick Norris]

what to watch

Chess Masters: The Endgame is an eight-part reality series will start on BBC2 from Monday March 10 2025 at 8pm, with episodes running weekly at the same time and also becoming available on BBC Player.

Sue Perkins says: "The show is a competition format and we’ve taken 12 of the best amateurs, and we know they are the best because we use official rankings, and we have pitted them not only against each other but against our grandmaster David in a series of puzzles and challenges. Some of the games are long-form, about 10-15 minutes, which I think people might be able to watch online afterward if they want to watch the whole game. That’s for people who are either very serious about it and want to get into the nitty gritty or for those who are learning and just want some commentary and to see how things play out. There are also some very quick puzzles and brain teasers and positional things that people can easily engage with and the solutions come pretty quickly. Later in the show, there are a couple of really extraordinary games where all the remaining contestants play one person simultaneously, which is pretty cool. It’s an eliminator and there will be one winner."

Can you tell us about the contestants and any you were rooting for?
" I try not to have favorites and I think some people were more emotionally available than others but I found them all to be truly delightful and truly committed to the game. They weren’t there because they wanted to be on television. A lot of them found the television bit quite stressful and they only really relaxed when the chessboards came out. It’s my job to put them at ease. Nick’s story, the prison story is very affecting. And Cai is very easy on the eye. So, I hope in the first episode we are cutting through people’s stereotypical feelings about the classic chess player. I was delighted there were so many women playing and I think it shows that perceptions have changed. The cast list is not there as a ‘look how we can present chess as we want it to be,’ this is chess as it is. This is chess and this is who plays it. Some of them are kids. We’ve got 20-year-olds and then we’ve got someone in his 60s who is retired. It spans the whole range and I hope the whole range of audiences come to it."

[Roger de Coverly]

Assuming I've correctly identified the player, and the organisers have chosen players all of roughly the same level, the playing standard is going to be 1600 - 1700 rating.

There's more detail at
https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/media ... ss-masters

They don't give surnames, but with pictures, first names plus biographical and location details, it should be possible to identify them on the ECF rating list (or the FIDE list)

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

I'm glad to see that Nick is part of this. If it was chess boxing, he'd win easily!

[Simon Rogers]

Assuming I've correctly identified the player, and the organisers have chosen players all of roughly the same level, the playing standard is going to be 1600 - 1700 rating.

There's more detail at
https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/media ... ss-masters

They don't give surnames, but with pictures, first names plus biographical and location details, it should be possible to identify them on the ECF rating list (or the FIDE list)

I can give you some more information.
There is Craig Robinson from Lincolnshire.
He has posted about it on the Lincolnshire Chess Association Facebook page.
There is also Thalia Holmes from Cheshire.
She has just set up a junior chess club in Chester.

[Mick Norris]

Kel Nkwonta is a decent player

[Christopher Kreuzer]

I wonder if any strong players applied and were filtered out early? It looks like they are playing up the "lots of new players to chess" angle a lot. Which is understandable. I wonder how a version of this programme with a group of titled players would pan out. It would probably be either deadly boring, or like that book someone wrote. Let me find it...

Hmm. I will need help remembering this one. It is a thinly veiled parody of top-level chess. Murder mystery set on an island. Arbiters present as well. I am sure the author is a titled chess player as well, but that may be me making things up. Anyway, it is very 'Traitors'-like, and I was wondering if anyone recognises the book I am describing?

[Roger de Coverly]

Anyway, it is very 'Traitors'-like, and I was wondering if anyone recognises the book I am describing?

It's not a book, being an episode of a TV series.

This may fit the plot you describe

https://deathinparadise.fandom.com/wiki/Death_of_a_Pawn

A famous chess player, who mysteriously dropped out of chess several year prior, is murdered on his returning chess match in front of a crowd. The group are pressured by the publicity of the situation. Possible suspects include the arbiter, the opposing player, a close friend, and a journalist. The journalist happens to be Commissioner Patterson's ex-wife and reveals a secret that will change his life forever. Neville also tries online dating.

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

Hmm. I will need help remembering this one. It is a thinly veiled parody of top-level chess. Murder mystery set on an island. Arbiters present as well. I am sure the author is a titled chess player as well, but that may be me making things up. Anyway, it is very 'Traitors'-like, and I was wondering if anyone recognises the book I am describing?

Perhaps "A Softness in the Eyes" by Harry Posner?
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/177 ... n-the-eyes

Will he become someone's sacrificial pawn in a deadly game of murder and revenge, or find a way to avoid checkmate?