Chess Masters: The Endgame

I love chess. When I saw a tag-line Chess Masters - The Endgame I was expecting something completely different.

Here's an idea. A game show with chess players where they are shown an end game - Chess Endgames. They could be told 'white to play and mate in 3' or whatever. Who can solve it? How fast can they solve it? Who can solve it fastest? Give a time between the contestants solving it and revealing the solution so the audience has a chance to solve it and you'll have millions of chess players glued to the screen. Give it decent prize money and it could be going for decades. Especially if you select regular players and exclude those above a certain rank - who can compete in the Master's version or the GrandMaster's version.

Please tell someone to use that. No credit required I just want to see the show. :)

For a show about chess you don't get to see the actual games, just constant closeups of the contestants faces staring at the board and commentators reacting to moves you can't see. Maybe one move per game they'll show you a very basic analysis of that single move and that's it. It seems not a lot of thought went into what exactly they wanted this show to be. Perhaps trying to jump on the hype that chess YouTubers have been generating for the game in recent years. Unfortunately they missed the mark and decided to go for the dramatic and dumbed down approach, showing in my opinion, a lack of understanding of what makes the games interesting to watch. For chess fans, don't bother, you can't analyse the games. For non chess fans, don't bother, it's as boring as you think it's going to be.

This is the biggest waste of viewers money I've ever seen.

It's totally unwatchable. It's so dumbed down, obviously aimed at a viewer MORON base it's CRINGE WATCHING.

I've honestly got no idea at what sort of viewer base they were aiming.

Those with an IQ under 90 won't understand a thing and with an IQ above 90 will think it ridiculous.

Maybe it's aimed at spaced out junkies.

How could the BBC have thought this was worth making. I'd honestly be embarrassed at taking part in this program, if that's what it can be called.

I'm sure there must have been better things to waste viewers money on.

David Howell is a genius player and a key part of this show, but I much prefer him in the role of proper chess analyst during actual chess broadcasts. This reality show version of chess is too corny and too ignorant of what is actually happening on the board. They want to focus on narratives rather than chess.

If you are a chess player then you are unlikely to enjoy this. You don't really get to follow the games since the show only wants to give you superficial talking points. Howell does his best to simplify his expert analysis, but I don't know any chess fans who want anything reduced to beginner commentary.

I gave up before the end of the first episode. If someone wants chess competition, check live broadcats of chess games. If someone wants dramatized chess then watch Queen's Gambit. Even documentaries of past chess world championships are much better choices than this show.

Howell deserves better.