Checkmate Me In St Louis

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 12 May 2016

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Dave Edmonds travels to the mid-western city of St Louis (location for the musical 'Meet Me In St Louis', starring Judy Garland) for the US chess championships. The city has become a world centre for the game of chess. Its status has partly been achieved by funding from a controversial multi-millionaire, whose childhood included time in an orphanage. Rex Sinquefield is well known for his fascination with the game and his enthusiasm is shared by many others. There is a thriving chess centre, elite tournaments which attract some of the top players, a Chess Hall of Fame and chess lessons in local schools.

St Louis is one of America's most violent cities and has most recently been in the news for race riots which erupted when an unarmed black man was shot by police. Can the game of chess serve to lessen racial tension and unite its citizens across the board?

Producer: Mark Savage

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is a BBC podcast.
0:02.3	You can get all our podcasts and our terms of use
0:04.9	at BBCWorldservice.com slash podcasts. I'm David Edmonds and for this week's assignment on the BBC World Service, I'm in St Louis, or is it St Louis, where everyone seems to be into the game of chess?
0:26.0	So, St Louis.
0:28.6	St Louis.
0:29.6	St Louis.
0:30.6	Welcome to the States.
0:32.1	Thank you very much.
0:34.0	Rick Jackson, press suit, bow tie, waistcoat and cloth cap,
0:38.0	meets me at the airport, along with his sleek black limo. How's chess going? How's chess going? My game is...
0:43.0	How's chess going?
0:47.0	My game is terrible these days because I'm so busy.
0:57.0	I'm not getting a lot of sleep and you can't play quality chess on very little sleep. You need sleep for chess. These sleep at chess. chess. I'm very little sleep.
1:03.0	You need sleep for chess.
1:04.0	The sleep at chess.
1:05.0	Why aren't you getting any sleep?
1:06.0	Wark?
1:08.0	Driving?
1:09.0	Yes. Meet me at the at the fair. Don't tell me the lights.
1:13.0	Looey, Louis, meet me at the fair.
1:20.0	Don't tell me the lights are shining any place but there.
1:28.0	We will dance the hoochy koochy
	...

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