
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
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 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 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
Series 15: 6. How Britain Won The Space Race: The Story Of Bernard Lovell And Jodrell Bank
21-03-2024
BBC 4
Series 12 - Magnificent Machines: The Golden Age Of The British Sports Car
Timeshift looks back to a time when iconic British marques like Jaguar, Austin-Healey, MG and Triumph sparked a manufacturing frenzy that helped to democratise speed and glamour.
23-09-2014
BBC 4
Series 8: How To Be A Good President
In a whistlestop tour through the history of the US presidency, journalist and author Jonathan Freedland asks what qualities make a great president and what we can learn from th ...
27-08-2024
BBC 4
Series 12: 8. Eyes Down! The Story Of Bingo
It is one of Britain's most popular leisure pursuits, but high street bingo came about almost by accident as the result of a loophole in an obscure piece of gambling legislation ...
11-06-2020
BBC 4