The Chess Pit

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.

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 and boring names for pets. We also build on our visit from the chessfeels podcast to pep Robin up for his tournament this week.

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.

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?

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!

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?

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!

The guys are still on a high from their first studio outing since March 2020 so please forgive the higher quality of chat than usual this week. The Belgrade Grand Prix is nearing its conclusion and we also set a rating metric which is superior to Elo.

We have a completely new combination of humans this week as Chris, Phil & Robin get together to solve all the world's problems. Shining brightly from the gloom we discuss the futility of an easy win, the Belgrade Grand Prix, and topless panellists.

Chris Russell, formerly of this parish, is back! He joins Phil for a look at their parallel chess careers from age 7 onwards within the English junior infrastructure and beyond. What went right? What went wrong?

The guys sound croaky this week. But it’s February, what do you expect? We go through our mailbag from two weeks ago, cover the ongoing Grand Prix, and Robin updates us on his over-the-board exploits.