Sue Perkins will present a new chess competition show on the BBC, the corporation has confirmed.
The BBC previously broadcast chess tournaments through the show The Master Game, which aired in the 1970s and 1980s, and saw commentary from previous champions of the game as it was hosted by Jeremy James.
Perkins, a former co-host of The Great British Bake Off, said her programme, with the working title Chess Masters, will see “12 talented amateurs from across Britain are pitted against one another in the world’s oldest game”.
The 55-year-old added: “It’s all about psychology, strategy, smart thinking, and nerves of steel. Chess that is, not my job (which usually involves the opposite). I’m there to help us understand what’s going on in the players’ heads and make sense of what’s happening on the board.
“We’ve been waiting over 30 years to see chess back on our TV screens. Chess Masters will make that wait worthwhile.”
Chess coach and former The Traitors contestant Anthony Mathurin, and three-time British chess champion and grandmaster David Howell will provide commentary for the show.
Howell said: “Chess has been a huge part of my life, and I cannot wait to invite viewers into the subtleties and intrigues of the game, as well as introducing them to the chess community.
“We have the perfect selection of contestants, reflecting the fact that chess is a game for everyone.”
The eight-part series comes after a surge in the popularity of chess amid the release of the hit Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit starring Anya Taylor-Joy.
It was announced last year by the previous government that 100 chess boards will be installed in public parks across the country.
