The following article is an excerpt from a large article titled Best Chess Podcasts: The Ultimate Guide To Chess Podcasts in 2022. Despite the “Review” in the title, it is primarily a subjective look at the landscape of chess podcasting and, as such, isn’t “objective” by any means. In this post/series of posts, I will share my impressions about different chess podcasts.
About the podcast
The Chess Underground Podcast is one of the four monthly (!) Chess Podcasts officially hosted by US Chess – the official chess federation of the United States of America. The show is hosted by NM Pete Karagianis, the US Chess Assistant Director of Events, and was first launched in November 2020. It is devoted to a wide variety of different chess topics – ongoing chess news, discussion of chess events, discussion of chess trends such as the rise of chess streaming during the pandemic, etc.
But the show also covers some unconventional topics, such as „Online Chess All-Nighters“ or „What is Chess Most Like“. This unconventional side is also foreshadowed by the official show description that states that The Chess Underground Podcast „explores eccentricities, peculiarities, and theoretical novelties“.
And it was precisely this unconventional, peculiar and eccentric side of the podcast that attracted me immediately to it and turned me into a regular listener.
My impressions of the podcast
Even though the Chess Undeground Podcast was launched way back in 2020, I wasn’t fully aware of its existence 1 until the following Twitter exchange that happened on 19th April 2022:
(For more INCREDIBLY FUNNY INSIGHTS AND COMMENTS LIKE THE ONE ABOVE, PLEASE FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER)
After receiving a reply from the US Chess official account, I realized that US Chess hosts no less than four (!) monthly podcasts. I immediately gave them all a listen and tried adding them to my regular podcast listening schedule. Yet, out of the four, The Chess Undeground was somehow the one that attracted me the most.
Why is that so?
For me personally, the „quirky“ vibe of the podcasts and the interesting topics that are being discussed make it somewhat unique and different compared to the other chess podcasts out there. I personally find in-depth discussions about the intricacies of the chess variants, the history of the online chess degeneracy, or who would win in a hypothetical chess match between Shrek and Andre the Giant extremely interesting and entertaining.
Of course, if it was all silliness and quirkiness, the podcast would have quickly become too absurd. This is why it is important to mention that the podcast is not ALL about these strange and unconventional topics. Thus, you will also have the opportunity to hear entertaining chess stories and discussions about chess books, chess tournaments, and chess players.
In my opinion – just like the Chess Feels Podcast -the Chess Underground has managed to find just the right balance between serious and non-serious, which makes it very insightful and at the same time entertaining.
I think all the credit for this general „vibe“ of the podcast should go to the host, Peter Karagianis. Peter strikes me as an extremely intelligent and informed person with an enormous, genuine passion for the game, while at the same time also as someone with a great sense of humour and who doesn’t take himself too seriously.
I also thoroughly enjoy the fact that his co-host in the majority of episodes since I started listening to the podcast was NM Gopal Menon – the same Gopal featured heavily in the aforementioned legendary episode nr.8 of the Chess Feels Podcast. Gopal is another extremely funny, yet extremely strong and knowledgable chess player. I think his dry, sarcastic and self-deprecating style perfectly complements Peter’s a bit less absurd, but no less relaxed personality and I find the dynamic between the two absolutely hilarious.
I genuinely hope Gopal will continue to be a regular on the show. But even if he doesn’t, I can wholeheartedly recommend the Chess Underground Podcast to everyone.
Notable episodes of the podcast
As mentioned earlier, since I found out about The Chess Undeground relatively late in the day, I naturally started by listening to some of the newer episodes – and three of them, in particular, left an indelible impression:
- Episode 37 titled „What Is Chess Most Like“, is particularly noteworthy for Gopal Menon’s passionate hate for overly used comparisons to chess in popular and sports culture.
- Episode 40, which provides a very insightful and thoughtful discussion on performing at one’s best and what contributes to the feeling of „flow“ in a chess tournament.
- Episode 41, in which the topic is Online Chess All-nighters. It also attempts to answer the million-dollar question: „Would Gopal know how to adjust the ICC client Blitzin settings even today?“
With that being said, I did go back in time to check some of the older episodes, and I really liked:
- Episode nr. 2 featuring a discussion with Micah Tuhy – a representative of the endangered species – chess historians. As someone who interacted with Micah a bit back in my Quora days, it was very interesting to hear him talk and share his infinite passion for the game in podcast form.
- Episode nr. 28 featuring WFM Devina Devagharan. Even though I am not too big of an aficionado of the Twitch culture, streaming, and Twitch personalities, I did listen to this one with great interest. It was very interesting to hear about the challenges of Twitch Stream from a „smaller“ streamer 2, and I also admire Devina for her firm stand related to mental health.