Xtreme Chess

The worlds of chess and reality television have collided. "Xtreme Chess Championships," which was created by Women's Grandmaster Jennifer Shahade, her brother International Master Greg Shahade, and Daniel Meirmon, features eight young American chess talents competing in a knockout competition. You can read more about it and watch the first two episodes here. You can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter; they do not appear to have an official website.

It's hard to know how to feel about this program. On the one hand, any publicity is good publicity, and there may well be people out there for whom this is an attractive first exposure to chess. On the other hand, the production quality and "performances" (I hesitate to say "acting," although the heavily scripted nature of reality television is an open secret) are of such a low caliber that I couldn't help but cringe repeatedly while watching it.

In the end, I just don't think chess and the medium of the television program are well-suited for each other. You can add celebrity commentators or reduce the time control, but in the end, chess can be played rapidly but must be savored at length. I do not mean to discourage anyone from enjoying "Xtreme Chess Championships," and indeed I hope that a great many people find it appealing. I fear, however, that the problem of how to market chess to the general public has not yet been solved.