The Chess Pit

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website Phil is joined by WIM Natasha Regan and Matt Ball, co-authors of 'Zwischenzug!', a new course on Chessable. Find out how much looking at the little in-between bits has been inspired by other games, and how much it's inspired them in their own chess. Natasha on twitter Matt on twitter

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website Phil is joined by England performance coach, snooker fan, and token Frenchman Benji Portheault to round off our series on the 2023 World Chess Championship. Please also see below for details of Benji's new mindfulness series for tournament players: Isabelle Choko Benji's new course

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website Phil and Robin offer a brief summary of the latest two games of Ding Liren vs Ian Nepomniachtchi, and then go into detail of the context this World Championship can be placed in, and what it means for chess going forward.

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website This time Phil and Robin are joined by Dan Gallagher to dissect the middle tranche of games in the 2023 World Chess Championship. How exciting has it been, gang! Dan's twitter is @BishopPair.

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website Phil and Robin are back to give you their thoughts on Games 1-4 of the 2023 World Chess Championship between Ian Nepomiachtchi and Ding Liren. Come back next week for Games 5-9!

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website Our late-night recordings are often tired and always somewhat beligerent. This one is no different! We pay tribute to Mike Basman, espouse the delights of Chess 960, and argue whether dragons exist.

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website The guys are back with more of the usual. The usual, in this case, being everything BC (Before Cheating). So expect a smattering of chess alongside a helping of romance, nostalgia, geography and etiquette.

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website Phil and Robin add to the dodgy chess journalism going round at the moment by giving an update to The Drama/The Beef/THAT. We promise we'll talk about something else soon but for now, here you go.

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website For the brand new Season 4, Jon and Phil are joined by new semi-regular panellist Rhys Cumming to discuss the Carlsen-Niemann furore, what it says about the modern game, and why chess seemingly always seems to eat itself.

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website Well, then. Magnus Carlsen has confirmed that he won't be retaining his World Championship crown in 2023. Phil and Robin round up the Candidates in the knowledge that the top two now qualify for a title match, and ask what Magnus's abdication means for chess.

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website Jon and Robin are joined by Dan Gallagher to review Rounds 7-9 of the Candidates in Madrid, where everything appears to be falling into place for Ian Nepomniachtchi to repeat. You can find Dan's twitter here! 

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website Phil and Robin are fresh from Round 1 of the Pimlico Open as the world takes a breather from the Candidates. Hear what all three guys think of Rounds 4-6 as we approach the halfway stage. Can Nepo do it again?

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website Hear what Jon, Phil & Robin made of the first three days of the Candidates in Madrid, with particular focus on Hikaru Nakamura who's certainly helping worldwide popcorn sales.

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website Our candidates preview special is live! We give in-depth assessments of each player's chances, as well as wondering whether the extreme heat in Madrid will have an effect. 

This week, Jon and Robin spend a lot of time talking about age, Jon moving back to London and Robin's ongoing travails at the board. Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website This week Robin and Phil quite simply want you to join a (good) chess club! Hear about their own experiences and follow their advice of what to look out for, and what to avoid.

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website This week the guys discuss how they could tutor a child in the ways of chess righteousness, while also offering adults tips on their first serious tournament games. A full lifespan in one episode! Also includes curry etiquette. You lucky people. Here's part two of Martin Justesen's chess boom substack we talk about: https://saychess.substack.com/p/is-the-chess-twitch-boom-over-looking?s=r

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website This week the guys plumb new depths of dorkery while wondering whether the chess boom is diminishing. Silly questions are back, and the Rookbusters clues might be somewhat familiar... Here's the article by Martin Justesen that we discuss.

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website This week Robin is a reasonably-established adult, while Phil and Jon are both nervous about football. We discuss the Candidates qualification process, being accused of being elitist, and the demographics of our listenership. 

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website 0:00 Intro 3:40 Phil has a quiz 5:01 Online chess as a gateway drug 14:11 Robin played a tournament 22:15 Mandatory women's/girls' boards in national league teams 34:37 Phil has quiz answers This week Robin has seven friends, Jon misses composing crosswords, and Phil seemingly casts aspersions on great mathematicians. The guys ponder encouraging female participation from the bottom up, and declare themselves to be far too busy for online chess.

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website 0:00 Intro 7:37 Phil has a quiz 8:30 Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding 15:44 Player pronunciations 19:52 Russian Exodus 32:56 Robin has a tournament 51:22 Phil has quiz answers The guys are back together for the first time in a month and get straight down to it with the nonsense this week including Spanish restaurants, triple jumping, and boring names for pets. We also build on our visit from the chessfeels podcast to pep Robin up for his tournament this week. In the spirit of this week's Rookbusters, you can find Robin's lichess account for correspondence games here.

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website Jon and Phil are joined by chess analytics human and resident Frenchman Benji Portheault to discuss chess on film, snooker, and whether Phil's French Rookbusters are better than Robin's English ones. 32:19 Rookbusters

This week Phil is still yanking around the US of A, so Robin and Jon welcome a couple of very special guests: JJ and Julia of the chessfeels podcast.  We kick off with some nonsense about names before talking about the psychology of chess. Julia gives Robin some chess therapy and… just how good are Robin's Rookbusters? Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website This week Phil is yanking around the US of A, Jon is hibernating during football's international break, but Robin is here in his cave to hold the fort. He's joined by his good pal Jim Stevenson to talk about Jim's new Chessable course on Alexander Tolush, a little-known (by Jon at any rate) Soviet Grandmaster. Enjoy!

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website This week Phil has been to the seaside, Robin has been in a moving van, and Jon has simply stayed at home. Hear the guys discuss the latest FIDE sanctions against Sergey Karjakin, the latest from the Grand Prix, and... what is the English Chess Capital of the World? 0:00 Intro 4:43 Phil has a quiz and feedback 11:32 Grand Prix 19:01 The Batman 25:07 Robin's on a drawing streak 36:17 Phil has quiz answers

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website When we heard that Jennifer Shahade would be in London to promote her new book 'Chess Queens', we jumped at the opportunity to get the whole gang in the studio to record an episode with her. So here it is! In the studio again! With Jen! You can find a beautiful hardback copy of Chess Queens here! Jennifer's website contains details of all her projects and socials, including her very active Twitter.

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Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website You can find Nate's twitter here and his Zwischenzug substack here

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Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website 0:00 Intro 6:07 Phil has a quiz and the news 15:07 The Chess Pit guide to (not) succeeding in 2022 58:25 Phil has a quiz answer Danny Gormally's article https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/

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Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website If you'd also like to see the guys' faces, go here!

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website If you'd also like to see Jon and Phil's faces, go here!

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website If you'd also like to see Jon and Phil's faces, go here!

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website If you would like to see Phil and Robin's faces too, you can do so here!

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website If you'd also like to see the guys' faces, go here!

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website 0:00 Intro 2:04 The news 4:10 Phil has a quiz 12:22 World Rapid & Blitz preview

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Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website If you want to see the guys' faces, go here! And you can find David on twitter here and here.

Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website If you want to see Robin and Phil's fine faces as well, go here!

With the World Chess Championship all but over as Ian Nepomniachtchi blunders again, the boys are back to talk Game 9, what this means for the match as a whole and what we should expect from the next few games. Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website

With Nepomniachtchi's capitulation in Game Eight, Jon and Robin spend some time breaking it down and thinking about the impact it will have on the World Chess Championship going forward. Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website

After yesterday's Game 6 drama, everyone expected a quieter (and shorter) game today. And so it transpired: a short and snappy draw carries us over the halfway point in the World Chess Championship. Jon and Robin cover Game 7 in this episode before debriefing Game 6 in a little more depth. Enjoy! Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website

WE HAVE A DECISIVE GAME FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FIVE YEARS! Jon and Robin give you a whistlestop review of the sixth game of the World Chess Championship and pep you up ready to go again tomorrow. Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website

It's the second Rest Day of the World Chess Championship but that's not stopping us! Jon is joined by a couple of very special guests to talk about the action so far. Benji Portheault and Dan Gallagher are both chess coaches and luminaries of the chess world. Listen to their thoughts on the WCC narratives, the availability of high-level punditry, sports washing, the "solutions" to draws and much, much more! Twitter Facebook Twitch YouTube Website If you'd also like to see Jon, Dan and Benji's faces, here you go!