The Chess Pit

The Chess Pit


Latest Episodes

S3 Ep16: A Pirate Eating a Lemon
April 21, 2022

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 tourna

S3 Ep15: Actors and not Professional Footballers
April 13, 2022

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.

S3 Ep14: Repression is a Weird One - with special guests JJ Lang & Julia Rios
April 07, 2022

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 Ro

S3 Ep13: Men Clutching Their Plastic Bags - with special guest Jim Stevenson
March 31, 2022

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,

S3 Ep12: You're Tuned Into Beefcake FM
March 24, 2022

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

S3 Ep11: Because It Requires Such Vigilance - with special guest WGM Jennifer Shahade
March 17, 2022

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!

S3 Ep10: Thickness of a Cigarette Paper
March 09, 2022

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.

S3 Ep8: The Law of Large Numbers - Young Talents special
February 23, 2022

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?

S3 Ep7: Advice on How to Dress
February 17, 2022

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.

S3 Ep6: Can't Hide From The Truth - with special guest Nate Solon
February 10, 2022

This week Jon and Robin are joined by chess data baron Nate Solon for a chat about analytics, analysis, AI and probably some other words beginning with a.