Why can’t we get the scholastic championships on at least ESPN3? We have photogenic little kids doing something intellectual that would amaze the public! And with commentary comparable to what we saw from Jen and Ben at the US Championships, I’d think the public could follow it.
Chess doesn’t have the same immediacy of results as a spelling bee, nor does it have the “I could do that” factor.
They’re cute. The game barely amazes players, much less the public.
I think there are plenty of things we can do to have Nationals on ESPN2, particularly SuperNationals. We have in our favor the mass of children playing - the 2,500+ arms reaching to simultaneously make the first move. We can further adapt commentary to video; we can use Monroi on the top boards to quickly follow games.
Ideally, in addition to the video we produce to illustrate to the local economy what a nationals brings (something we have previously discussed to help local businesses understand the value of being open on Sunday for example, or for the purpose of selling kiosk space at the tournament) we should produce a video to illustrate what is possible with Nationals. It doesn’t have to be a “full” presentation, just something that shows the type of coverage possible.
Now kids playing high-stakes poker in Vegas I can envision on ESPN. Chess no. And why are kids cute and photogenic playing chess? Chess adults at tournaments used to be kids. What the heck happened to us?
We became super-annuated.