From TES issue 67 (January 2011)

Series 2. Level 1/2.
COMBAT CHESS
I’m a great fan of Combat Chess. Back in 1988, when I knew what chess was but had no idea what the pieces were called or how they moved, the intricacies of the game must have gone completely over my head (although I did always remember there had been a Knightmare challenge on a chessboard) but watching the videos as a teenager (when I was quite into chess myself) I derived a great deal of excitement from watching the teams get to grips with Combat Chess, even though I knew they were all going to win in the end. This is particularly true of Stuart’s team, whose first task after the Wheel of Fate is to play Combat Chess, and they certainly have a tough time of it. Watching this episode on video back in 1999, I was on the edge of my seat and I went through every mental process with the advisors, even though I knew they had to get through because I’d seen the next episode on video three years previously.

As Paul McIntosh tells us in his review of this challenge, there was actually no way the Bishop could have won, as the greater range of movement with the Knight’s move would always allow the dungeoneer (eventually) to get to a position where they could step on one of two “exit squares” (by which I mean the three squares that were one Knight’s move away from the door) with the Bishop only able to cover one of them at a time. But this does nothing to detract from the tangible sense of tension that the game often creates, and I always enjoy watching it, even though I know exactly what’s going to happen.

Treguard, too, was an enthusiastic fan of Combat Chess, and always leaned over the team and talked them through the whole experience, clearly with great enjoyment. Perhaps Hugo Myatt is (or at least was at the time) an avid chess fan; I certainly wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he was, taking into account his attitude towards this challenge. It’s a great little tension-building brainteaser that fitted in nicely with the lovely atmosphere of Knightmare’s early years, and always a pleasure to watch!

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