Chess Masters: The Endgame is a British television competition programme that first aired on BBC Two on 10 March 2025. The show is a spiritual successor to former BBC Two series The Master Game. It follows an elimination format, similar to The Great British Bake Off.

Format The 12 contestants are split across two heats. The heats consist of the first six episodes of the eight-episode run, three for each side of the draw. The players compete in a series of rapid chess matches, puzzles, memory tests and alternative chess formats (e.g. Fischer Random) throughout the heats. Each episode consists of two challenges and an Eliminator. In the heats, winning any challenge grants contestants a guaranteed pass to the next episode. The two contestants who fail to win a challenge compete in an Eliminator to decide who progresses to the next episode and who is ultimately eliminated from the show.

In the penultimate episode, the six surviving players return to compete against one another, before four progress to the final. For this episode, the last place contestant in the second challenge is also eliminated from the show. In the final episode, two players are eliminated through challenges leading to a final match between the two remaining players. The winner of this match is the winner of the series.

Series overview Series Episodes Premiere FinaleWinner 1 8 10 March 2025 28 April 2025 Thalia Holmes

Series 1 (2025)

The first series of Chess Masters: The Endgame began on 10 March 2025 on BBC Two, and concluded on 28 April 2025. The show was hosted by Sue Perkins, supported by experts David Howell and former Traitors contestant Anthony Mathurin. The contestants were generally of average club player strength and came from a wide variety of backgrounds. The first episode attracted almost 900,000 viewers. During the course of the series, the contestants completed challenges set by Howell, alongside playing against special guest Bodhana Sivanandan in the semi-final, and Howell himself in the final. Magnus Carlsen also made cameo appearances for memory challenges in episodes 3 and 6. Thalia Holmes won the first series, beating Richie Kelly in the final game, after Kelly missed a win and got into time trouble.

Player Age Nickname Hometown Cai Brigden 34 The Unruly Knight London, England Caitlin Reid 25 The Smiling Assassin Glasgow, Scotland Claire Gorman 50 Killer Queen Neath, Wales Craig Robinson 33 The Python Spalding, England Deema Khunda 27 The Patient Predator Leamington Spa, England Kelechi 'Kel' Nkwonta 39 The Action Man Bolton, England Tallulah 'Lula' Roberts 26 The Chess Princess Paris, France Navi Dhinsa 46 The Unrelenting Warrior Kent, England Nessie 27 Black Panther London, England Nick Templar 56 The Swashbuckler London, England Richie Kelly 63 The Strategist Liverpool, England Thalia Holmes 20 The Tactician Chester, England RankingContestantEpisodeRankingContestantEpisode123456 -Tallulah RobertsIN1IN2IN2 -Thalia HolmesIN1IN1IN2 -Caitlin ReidIN1IN1IN2 -Richie KellyIN2IN2IN2 -Navi DhinsaFINFINFIN -Kelechi NkwontaIN1FINFIN7Claire GormanIN2IN2 ELIM7Deema KhundaIN1IN2 ELIM9Cai BridgenIN1 ELIM9Craig RobinsonFIN ELIM11Nick Templar ELIM11Nessie ELIM Key: The contestant won the first challenge. The contestant won the second challenge. The contestant won in the eliminator at the end of the episode. The contestant was eliminated from the show. +RankingContestantEpisode 7Episode 81231231Thalia HolmesIN - -ININWINNER2Richie KellyIN - -ININRUNNER UP3Kelechi NkwontaIN - -INELIM4Tallulah RobertsLOSSININELIM5Navi DhinsaLOSSINELIM6Caitlin ReidLOSSELIM Key: The contestant won the final challenge, and was crowned the show's winner. The contestant lost in the final challenge, and was the show's runner up. The contestant won a challenge, and remained in the competition. The contestant lost a non-elimination challenge. The contestant lost an elimination challenge, and was eliminated.

Response

Critical response The Telegraph described Chess Masters: The Endgame as "quietly compelling", whilst The Times described the show as having "a wholesome nerdy charm". The first series of Chess Masters: The Endgame marks the first time that chess has been on mainstream TV for around 32 years.

Chess Masters: The Endgame has also received criticism. Reviewing the first episode, Lucy Mangan of The Guardian described the show as "so dull it's almost unwatchable". Long-standing Guardian chess columnist Leonard Barden noted that reaction to the show was polarised; players with some club or competitive experience often disliked it, finding it too simplistic and overly dramatic, while non-players and curious beginners tended to like it more.

Viewers Chess Masters also recorded a 5.5% viewer share, with 890,000 viewers in the first episode, dipping to 535,000 in episode two. The final was viewed by 655,000 people. The average viewers for the same slot is 1.7 million.

References

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