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00:01Chess, the king of games.
00:04Chess is no longer a hobby.
00:06It's war on a board.
00:09Give up!
00:10Never.
00:11Now 12 rising stars of the UK's booming chess community
00:15will battle it out in a series of heats.
00:18It's a boxing match, but of the mains.
00:21Oh my god, I'm so stressed.
00:23Playing for a coveted place in the finals.
00:26Do you become one with the board?
00:28I just want to win, I need to win in style.
00:30This game could explode.
00:33Wow, that's grandmaster genius.
00:36Scrutinising strategy, grandmaster David Howell.
00:40Richie had to capture this knight,
00:42otherwise it would take the Black Rook.
00:44Unpacking the motives behind the moves,
00:46chess coach Anthony Mathurin.
00:48Look at him, he's absolutely distraught.
00:51Facing a combination of brain-teasing puzzles.
00:54Yes, take it, take it.
00:56And intense eliminators.
00:57You wanted it spicy, I'll give you it.
00:59Awww.
01:00Who will topple.
01:02And who will rise victorious.
01:04Yes!
01:05That was one of the most intense moments of my life.
01:09To be crowned Britain's chess master.
01:13Oh no, it's over.
01:14It's over.
01:15Last time.
01:16One minute left players.
01:17Talia the tactician won the Queen's puzzle.
01:19Talia, congratulations.
01:20And soared to the winner's balcony.
01:21Yes!
01:22Oh my god.
01:23Yes!
01:24Oh my god.
01:25In the pawn race challenge, Richie the strategist triumphed.
01:30And despite action man Kel's psyching out.
01:31The predator closing in for the kill here.
01:33It was the patient predator, Dima, who prevailed.
01:37That was amazing.
01:39Leaving Kel to fight in the eliminator.
01:40What was I doing?
01:41Checkmate.
01:43Now, it's round three.
01:47At stake, a coveted place in the semi-final.
02:01Now, it's round three.
02:03At stake, a coveted place in the semi-final.
02:08I'm feeling both nervous and excited,
02:11Nervous and excited, it's both like I'm going, ah and oh!
02:15I will leave no stone unturned to win.
02:19Don't underestimate me.
02:21If you make a mistake, I'll bounce.
02:2564 squares, 32 pieces.
02:28You better be ready for me.
02:34Ahead of the players, await three brand new challenges.
02:39Hello, everyone.
02:40Hello.
02:41Well, hello, you.
02:42Welcome back, new day.
02:44Just to remind you, the stakes.
02:47At the end of today, one of you will be going home.
02:54Players, we've seen some incredible chess,
02:57but today, you're really going to have to up your game.
03:01This next puzzle is going to be set for you
03:04by none other than my friend, chess superstar
03:07and world number one, Magnus Carlsen.
03:09Oh, my days.
03:13Right, let's have a look at what Magnus has to say.
03:15This puzzle is a memory test.
03:22This is a very special game to me.
03:25It's from the 2013 World Chess Championship,
03:28and your task is to remember the positions of all 26 pieces.
03:33Good luck.
03:37Players, you'll get 60 seconds to memorise the position
03:41on the screen in front of you.
03:42As soon as the image disappears, you will receive a further 60 seconds
03:47to recreate the position on your boards.
03:50The winner of this challenge is going to get a very special advantage.
03:55Your time starts now.
04:00Having a good memory gives you an extra advantage in chess.
04:13The top players in the world memorise thousands of chess games every single month.
04:18This challenge will not be easy for the players.
04:20They will need a cunning strategy.
04:22I'm an engineer.
04:26Engineering is so similar to chess in many ways,
04:30because it's all about problem solving, but on the large scale.
04:33But I fear my memory being tested and me realising it's not as great as I thought it was.
04:43Chess is the one form of studying that I do enjoy.
04:46I've got a chess shed at the bottom of the back garden,
04:49and I can be in there for two to three hours a day.
04:52It's my pride and joy after the grandkids and the kids.
04:57I hope that that can compensate for the fact I'm getting older now.
05:03How would you go about memorising that?
05:08I would try to look for patterns that I already recognise.
05:13To say, for example, we have some castle positions where the king and the rock are placed,
05:20and also just try to have a good idea of the point for a nation.
05:29Just to remind you, you can now recreate. Go.
05:33I've been playing chess since I was about four years old,
05:43always bringing in trophies to show in school assemblies.
05:47I eventually ended up getting into the England junior team.
05:49Then I look back on it now and be like, I played for England.
05:51I've still got a shirt in my bag, by the way.
05:5330 seconds.
06:00When it comes to memory puzzles, I might be a bit slow,
06:03but I will get there in the end.
06:05Ten seconds.
06:14Five, four, three, two, one.
06:20Step away from the pieces. Hands away from the pieces.
06:23Right. How did they all track?
06:32Dima, this is the position we were looking for.
06:38And this is the position on your board.
06:44Green marks the pieces you placed correctly.
06:46You scored 12 out of 26.
06:51That means you are in fourth place.
06:55Kel.
06:58This is the position you set up on your board.
07:04You scored 14.
07:07That means you are in third place.
07:09Talia, Richie.
07:21In no particular order.
07:24Richie, this is the position you recreated.
07:33You correctly identified 20 of the 26 possible pieces.
07:40I'm really disappointed that I didn't do better.
07:42I was very impressed. You did great.
07:44I have been practicing that, though, I must admit.
07:48Talia, this is the board you set up.
07:55Talia, as you can see, that's a lot of green.
07:58Wow.
07:59That is a full house.
08:00That is stunning. Congratulations, Talia.
08:02You've memorized like a master.
08:04What?
08:05I have no idea how I managed to do that.
08:07I memorized the pawns first.
08:09White pawns, I realized, were all on black squares.
08:11King was castled perfectly,
08:13and then I had to memorize this little section
08:14and this little section here.
08:15But I'm very surprised I got them all.
08:17I'm going to give you an advantage for coming first.
08:20The next game we're going to play
08:21is a team game.
08:24And you get the opportunity
08:26to pick your partner.
08:29All right, guys, off to the players' lounge.
08:31We'll catch you in a little bit.
08:32And well done.
08:39Kel, Richie and Dima have a nervous wait.
08:43Gosh, that was tense.
08:45While Talia decides their fate.
08:48It's going to be so difficult to pick
08:49because of the varied play styles
08:51of the different players
08:52that can all help me in different ways.
08:53And it's going to help the other team
08:54in different ways depending on who I pick.
08:56So I'm really just going to have to focus
08:58and choose wisely.
09:00To be paired with Talia
09:02could make for an intriguing pair.
09:05And if I'm honest,
09:06it would be my preference.
09:08I hope I don't get to end up
09:09on a team with Dima
09:10because I think our style
09:12is quite on the reserved side.
09:16I fear that me and Kel
09:17are going to end up on the same team.
09:19He's going to try and play aggressive.
09:21I'm going to try and play defensive.
09:23And it's going to be massacre
09:24on the board for us, I think.
09:26Team Chess is something
09:34the players are unlikely
09:35to have ever done before.
09:37But to win this contest,
09:38the players will need to show
09:39a wide set of skills.
09:41This Team Chess challenge
09:42will test just how flexible they can be.
09:45Welcome, everyone, to Team Chess.
09:48Talia, have you decided upon that team-mate?
09:50It was a very tough decision.
09:53The person that I would like to be on my team
09:55is Ritchie.
09:59Nice shout.
10:00Can I ask why Ritchie?
10:01I played him in the first game.
10:02Don't want to play him again.
10:05Well, it's interesting you say that.
10:07I've just remembered
10:08the slight sting in the tail.
10:10If your team is not successful,
10:13you will face each other in the Eliminator.
10:16And that's the same for you, Kel and Dima.
10:19Ritchie, come to your spot here.
10:20Come on, Ritchie.
10:24Anthony and David will analyse the game
10:26next door in Chess HQ.
10:29Anthony, Team Chess,
10:30it's a bit like doubles tennis
10:31where you ideally have similar strength
10:34to your team-mate.
10:35Talia, she'll be looking for tactical moves.
10:38Ritchie, he'll be thinking about overall strategy.
10:40But together, are they a winning team
10:42or heading for an own goal?
10:45Dima and Kel, such different styles.
10:47If this was football,
10:49he would be an attacker,
10:50she'd be a defender.
10:52Will Kel take leadership from Dima?
10:55Will Dima respect Kel's choices?
10:59Good game.
11:00Right, to remind you,
11:02you have 15 minutes each on the clock.
11:07Your time starts...
11:09now.
11:13We're off.
11:14It is Dima and Kel
11:15starting this game with the white pieces.
11:17Each player takes turns moving a piece.
11:20They can consult with their team-mates,
11:23but they will make the move.
11:25OK, what do we think?
11:26Let's think, let's think.
11:28Take the knight?
11:30No, take on D first
11:31and then develop the white bishop.
11:33One takes on D5.
11:34Really fascinating to see
11:36the dynamic between Dima and Kel.
11:38It feels like Dima's
11:39definitely calling the shots.
11:41She was literally telling Kel,
11:43take that pawn,
11:44and he duly obliged.
11:45The action man's been kept in his box.
11:48Let's see how long that will last.
11:52My friends call me gingerbread man.
11:54In Nigeria, when we say,
11:55you've got the ginger,
11:56that means you've got the energy.
11:58I don't like boring.
12:01I like to play things
12:02that you may not have seen in the book.
12:03OK, let's think of the board.
12:06That knight is protected twice,
12:08so we can't take it.
12:10Where has the action man gone?
12:12This is not what we're used to.
12:13Will that affect this game
12:15crucially in the latter stages, David?
12:17This remains to be seen.
12:22On a non-chest note,
12:23I'd say from this angle,
12:24the main takeaway is Kel needs to
12:27just lift his trousers up a bit.
12:36It's a solid start from both teams,
12:38but no sign of an attack yet.
12:39There's got to be something here.
12:44Come back, come back.
12:46Really interesting to see
12:47Talia and Richie there.
12:48It's their move,
12:49but they stepped away from the board
12:51to confer.
12:52That strikes me as a critical moment.
12:55They might want to go on the attack.
12:57It's not going to stop us
12:59and we're from coming in at all.
13:01It's Talia with the idea,
13:02but it's Richie's move,
13:04and it does look like he needs convincing.
13:06What for your H4, you mean?
13:09Talia is getting impatient here
13:10with white's solid defence.
13:12It's looking watertight right now.
13:14She wants to push her pawn forward
13:16with the intention of going further
13:18and breaking open the white defence.
13:21Pawns are like battering rams.
13:22This would allow the black pieces
13:23to pour in a bit later on.
13:25This is risky, however.
13:27It would expose Talia and Richie's king.
13:30This is not a move
13:31that Richie would normally make.
13:36When I play chess,
13:38I'm generally a very calculated player.
13:41I take the risks when I see them.
13:44I'm going to be pulling out
13:44all the stops to win this game.
13:46It's aggressive and I like it.
13:47Do you want to play it?
13:49Yeah.
13:49Let's go for it.
13:50Play G5.
13:54Talia gets her way.
13:56It's the aggressive move.
13:57All right, let's...
13:58Let's...
13:58Okay, I've never seen that before.
14:02Do you know what I think?
14:04I think we can actually capture this knight.
14:06Kel, it feels like he's trying
14:08to spitball some ideas.
14:09No, you capture.
14:10This captures, you capture.
14:12You get two pawns here.
14:13This decision really sums up
14:15the differences in this team.
14:17Attacker Kel wants to trade off
14:18this black knight in the centre.
14:20Meanwhile, defender Dima
14:22wants to push their pawn forward
14:23to block the black attack.
14:26Who is going to get their way?
14:27Should I play it?
14:29Do you remember you played?
14:30Yeah, yeah.
14:30Dima putting her foot down, David.
14:35What I love about chess
14:37is how much control you have.
14:38And that's not the same for life.
14:41I originally grew up in Baghdad, Iraq.
14:44I was five years old
14:46when the war started.
14:47The bombing wouldn't stop.
14:49And you never know
14:50when the next bomb will hit you.
14:53It was hard witnessing it,
14:54but the hardest part is
14:56feeling completely powerless
14:58to stop it.
15:00Okay, first.
15:01Yeah, okay.
15:02Yeah.
15:03What I love most about chess
15:04is how we all start
15:05from the same position
15:06and it's so different
15:07from life in that sense.
15:09We get to play fairly.
15:13I just don't let them push.
15:16The teams have already used up
15:17three quarters of their time
15:19and the pressure is building.
15:23Dima and Kel are pouring up, Anthony.
15:25I'm not enjoying this.
15:26I'm not enjoying this at all.
15:27Yeah.
15:28The clocks are ticking.
15:29One side is going to crack.
15:30It's just hard to imagine
15:31who it could be.
15:32Go ahead in particular.
15:33Is it me to play?
15:34Check, check, check, check.
15:36Look, Anthony.
15:37Kel spotted a way to check
15:38with the White Queen.
15:39It's Dima's move.
15:40Will she listen?
15:41Check, check, check, check.
15:43Wow, and a Queen check.
15:47It's a very aggressive move.
15:48It's a very good move.
15:50Talia blocking the check
15:52with their Queen,
15:53giving Kel a tough decision to make.
15:55The White Queen is currently attacked
15:57and the best move here
15:58for Dima and Kel
15:59would be to trade Queens
16:01since they have the advantage
16:02of an extra pawn.
16:04However, we know
16:05that Kel's favorite piece,
16:06the attacking piece,
16:08is the Queen,
16:09so he will be tempted
16:10to retreat and save her.
16:12What will he now decide to do?
16:14Exchange Queens.
16:15Exchange Queens.
16:16No, Exchange Queens.
16:18We've seen a huge mistake.
16:20Kel's retreated the White Queen.
16:22That's the first blunder,
16:23the first mistake.
16:25Can we think
16:26before we move a little bit?
16:28Please.
16:31And then just play Queen and Bishop
16:32into Bishop here.
16:34Yeah, yeah.
16:35Talia and Richie
16:36threatening the White Queen again
16:38and there's nowhere to run.
16:40Uh, play quickly.
16:41Play Rook.
16:42Play.
16:42Take the Queen.
16:44Take the Queen.
16:44Take the Queen.
16:45Take the Queen.
16:45Take the Queen.
16:45Put it back.
16:46Take the Queen.
16:47There goes the White Queen.
16:48There goes the Black Queen
16:50and the White Knight.
16:53Wow, David.
16:54After that tussle,
16:55Talia and Richie emerge ahead.
16:57Oh, I'd like to be with them
17:01when they get out of this.
17:02The recriminations,
17:04the petty loathings,
17:05the seething rage.
17:08Over the next 12 moves,
17:10the teams are neck and neck.
17:13Exchange, exchange.
17:14As the board is decimated.
17:16David, a pair of rooks go off the board.
17:20This game is on a knife edge.
17:23I have to play next.
17:24OK.
17:25Chess is a wrestle.
17:26Your decisions will either make you
17:29win that wrestle
17:30or lose that wrestle.
17:32The tides could turn at any moment.
17:34That's Dima and Kel
17:38swiping up the remaining Bishop.
17:41Wow, this is so tight.
17:42It's down to just the last few pieces.
17:46The quickest way for either side
17:48to get a checkmate
17:49is to push a pawn
17:50to the other side of the board
17:51to promote and become a new Queen.
17:54Yeah, to push pawn.
17:55To push pawn.
17:56Looks like Talia and Richie
17:57are going to get there first.
17:59Yeah, just playing it.
18:01A new Queen about to appear.
18:04Resignation on Dima's face,
18:09dear David.
18:10For a chess player,
18:12there is no greater sight
18:13than seeing your opponent
18:15squirming when you've got them
18:17just where you want them.
18:19Talia and Richie smelling blood now,
18:21chasing the White King.
18:23Queen here is the fastest.
18:26This is about to reach its climax.
18:29Checkmate.
18:38Well played.
18:39Well played.
18:40The Queen came crashing in,
18:42putting the White King in check.
18:44The Queen, protected by its own King,
18:46cannot be captured.
18:47We call this the kiss of death.
18:49Checkmate.
18:50Wow, OK.
18:51In terms of all the games you've played,
18:53how gruelling was that one?
18:54It's never an easy game.
18:56You know what happens now?
18:57You get to go to the Balcony of Dreams.
19:00Go enjoy yourselves.
19:01Thank you very much.
19:02Huge, huge congratulations.
19:05Well done.
19:05No balcony for you guys.
19:07Both of you are going to face one another
19:09in the Eliminator.
19:11Oh, thank you.
19:14Keep that result.
19:17We managed it.
19:18We did.
19:19Well done.
19:20Done it.
19:20Yeah.
19:23Ahead for Dima and Kel,
19:25a battle for survival.
19:28I think the next game is going to be
19:30the most intense game.
19:33I feel like I know Kel now.
19:35I feel like if I create situations
19:37that are too difficult and tactical for him,
19:39he gets too excited.
19:41I know where he might make a mistake.
19:45I'm going to play Dima
19:47away from what she knows
19:50and get her to blunder.
19:57There's only one place left in the semifinal.
20:00Hello.
20:01The loser will go home.
20:04Welcome back.
20:04I guess tension's running pretty high
20:06for your Eliminator.
20:08David.
20:09Dima, Kel, take a look at your chessboard.
20:16We've scrambled the pieces
20:17on your starting rank.
20:19This is called random chess.
20:22Yes!
20:23It was invented by one of the all-time greats,
20:25former world champion Bobby Fischer.
20:27As you can see, you will not be able to rely on any pre-planned moves.
20:31Oh, my days.
20:32Please, go to your boards.
20:38Be sure random.
20:40Be sure random.
20:42In regular chess, this is how pieces normally sit on their back row.
20:46We see a king and queen in the centre flanked by rooks, knights and bishops.
20:50But in random chess, the landscape is very different.
20:54In this specific start position, we see knights in the corner, the queens in the other corner.
20:59And those are the key ingredients for our players to look out for.
21:02You have ten minutes on the clock.
21:08Your time starts now.
21:10It's a handshake and we're off.
21:15It's Dima playing white to start.
21:18This is an intriguing match here, David.
21:20We have the patient predator with a defensive play against Kel with his attacking style.
21:28We've started with a few pawn moves that look a bit weird.
21:32They're coming out at the edge of the board rather than the centre.
21:35This allows the back row pieces to move from their random positions.
21:38Over the next few moves, it's about who can really influence the game and exert their strengths on the board.
21:50Both players showing laser sharp focus and lots of caution as they get used to this random set up.
22:00Just as you said that, David, Dima gleefully grabs a pawn.
22:05Dima's taken advantage of her queen's random starting position in the corner to jump up the board and capture a pawn, defended by her bishop.
22:21This is a really cunning tactic.
22:23She's forcing Kel into a queen exchange, something that she's learned from being paired up with him that he really hates.
22:31We know Kel loves using his queen later in the game for aggressive attacks, but here, if he tries to run her to safety, then Dima will be able to capture Kel's rook for free.
22:40Dima is in a win-win situation.
22:42Dima's trying to be quite aggressive here.
22:44Yeah.
22:48Kel taking it all in his stride here, David, grabbing a pawn back while he can.
22:54But Dima gets that queen exchange.
22:57This is great news for Dima right now.
22:59She's still a pawn up.
23:00Growing up in Iraq has made me more ambitious and made me want to devour every opportunity that comes my way.
23:12Every move you make in chess, you have to reassess the position.
23:16Is there a weakness?
23:17It's that thinking of leaving no stone unturned.
23:20Body language is so subtle.
23:28Kel's not standing up and imposing himself like he's done in games past.
23:32But what he is doing, what he thinks of the piece.
23:35Slight sort of collapsed cobra vibe.
23:38Dima's not having any of it, she's just eyes down.
23:50We've entered the middle game, David.
23:53Can Kel find his Keller instinct?
23:57Dima, two pawns ahead now.
24:01There goes that hand once again.
24:03He's just desperate to go for the title.
24:06I listen to my spirit man.
24:08Some people call it intuition.
24:10But there's a spirit man in me that tells me what to do.
24:14And that is an inspired move by Kel.
24:20Let's take a look.
24:22Kel has just taken a pawn with his bishop, entering enemy lines.
24:26Here, Dima would love to get rid of this bishop, but she can't.
24:30Currently, her own bishop is pinned along this line.
24:34She cannot put herself in check.
24:38It's a powerful pin by Kel.
24:40And Dima, her best move is to push her pawn forward,
24:43trying to kick this bishop away.
24:47That pin on the bishop must be annoying.
24:53Dima finding the best move with her pawn,
24:56but Kel swooping in for Dima's bishop,
24:58his reward for that powerful pin.
25:01Dima is trying to remain poised
25:04as the action man turns up the heat.
25:07Right now, she needs to do what she does best, and defend.
25:13And there she goes, retreating her king.
25:21Let's take a look at the board.
25:23Currently, Kel's rooks and bishop look very menacing,
25:27piercing down into Dima's position.
25:30But as we've come to expect from her,
25:32she's got everything covered.
25:34Look at how her rooks defend each other.
25:36Likewise, the knights.
25:37Currently, Kel is lacking a clear target.
25:43Kel, marching forward with his bishop.
25:46Dima needs to stand firm here
25:48and keep her well-protected pieces in position.
25:50She's reaching out.
26:00She's not going to move a knight, is she?
26:04No!
26:05She's just blundered, Antony.
26:06That knight in the centre is no longer defended.
26:09Kel can just take it with his bishop.
26:11Disaster!
26:13Look at that, a shake of the head.
26:14And she's simply lost this piece for free.
26:19I see blood in the water.
26:22The action man has taken a bite out of the patient predator.
26:29When you're losing in chess,
26:31it can be one of the worst feelings in the world.
26:33You're thinking, what have I done to myself?
26:35But the best part about being resilient
26:37is you're able to shut that negative talk down
26:39and plow through it.
26:42Dima moving a pawn, trying to counterattack.
26:46But Kel crashing in with his rook.
26:49The question is, can he drive home his advantage?
26:53Dima using her rook to threaten Kel's bishop.
26:59But Kel's gone for a check.
27:03Resignation on Dima's face, David.
27:06All she can do is move her king towards the corner.
27:09She knows what's coming.
27:24A razor-sharp checkmate here.
27:26The white king trapped in the corner.
27:28Look how Kel's bishop cuts off the escape
27:30while his rooks team up,
27:32working together to cage Dima's king.
27:35That's a tough game.
27:36Yeah, I know.
27:39What a match.
27:41Dima, first of all, how are you feeling?
27:42Because you had so much of the board there.
27:44Yeah, I think I was winning for a major part of it
27:47or I had an advantage.
27:48But what happens in chess is you often blunder.
27:50And I definitely blundered.
27:52Dima, everyone, come on.
27:55Well, it's nice playing alongside you.
27:57Bye, guys.
27:57Bye-bye.
27:58Have a look.
27:59Kel, guess what?
28:00You are a semi-finalist.
28:02Oh, my days.
28:08That game was all about tactics.
28:10I did make a mistake and Kel fared light to him.
28:14He took advantage of that and managed to get a win.
28:16I'm quite proud of myself to get this far.
28:19Quarterfinals, it's not a bad result.
28:21Oh, my days.
28:23The semi-finals, come on.
28:29I am going to be trying my absolute hardest to be winning this.
28:32Let's bring it on.
28:33It's going to be a tough round.
28:34I already see it.
28:35I know that the tension is already building.
28:38I need to breach once more, you know, and we'll see where it takes us.
28:42Next time, welcome, welcome, it's the semi-finals.
28:47This is a battlefield.
28:49The winners from both heats return.
28:51Oh, my days.
28:52To take on the toughest challenges yet.
28:55This is catastrophic.
28:57As they fight for a place in the final.
29:01To take on the toughest challenges, you know, and we'll see where it takes us.