Chess Scotland Noticeboard

AMcHarg · Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 6:09 pm Post subject: Chess on TV Tonight BBC4 @ 22:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00p8lhp

Very Happy

Paul Denham · Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 6:37 pm Post subject:

Daniel King and Raymond Keane teaming up on TV.

Its like Kasparov - Short 1993 all over again!

PD

Jim Stevenson · Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 1:30 am Post subject:

A quick health warning for Geoff: I advise you to fast forward briefly at 2:02 Rolling Eyes

After a certain point in the alternative two K's banter one could easily lose the will to live, but overall there was some interesting new material. The legendary Tony Miles' comments at the end of his unfortunate Master Game final with Short were quality, and brought back a few memories.

Keith Ruxton · Queen Joined: 28 Feb 2007 Posts: 148

Anyone else think that this was one of the worst programmes they have ever seen? The only redeeming features were clips from old shows (I particularly enjoyed the Young Ones) but the endless stream of random 'tips' and utter drivel from the cliquish oxbridge (or is it just Oxford? who knows? who cares?) crowd very nearly led to me creating another famous Young Ones scene...where the tv goes through the window.

This programme was the antithesis of 'rampant'.

Keith

JR · King Joined: 23 Jan 2007 Posts: 447 Location: Edinburgh

I only watched the last 15 minutes and from what I saw it was absolutely awful.

Seemed to reinforce the typical image that the general public has of chess as a dull boring game played by a load of weirdos and I can imagine it would only put off potential players from taking up the game!

The worst bit had to be the clips of Jon Speelman dancing.

Truly depressing programme!

Duncan Grassie · Rook Joined: 25 Feb 2007 Posts: 64

Jim Stevenson · Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 1:48 pm Post subject:

More interestingly then, if you were producing a similar program: Whom are your target audience? And with which dazzling chess personalities, and with what material would you wow the fans?

For example, I thought that Danny King came across pretty well, despite the handicap of his comrade-in-arms Razz

GN · King Joined: 30 Mar 2007 Posts: 415

I was just pleased to see something (anything) about chess on the telly. Generally I thought the programme was quite stylised which is fine but content was something of a mixed bag e.g. The postal chess guy was pretty scary, I doubt the pin/skewer stuff was really of much interest to anyone, however I agree the old master game clip was great to see as were the clips from Chess Fever which are still the classic reference for capturing the chess player's obsession.

Overall I think it was encouraging to see this and I think everyone should enter feedback on the BBC website to say just that and ask for more. I think the link is http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/contact.shtml

Paul Denham · Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 2:04 pm Post subject:

I thought it was a fairly mixed bag.

The young British Girls Champion seemed to disprove the chess is played by a bunch of geeks.

Mind you the damage done by Nigel Short's comments on Kasparov being hairy was pretty substantial.

Loved the Speelman disco dancing at the end... painful thought it was.

I thought David Howell came across very well.

Why the hell did they have to have an empty dingy empty room with bare floorboards to interview Hunt & King in I will never know. Cold and Austere it looked.

I think some improvements for these types of show could be to focus more on regular club play and congresses and junior events, perhaps with some vox pop's of the "more marketable" adults & juniors who will come across well and positively promote the game and perhaps some chess parents too.

The blitz session looked mighty geeky and I thought they gave a disproportionate ammount of time to two harmless, but fairly undynamic geezers playing postal chess with each other and giving it the old " playing a game in 2 hrs just isn't my cup of tea" routine.

I think some positive things which could be included in a 1hr programme on chess could be;
- it's low cost
- it's inclusiveness (partially sighted players, physically handicapped, people with autism etc)
- Its popularity on line
- How global it is
- Some highly successful chess players in wider life (Norwood, McShane, Piket for example)
- the social aspect to team chess
- it's educational benefits
- that it needn't be elite (many clubs will happily work with and develop beginners and make a place for them).

I think its sometimes just good for chess to get air time as I think often its the physical look of staunton pieces, seeing players play moves and the intrigue of it all which can draw some people in.

Overall 3/10 for me

PD

Alan Tate · King Joined: 01 Feb 2007 Posts: 377 Location: Edinburgh

I didn't see the program but my non-chess playing friend did and said she learnt something from the program which was "Never underestimate the power of a pawn"! She also said it didn't do chess players any favours...

AMcHarg · Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 5:34 pm Post subject:

I also think it focussed on the stereotypes surrounding Chess, many of the things which make people stay away from it. I recall a comment along the lines of 'I went to a Chess club and was wondering if any of them were normal by the end of the night'. Ooh this is going to entice many people to the game isn't it... "I know, I'll go play a bunch of weirdos at a game...", we aint all weirdos! Crying or Very sad

They should have focussed more on things that are likely to challenge the stereotypes; not back them up.

Anyway; it's still good to see some Chess on tv, it's still much better than garbage like Neighbours or Holyoaks. Laughing

Geoff Chandler · Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 7:59 pm Post subject:

Unimaginative and pretty much as I expected it to be.

We will never be able to challenge XBOX and playstations and
their glizty graffics so the more socialable and fun side of chess
needs to shown.

I'd like to see them cover a bog standard league match featuring under
1600 players. Correctly done this would shed forever the geek myth.
If they knew the antics that some players got up to they would start
blaming chess for teenage crime and not computers.

(half of the Sandy Bells team, including my wife, have been banned
from Sandy Bells!).

However it was good to see Chess on the box.

The English lads are starting a campaign to bombarb the BBC
with letters and emails saying how good it was give us more...etc...etc...

I've sent mine off, everyone join in.

This is the email address I have seen them targetting.

john.das@bbc.co.uk

A Muir · King Joined: 15 Feb 2007 Posts: 489 Location: Dumbarton

The “How to win at chess” program is evidence of dumbing down.
Chess needs to be shown on tv for the public at all levels, not just for beginners or children.
The program showed clips of what we used to see and love. “The Master Game” (1977-1981), Karpov v Kasparov highlights and reports on the 1988 Chess Olympiad were excellent in their time.
The Rik Mayall scenes from Bottom were the only bits my six-year old daughter was interested in.

There are two Scottish teams in the quarter-finals of University Challenge: Hugh Brechin’s Edinburgh and St Andrews. These two teams are not among the favourites since other teams had higher 2nd round scores. I hope our teams don’t get up to the same antics as were shown in the film “Starter for 10”, a funny film with lots of good 1980s music which I saw last night.

Paul Denham · Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 3:02 pm Post subject:

Ultimately they should just have gone with King himself and left Keene out of it. Of course the latter's gigantic ego would never have allowed that.

Keene is a total yesterday's man in my opinion.

Also no place for the postal chess thing - correspondence chess of a form is much more widely played on places like Gameknot and Letsplaychess.com.

King should have visited a no of junior tournaments, class rooms and clubs on club nights (friendly pint and a bit of banter), chat with the ocassional female chess player thrown in (say occasional as we all know its a male dominated pass time) and a visit to a congress perhaps explaining diff in playinig strength between the groups. Show people the UK Chess Scene in as positive a light as possible and see who wants to join us at a club/congress or which teachers/ parents feel compelled to start a school club.

The Harriet Hunt stuff should have been kept to a minimum too (too geeky for me)

PD