Chess Masters: The Endgame

Chess Masters: The Endgame
Genre	Reality Gameshow
Presented by	Sue Perkins
Starring	David Howell Anthony Mathurin
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	8
Production
Executive producer	Charlie Bunce
Producer	Katy Fryer
Production locations	The Coal Exchange, Cardiff
Running time	30 minutes
Production company	Curve Media Ltd
Original release
Network	BBC Two
Release	10 March 2025 (2025-03-10) – present

Chess Masters: The Endgame is a British television competition programme that first aired on BBC Two on 10 March 2025. ^{[1] [2]} The shows is a spiritual successor to former BBC Two series The Master Game . ^[3]

Format

The 12 contestants are split across two heats. The heats consist of the first six episodes of the eight episode run, three for each side of the draw. The players compete in a series of rapid chess matches, puzzles, memory tests and alternative chess formats (e.g. Fischer Random) throughout the heats. Each episode consists of two challenges and an Eliminator. In the heats, winning any challenge grants contestants a guaranteed pass to the next episode. The two contestants who fail to win a challenge compete in an Eliminator to decide who progresses to the next episode and who is ultimately eliminated from the show.

In the penultimate episode, the six surviving players return to compete against one another, before four progress to the final. For this episode, the last place contestant in the second challenge is also eliminated from the show. In the final episode, two players are eliminated through challenges leading to a final match between the two remaining players. The winner of this match is the winner of the series.

Series overview

Series	Episodes	Premiere	Finale	Winner
1	8	10 March 2025	28 April 2025	Thalia Holmes

Series 1 (2025)

Final Game
Richie Kelly vs. Thalia Holmes

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Kelly played Qf2. ^[4]

The first series of Chess Masters: The Endgame began on 10 March 2025 on BBC Two, and concluded on 28 April 2025. The show was hosted by Sue Perkins, supported by experts David Howell and former Traitors contestant Anthony Mathurin. ^{[1] [5]} The first episode attracted almost 900,000 viewers. ^[6] During the course of the series, the contestants completed challenges set by Howell, alongside playing against special guest Bodhana Sivanandan in the semi-final, and Howell himself in the final. Magnus Carlsen also made cameo appearances for memory challenges in episodes 3 and 6. ^[7] Thalia Holmes won the first series, beating Richie Kelly in the final game, after Kelly missed a win and got into time trouble. ^{[4] [8]}

Player	Age	Nickname	Hometown
Cai Brigden	34	The Unruly Knight	London, England
Caitlin Reid	25	The Smiling Assassin	Glasgow, Scotland
Claire Gorman	50	Killer Queen	Neath, Wales
Craig Robinson [9]	33	The Python	Spalding, England
Deema Khunda [10]	27	The Patient Predator	Leamington Spa, England
Kelechi 'Kel' Nkwonta	39	The Action Man	Bolton, England
Tallulah 'Lula' Roberts [11]	26	The Chess Princess	Paris, France
Navi Dhinsa	46	The Unrelenting Warrior	Kent, England
Nessie	27	Black Panther	London, England
Nick Templar	56	The Swashbuckler	London, England
Richie Kelly	63	The Strategist	Liverpool, England
Thalia Holmes	20	The Tactician	Chester, England

Ranking	Contestant	Episode				Ranking	Contestant	Episode
		1	2	3				4	5	6
-	Tallulah Roberts	IN1	IN2	IN2		-	Thalia Holmes	IN1	IN1	IN2
-	Caitlin Reid	IN2	IN1	IN2		-	Richie Kelly	IN2	IN2	IN2
-	Navi Dhinsa	FIN	FIN	FIN		-	Kelechi Nkwonta	IN1	FIN	FIN
7	Claire Gorman	IN1	IN2	ELIM		7	Deema Khunda	IN1	IN2	ELIM
9	Cai Bridgen	IN1	ELIM			9	Craig Robinson	FIN	ELIM
11	Nick Templar	ELIM				11	Nessie	ELIM

Key:

 IN1  The contestant won the first challenge.

 IN2  The contestant won the second challenge.

 FIN  The contestant won in the eliminator at the end of the episode.

 ELIM  The contestant was eliminated from the show.

Ranking	Contestant	Episode 7			Episode 8
		1	2	3	1	2	3
1	Thalia Holmes	IN	-	-	IN	IN	WINNER
2	Richie Kelly	IN	-	-	IN	IN	RUNNER UP
3	Kelechi Nkwonta	IN	-	-	IN	ELIM
4	Tallulah Roberts	LOSS	IN	IN	ELIM
5	Navi Dhinsa	LOSS	IN	ELIM
6	Caitlin Reid	LOSS	ELIM

Key:

 WINNER  The contestant won the final challenge, and was crowned the show's winner.

 RUNNER UP  The contestant lost in the final challenge, and was the show's runner up.

 IN  The contestant won a challenge, and remained in the competition.

 LOSS  The contestant lost a non-elimination challenge.

 ELIM  The contestant lost an elimination challenge, and was eliminated.

References

1. "Chess Masters: The Endgame contestants and presenters unveil the secrets behind its timeless and universal appeal". bbc.co.uk.
2. "Chess Masters release date confirmed – as BBC brings chess back to TV screens". radiotimes.com.
3. Barden, Leonard (7 March 2025). "Chess returns to the screen on Monday with Chess Masters: The Endgame". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 7 March 2025.
4. Barden, Leonard (2 May 2025). "BBC Two's Chess Masters: The Endgame divides opinions as winner is crowned". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 2 May 2025.
5. "Sue Perkins teams up with ex-Traitors contestant for Chess Masters". rts.org.uk. 28 October 2024.
6. Barden, Leonard (21 March 2025). "BBC Two chess show keeps 710,000 viewers despite rocky opening week". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 21 March 2025.
7. Barden, Leonard (28 March 2025). "Magnus Carlsen makes cameo in BBC Two's Chess Masters as drop in viewers slows". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 28 March 2025.
8. "Thalia Clinches Trophy In BBC's 'Chess Masters' Final Episode". chess.com.
9. "Lockdown chess fan joins new BBC show". bbc.co.uk. 6 March 2025.
10. "Leamington Chess Champ on BBC Show". bbc.co.uk. 17 March 2025.
11. "Lula's Experience on 'Chess Masters: The Endgame'". chess.com. 24 March 2025.

External links

• BBC portal
• Television portal

• Chess Masters: The Endgame at BBC Online
• Chess Masters: The Endgame at UKGameshows.com
• Chess Masters: The Endgame at IMDb