Maybe Men Are Too Proud - with special guest Rachel Syme

The Chess Pit By The Chess Pit

To close out 2020 we're joined by New Yorker columnist and everyone's best friend on Twitter, Rachel Syme! Rachel has a unique chess ancestry and has also just started taking chess lessons. Her story is not to be missed.

Published 2 years ago

Suddenly It Would Go silent - with special guest Stephanie Alys

The Chess Pit By The Chess Pit

This week we're joined by Stephanie Alys, an entrepreneur perhaps best known for her pioneering sextech work with MysteryVibe. Stephanie expounds on her junior chess career and how she's seen chess progress from the outside.

Published 2 years ago

Active in a Passive Way - with special guest Philippe Auclair

The Chess Pit By The Chess Pit

The musician, football writer and Mikhail Tal superfan Philippe Auclair joins the boys for the first instalment of our December interview season! Philippe shares his own chess experiences, and offers a critical view of aesthetics within the modern game and across chess history.

Published 2 years ago

Hooves Clattering on the Tarmac

The Chess Pit By The Chess Pit

There’s a glut of The Simpsons references this week, but don’t let that put you off. We salute Magnus Carlsen’s sportsmanship, celebrate inspirational junior coaches, and invent our own novelty chess set!

Published 2 years ago

Ooh, Foucault, Your Mama Too

The Chess Pit By The Chess Pit

A chess boom is on and 'The Queen's Gambit' is to blame! Do the guys have enough energy for it? And how long will it last? May also contain turtles. Again.

Published 2 years ago

Terrified Of Using Both Hands

The Chess Pit By The Chess Pit

This week Phil celebrates early-90s dramas, Chris covers the history of the humble combover, and Jon is still enamoured with 'The Queen's Gambit'.

Published 2 years ago

Just Hiding In Plain Sight

The Chess Pit By The Chess Pit

The guys have been up all night watching CNN and there's a somewhat political slant to this week's offering. But there's still room for bad Hungarian pronunciations, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and a full analysis of the Netflix sensation 'The Queen's Gambit'.

Published 2 years ago

Get Wetter on a Bike

The Chess Pit By The Chess Pit

This week the guys critique the Netflix sensation 'The Queen's Gambit', reminisce about rainy days, and contemplate what makes a city a... city?

Published 2 years ago

An Out Of Control Lorry

The Chess Pit By The Chess Pit

Bonkers BBC drama plots, potentially good Netflix plots, and World Chess Championship breakaway plots all feature this week. Lots of plotting. Yes.

Published 2 years ago

The Corpse of Mikhail Tal

The Chess Pit By The Chess Pit

This week Jon tries to host a dinner party, Chris wonders what Magnus Carlsen will do next, and Phil gets angry with FIDE... again.

Published 2 years ago

Swim in a Straightish Direction

The Chess Pit By The Chess Pit

It's time to talk as the guys start a conversation on chess and mental health. But there's still time for the usual nonsense, and does anyone have a bit of... Déjà Hugh?

Published 2 years ago

Cunning of the Cat Genus

The Chess Pit By The Chess Pit

Jon takes us back to the days of the speakeasy, Chris exults Norfolk chess legend Johnny Danger, and Phil pays homage to the strongest active nonagenarians.

Published 2 years ago

Ice Is Too Structurally Sound

The Chess Pit By The Chess Pit

This week we discuss the evolutionary prowess of pandas, devote some more time to the mechanisms of adult chess improvement, and cancel some things. And what on earth is the Bongcloud Attack?

Published 2 years ago

You Can't Libel The Dead

The Chess Pit By The Chess Pit

Jon gets hench, Chris gets accused of unsavoury things, and Phil wonders what correspondence chess champions do in their spare time.

Published 2 years ago

Discussing a Fear of Barbers

The Chess Pit By The Chess Pit

The guys moan about being plagiarised, but introduce the classic new game 'Chessplayer or Cheese', probably shortly to be stolen.

Published 2 years ago

Every Rabbit is a Winner

The Chess Pit By The Chess Pit

FIDE have embarrassed themselves and the game they purport to uphold, so the guys join in and embarrass themselves too.

Published 2 years ago

Okay To Have Dead Air

The Chess Pit By The Chess Pit

The holy triumvirate are reunited for an episode which discusses wolves, a missing persons case, and world currencies. The lads also try to solve the possible oversaturation of elite chess.

Published 2 years ago

Five books In My Luggage - with special guest WFM Kanwal Bhatia

The Chess Pit By The Chess Pit

Kanwal Bhatia has been part of the England Women's chess team since 2008 and has had a career in machine learning. Here she tells Phil about both and they thrash out some potential ways to develop the women's and girls' game.

Published 2 years ago