
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 13 - Hurricanes And Heatwaves: The Highs And Lows Of British Weather
A national obsession is explored in this archive-rich look at the evolution of the weather forecast from print via radio to TV and beyond - and at the changing weather itself.
12-02-2026
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 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 13 - Hurricanes And Heatwaves: The Highs And Lows Of British Weather
A national obsession is explored in this archive-rich look at the evolution of the weather forecast from print via radio to TV and beyond - and at the changing weather itself.
12-02-2026
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 6: The Da Vinci Code - The Greatest Story Ever Sold
After Dan Brown's publishing phenomenon The Da Vinci Code was cleared of plagiarism charges, this documentary explores the climate which has permitted a fictional story to make ...
15-11-2021
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 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