The Chess Pit

Are you ready for puns? We have puns, damned puns, and statistics this week for our Christmas special! But you like puns. Right?

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.

Retired musician, current poet and DJ, and all-round lovely human Chris T-T joins us for a romp through the chess enthusiast's mind, and creative processing in general.

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.

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!

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.

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'.

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'.

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

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

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

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?

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.

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?

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