Chiv Chat

• Think certain chess books have rather poor covers? These are nothing compared to scifi/fantasy books, which are so bad there's even a specialist blog dedicated to them. And unsurprisingly there's a certain overlap with our preferred subject matter, like these two lovelies:

• Ah, the joys of alternate universes, where maidens are wooed over the 64 squares, and demons look on. Meanwhile, ask yourself a question. What if chess had never been invented until, well, just now? That's the premise of this review from another world (thanks to Richie C):

In a definite nod to Tetris, Chess eschews any kind of personality and styling in order to emphasize its supposedly addictive gameplay. Unfortunately, that gameplay is severely lacking. For one thing, there are only six units in the game. Of those six, two are practically worthless while one is an overpowered "god" unit, the Queen. She's your typical Lara Croft-esque 1990s "me, too" attempt to attract the fabled gaming girl audience from out of the woodwork to help solidify a customer base for a game that simply cannot sell itself on its own merits.

• Remember Dom Joly? Of Trigger Happy TV Fame? Remember he did a chess scene? Me neither. But YouTube says otherwise. Happy Bank Holiday viewing, assuming any going out is entirely rained off.