
Many people know the basic rules of chess, but few can play really well. This programme offers some essential tips on how to raise our game. \n\nBritish grandmasters Dan King and Ray Keene go through a special demonstration game from opening gambit to checkmate, revealing the key moves that can lead to victory. They explain the opening, middle and end games, and how to outwit an opponent with techniques such as forks, pins and skewers. \n\nAlong the way the colourful and diverse world of British chess playing is celebrated, including speed chess and chess boxing, and useful advice is offered on how not to be humiliated by a child prodigy. \n\nAlso taking part are novelist Martin Amis, writer Dominic Lawson, Britain's youngest grandmaster David Howell and under-16 champion Sheila Dines.
Source: BBC 4
The History Of Pubs
The pub has been the mainstay of British society since medieval times, a cornerstone of any community playing a unique role in national life. But in the past 50 years the pub ha ...
17-01-2026
BBC 4
Series 11 - Of Ice And Men
Documentary which looks at why the most inhospitable place on the planet has exerted such a powerful hold on the imagination of explorers, scientists, writers and photographers.
11-01-2026
BBC 4
Series 14 - Killer Storms And Cruel Winters - The History Of Extreme Weather
Lucie Green looks back through Britain's most dramatic weather history and sees how our reactions helped forge a weather science that today allows us to predict the worst extremes.
10-12-2025
BBC 4
Series 3: 18. Jet Set
Rich, distant and opulent, the jet set fascinated the public as they waved to us from airplane doorways before winging their way across the skies heading for yachts and exotic l ...
04-11-2025
BBC 4
Series 16: 1. Bridging The Gap: How The Severn Bridge Was Built
2016 sees the fiftieth anniversary of the Severn Bridge, which completed the motorway link between England and Wales. Timeshift tells the inside story of the design and construc ...
12-10-2025
BBC 4
Series 10: 8. Crime And Punishment - The Story Of Corporal Punishment
Timeshift lifts the veil on the taboo that is corporal punishment. What it reveals is a fascinating history spanning religion, the justice system, sex and education. Today it is ...
24-09-2025
BBC 4
Series 11 - Of Ice And Men
Documentary which looks at why the most inhospitable place on the planet has exerted such a powerful hold on the imagination of explorers, scientists, writers and photographers.
11-01-2026
BBC 4
Series 12 - The Joy Of (train) Sets
The Model Railway Story: How the British have been in love with model railways for more than a century, with unique archive and contributions from modellers such as Pete Waterman.
16-09-2025
BBC 4
Series 10 - The Golden Age Of Coach Travel
Documentary which journeys back to the 1950s when the coach was king. Those who had not travelled beyond their own villages and towns were given a taste of exploration and freedom.
04-12-2021
BBC 4
Series 2: The Great British Seaside Holiday
Timeshift presents a bank holiday celebration of the British seaside holiday experience from its Victorian origins and heyday in the 1950s to its slow decline and attempts at re ...
03-09-2025
BBC 4
Series 16: 1. Bridging The Gap: How The Severn Bridge Was Built
2016 sees the fiftieth anniversary of the Severn Bridge, which completed the motorway link between England and Wales. Timeshift tells the inside story of the design and construc ...
12-10-2025
BBC 4
Series 9: 6. Oliver Postgate: A Life In Small Films
Once upon a time, not so long ago, there was a man whose name was Oliver Postgate. He had a shed where he made things. \n\nWith his friend Peter Firmin, Oliver created entire wo ...
11-02-2024
BBC 4
Series 13 - Full Throttle: The Glory Days Of British Motorbikes
Documentary which explores the British love of fast, daring and sometimes reckless motorbike riding during a period when home-grown machines were the envy of the world.
04-03-2018
BBC 4