'Chess Masters: The Endgame' aired its final episode on BBC Two, generating mixed reactions among chess experts and casual players. Experts found the show overly simplistic, while novices appreciated its accessibility and focus on characters. Despite competition from heavyweight shows, it managed to attract up to 1.2 million viewers for its premiere, although numbers dipped towards the end. The show's innovative challenges, crafted by grandmaster David Howell, contributed to its popularity. The English Chess Federation is considering a second series, as viewership dynamics unfold and audience engagement solidifies.
However, Charlie Bunce, director of programmes for the series production company Curve Media, said in an email to chess.com that the first episode had attracted just under 1.2m viewers, describing that as a great success, and that in the rest of the series the programme had held its share.
The grandmaster presenter, David Howell, created innovative challenges for contestants, including pawn races, memory tests set by his friend Magnus Carlsen, puzzles involving checkmates in one, two, three, four and five moves, and mini-simultaneous exhibitions, all part of the elimination process to produce a single winner.
Viewer numbers, as supplied by Broadcast, peaked in the first week at 890,000, then gradually dipped to a low of 535,000 on Easter Monday before rebounding to 655,000, a 5.5% share of the viewing audience, for the final week.
BBC policy is often to allow a new show a couple of series to find its target audience.
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