Magnus Carlsen, the world No1, made a cameo appearance via video in last Monday’s third episode of BBC2’s Chess Masters: The Endgame, challenging contestants to memorise a position from a “special” World Blitz game. Most of them failed badly, while viewer numbers, supplied by Broadcast, again dropped. It was at a slower rate, from 890,000 in the first episode to 710,000 last week and 655,000 this time.
Carlsen displayed the position after 29…Ka6 of his 2022 World Blitz game with Richárd Rapport, a wild encounter where he was a rook down for several moves.
The contestants had 60 seconds to memorise the diagram, then another minute to recreate it on their empty boards.
Carlsen’s own memory skills were tested by David Howell in a YouTube video, in which his performance was near-faultless.
Visual memory is one of the key factors in chess skill, and one which is often downplayed, as it is innate, hard to develop, and difficult to teach. In the 1940s Adriaan de Groot, a Netherlands researcher, showed a middle game position for 10 seconds to the former world champion Max Euwe, to a master, to a local champion and to an average club player.
Euwe dictated the position with no errors, while the master added a pawn. The local champion forgot a bishop and misplaced a rook, while the club player set up less than a third of the men correctly. Strong players visualise the pieces in clusters, the weak see only single units.
At the 1960 Leipzig Olympiad I gave some memory tests of a different kind to leading players, naming games and then asking them for details of what happened. The outstanding performer was the then world champion Mikhail Tal, who, when I named an obscure game of his from the 1954 Latvian Championship, responded with an account not just of the game, but of his discussions with his opponent both before and after it.
Strong memory as a function of elite talent is not peculiar to chess. The best bridge players can recall famous hands, and their own significant hands from years ago. It is also arguable that similar memory patterns may also operate in outdoor sport, where the best cricket captains can instantly recall how to set a field so that the batsman repeats habitual errors.
This evening’s 8pm BBC2 fourth episode of Chess Masters will feature six new contestants. They include Kel, 39, from Bolton, an experienced league and tournament player whose record gives him the potential to win the whole competition.
There is anecdotal evidence, plus some reports about newcomers to chess clubs, that the programme is enjoyed by social players and by those who compete online, although stronger players, and especially those who remember BBC2’s The Master Game screened half a century ago, consider it dumbed down and the contestants too weak.
It looks at the moment as if viewer numbers may stabilise around the half million mark. Given that the Monday 8pm slot with Only Connect normally averaged around 1.5mn, which was also the peak figure for The Master Game, it remains to be seen whether this is enough to guarantee a second series for Chess Masters: The Endgame in 2026.
A month ago Matthew Wadsworth, the 24-year-old Cambridge economics graduate who has three grandmaster norms but lacked the required Fide 2500 rating, reached 2491 with his performance in the Wightlink International at Ryde, Isle of Wight.
Last Saturday Wadsworth finally achieved his 2500 goal, or more exactly 2499.9 rounded up, when he shared first prize on 7/9 with four others at Bad Wörishofen, Germany.
His performance was not without incident, as a loss to the Armenian top seed in round seven turned his two final games into must-wins.
In round eight he was winning until he miscalculated with 28…b5 (better 28…Bxg2 29 Rxg2 Ne4) and was worse for the next few moves. In round nine his 24 b4! gave him a clear advantage, but later 36 Kh1? could have allowed 36..Nxe4! and Black is back in the game.
To replay the games, go to the menu at the extreme right below the board, scroll down, and click Fast or Slow Replay Mode as preferred. Alternatively, click the symbol at the right of h8 for the game with computer analysis. The round eight game is above round nine.
Puzzle 2618
Hans Niemann v Volodar Murzin, Titled Tuesday 2025. Black to move and win (White threatens Nxe4 or a8=Q).
Click here for solution
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