Lennox Lewis is one of the guests who will be interviewed while playing former Sunday Telegraph editor Dominic Lawson
It is not the easiest of spectator sports, but BBC Radio 4 will put chess on the airwaves over the Christmas period with a series of interviews across the board by Dominic Lawson, beginning with former heavyweight boxing champion, Lennox Lewis.
Lawson, a chess aficionado and former editor of the Sunday Telegraph, will interview Lewis, a fan of the game, and four other guests while playing a game. The series, Across the Board, will begin on 30 December and run across the week.
It is the first time the BBC has put chess on the radio for half a century, since a series featuring chess prodigy and grandmaster Bobby Fischer ran on what was then called the Third Programme between 1958 and 1964.
Each game will last a maximum of an hour, with Lawson and his guests given 30 minutes each to make their moves. Listeners will not hear the game in its entirety, however, with each programme lasting 15 minutes.
Other guests will include shadow cabinet minister Rachel Reeves, a former British girls under-14 champion, and 19-year-old Hou Yifan, the current women's world chess champion.
It is 20 years since the BBC broadcast coverage of Nigel Short's world chess championship encounter with Gary Kasparov. The 1993 face-off, held at London's Savoy Theatre, was shown on BBC2 and Channel 4.
Radio 4 controller Gwyneth Williams said: "Chess is much more than a game – it provides a different perspective on the way we live; talk of endgames, pawns and checkmate has become part of everyday life, war and politics.
"I'm delighted that Dominic, an aficionado himself, will interview, whilst playing, a surprising list of chess devotees from all walks of life."
• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email media@theguardian.com or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".
• To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook. Reported by guardian.co.uk 3 days ago.
It is not the easiest of spectator sports, but BBC Radio 4 will put chess on the airwaves over the Christmas period with a series of interviews across the board by Dominic Lawson, beginning with former heavyweight boxing champion, Lennox Lewis.
Lawson, a chess aficionado and former editor of the Sunday Telegraph, will interview Lewis, a fan of the game, and four other guests while playing a game. The series, Across the Board, will begin on 30 December and run across the week.
It is the first time the BBC has put chess on the radio for half a century, since a series featuring chess prodigy and grandmaster Bobby Fischer ran on what was then called the Third Programme between 1958 and 1964.
Each game will last a maximum of an hour, with Lawson and his guests given 30 minutes each to make their moves. Listeners will not hear the game in its entirety, however, with each programme lasting 15 minutes.
Other guests will include shadow cabinet minister Rachel Reeves, a former British girls under-14 champion, and 19-year-old Hou Yifan, the current women's world chess champion.
It is 20 years since the BBC broadcast coverage of Nigel Short's world chess championship encounter with Gary Kasparov. The 1993 face-off, held at London's Savoy Theatre, was shown on BBC2 and Channel 4.
Radio 4 controller Gwyneth Williams said: "Chess is much more than a game – it provides a different perspective on the way we live; talk of endgames, pawns and checkmate has become part of everyday life, war and politics.
"I'm delighted that Dominic, an aficionado himself, will interview, whilst playing, a surprising list of chess devotees from all walks of life."
• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email media@theguardian.com or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".
• To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook. Reported by guardian.co.uk 3 days ago.
