QI | Can You Solve This Chess Conundrum?

This clip is from QI Series K, Episode 12, 'Knights and Knaves' with Stephen Fry, Alan Davies, The Rev. Richard Coles, Victoria Coren Mitchell and Sue Perkins.

[enzoma]

"There's a shotgun in the drawer" - bloody brutal lol

[Matthew-uted]

I remember playing "Suicide Chess" where the aim was to get all your pieces taken as fast as possible (King included). If an opponent's piece could be taken you had to do it, although there were often choices as to which one so there was a certain strategy.

Trouble was, play that for a while and when you go back to regular chess you find yourself deliberately trying to give your pieces away...

[aaronwebb]

"Isn't that rather more knights than we're used to?"

[decodolly]

No matter how many times I watch this Richard's "Isn't that rather more knights than we're used to?" makes me hoot with laughter. And I've no idea why.

[WolfJustWolf]

In high school, we used to play Anarchist chess, where there is no king or queen, and the goal is to completely eradicate the opponent.

[Pizza_is_old]

That poker game anecdote is incredible

[zyggy]

Question: “Can you solve this chess conundrum?”
Answer: “No I cannot Stephen, stop taunting me.”

[KaritKtana]

David Mitchell really won, Victoria is so cool

[dougler]

Stephen Fry is made out of wit, colour and comedic nuggets of gold. What a perfect host!

[puirYorick]

I hope Stephen records his memoirs for posterity. He seems to have been around for so many hilarious celebrity anecdotes.

[ArtyJerjerrod]

'Isn't that rather more knights than we're used to?' is such a lovely turn of phrase.

[giantnerd]

I still find myself coming back here just for "There's a shotgun in the drawer."

[mglenadel]

"When you move your knight, do you make a horsey noise?" My answer: "Nay".

[zetetick]

"There's a shotgun in the drawer" 🤣
I always suspected that Fry could knock out some memorable zingers after he's had a few, lol

[Chocomint_Queen]

Technically, you can have 64 knights and none can capture the other. If they're all on the same team...

[unfasten]

Don't worry, Rev. Coles, your bishop can't get you if you're on a different color square from his.

[AlfaMadDog]

Sue Perkins... In seconds she sussed the logic - that was good to watch!

[Showsni]

Some of the variants we'd occasionally play at chess club were laser chess and kamikaze chess.
Laser chess: no checks or checkmates. You lose by having all your pieces taken. If a piece is being threatened, it's automatically taken (with priority going to the piece that's just moved or the player whose turn it is if pieces are threatening each other). The idea is each piece holds a laser gun that it can shoot at the places it would move too; so if you move your queen to the opponent's back row it will wipe out the whole row in one go.
Kamikaze chess: no checks or checkmates. You win by being the first to have all your own pieces taken. If it is possible to take a piece, you must take a piece (like in draughts). A good strategy is to try and lure the opposing queen into your back row to play havoc!

[SpaceMonkey]

haha Coles was actually making a queen joke at 1:26 but nobody heard the beginning of it

[Kastagaar]

Can I just say that the speed with which Sue smashed that conundrum is outstanding.