# REWIND FRIDAY: Alien Chess Championship β™žπŸβ™›πŸ‘Ύ An episode of [Short Stories for Kids: Bedtime ~ Car Time ~ Downtime](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1557898989), 16 Oct 2026, 14 min. Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/s.gum.fm/s-624f621807754001d038e4b6/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/75787830/original_2025_09_23t112735_626.mp3 Written by Simon Chadwick Come and follow more adventures on our animated TV show on Youtube! πŸ“ΊπŸ€© SUBSCRIBE HERE: youtube.com/@shortstoriesforkidspodcast If you would like a special birthday shout out, order one here! πŸŽ‚ https://www.shortstoriesforkidspodcast.com/ Looking for Ad Free Episodes? Just join our 🌟PREMIUM CHANNEL 🌟 Join up to our Premium channel through your Apple player or here at Supercast: https://shortstoriesforkids.supercast.com/ And become a Super Fan of Short Stories for Kids! Here you will receive a Friday Bonus Episode every week! Plus our entire back catalogue of stories ad free! 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And what episode you heard it on and I will immediately contact Spreaker to block the ad. I take this very seriously and I really appreciate your support and co-operation. As creators, we want your child’s experience to be a pleasurable one. Running adverts is necessary to allow us to operate, but please do consider the premium subscription service as an alternative – it’s ad free. ## Transcript [0:00] Speaker 1: Hey everyone, we have a story request from Jack and [0:04] Speaker 1: his dad, John, and they would like a story where [0:07] Speaker 1: John and Jack play a chess battle in outer space [0:12] Speaker 1: on the moon with alien fans watching in a stadium. [0:26] Speaker 1: Jack and his dad, John, loved to play chess. The [0:30] Speaker 1: first time Jack played, the black and white checkered board [0:34] Speaker 1: had seemed a strange place on which to play a game. [0:38] Speaker 1: But stranger still were the playing pieces. Each of the [0:42] Speaker 1: two players had a king, a queen, two bishops, two knights, [0:47] Speaker 1: two rooks, and eight pawns, with one side's playing pieces [0:52] Speaker 1: being black and the other white. Jack was fascinated by [0:56] Speaker 1: the knights in the shape of horses and the rooks [1:00] Speaker 1: that looked like a castle's tower. His dad, John, had [1:03] Speaker 1: showed him how to arrange the pieces on the board. [1:07] Speaker 1: Each piece had a different rule on how they could move, [1:10] Speaker 1: so this took a while to learn. But in no [1:13] Speaker 1: time at all, he picked up the basics. The aim [1:16] Speaker 1: of chess was to try to capture your opponent's king. [1:20] Speaker 1: At first, Jack found this tricky. His dad had had [1:24] Speaker 1: more experience at playing chess, so beating him was impossible, [1:29] Speaker 1: for a while at least. Slowly, though, Jack learned from [1:33] Speaker 1: his mistakes and began to improve until one amazing day, [1:38] Speaker 1: he won his first game. And they'd been playing every [1:42] Speaker 1: day ever since.' Ready for a game, Dad?' Jack asked [1:47] Speaker 1: as his dad. [1:47] Speaker 2: Entered the room. Already? [1:49] Speaker 1: Well, I've not even had a chance to sit down [1:52] Speaker 1: and relax yet, complained his dad, pretending to be tired. [1:56] Speaker 1: What's the matter, Dad? [1:58] Speaker 2: Mocked Jack. [1:59] Speaker 1: Afraid I'm gonna beat you again? [2:01] Speaker 2: Beat me? [2:02] Speaker 1: Said his dad, dramatically, pretending to be outraged. A little [2:07] Speaker 1: pipsqueak like you? [2:08] Speaker 2: Never. [2:10] Speaker 1: Come on now, I'll pound you into the dust with [2:12] Speaker 1: my mighty chess-playing skills. Jack laughed at his dad's over-the-top reaction. [2:18] Speaker 1: as he set up the board, arranging the pieces in [2:21] Speaker 1: their proper places on opposite sides. Jack was going to [2:25] Speaker 1: be black and his dad was white. His dad settled [2:28] Speaker 1: into the seat, rested his elbows upon the tabletop, and [2:33] Speaker 1: pressed his fingers together.' Prepare to meet your doom,' he [2:38] Speaker 1: said with a wicked smile.' Ha- ha!' laughed Jack.' No chance! [2:44] Speaker 1: I am so gonna win!' Foolish child, sneered his dad, [2:49] Speaker 1: and reached to move his first piece. But his hand [2:53] Speaker 1: froze in midair as he noticed something strange about the board. [2:58] Speaker 1: There was somebody standing in the center of it. They [3:01] Speaker 1: appeared to be made of colored light, like a hologram, [3:05] Speaker 1: and they weren't quite human. There was definitely some extra arms, [3:10] Speaker 1: and the head was far too big. Greetings, humans, said [3:14] Speaker 1: the figure. Your desire to do battle with one another [3:18] Speaker 1: has been recognized. Who? Who are you? asked Jack, thinking [3:25] Speaker 1: that this was some sort of trick his dad was playing. [3:29] Speaker 1: You have been chosen by the Galactic Chess Federation to [3:33] Speaker 1: prove your skills in the Starlight Stadium, said the odd [3:38] Speaker 1: little figure. It is a great honor, as I'm sure [3:41] Speaker 1: you'll agree. Jack looked at his dad. but saw that [3:45] Speaker 1: he looked just as amazed as he did. I'm sorry, [3:49] Speaker 1: his dad said. But what's going on? But the little [3:53] Speaker 1: figure wasn't listening. Let's play, it said loudly, and clapped [3:59] Speaker 1: both pairs of its hands together. And in that instant, [4:02] Speaker 1: both Jack and his dad disappeared. Jack immediately reappeared somewhere [4:08] Speaker 1: entirely different. He was sat in a chair very high [4:13] Speaker 1: off the ground. surrounded by millions of bright lights. What's more, [4:18] Speaker 1: the moment he appeared was accompanied by a terrific roar [4:22] Speaker 1: of cheers, loud enough to almost jolt him right out [4:26] Speaker 1: of his seat. He was in a gigantic stadium with [4:30] Speaker 1: rows and rows of seating, although there didn't appear to [4:34] Speaker 1: be an empty seat in the place. The crowd was [4:37] Speaker 1: anything but human. instead made up of aliens of all [4:41] Speaker 1: kinds of strange bodily shapes and weird appendages. Jack's high [4:47] Speaker 1: chair was near the stadium's center, and before him was [4:51] Speaker 1: the largest chessboard he'd ever seen, as wide as a [4:55] Speaker 1: football field. And on the opposite side was another chair, [4:59] Speaker 1: on which he could see his dad waving at him. [5:02] Speaker 2: Jack, are you all right? his dad asked. [5:05] Speaker 1: Weirdly, He should have been too far away to be heard, [5:10] Speaker 1: especially over the sound of the crowd, and yet Jack [5:13] Speaker 1: was hearing him perfectly. [5:14] Speaker 2: Dad! [5:15] Speaker 1: Jack asked.' Can you hear me? [5:17] Speaker 2: Yeah, I can. There must be some kind of microphone [5:22] Speaker 2: and speaker system in our chairs,' he replied. [5:25] Speaker 1: Where are we? What do they want? [5:28] Speaker 2: Jack babbled. [5:29] Speaker 1: Well, I guess they want us to play chess,' replied [5:33] Speaker 1: his dad. [5:33] Speaker 2: But there are no playing pieces on the board. [5:37] Speaker 1: At the mention of this, the tiny hologram alien that [5:40] Speaker 1: had appeared on their home board now reappeared over their heads, [5:46] Speaker 1: but this time on a colossal scale. People of the galaxy, [5:51] Speaker 1: welcome to Galactic Chess Federation Starlight Stadium! Today, the stadium [5:59] Speaker 1: has come to Earth's moon to feature a game between [6:03] Speaker 1: two humans! Once more, the crowd roared their approval with cheers, [6:10] Speaker 1: clearly very happy to be there. Playing in the white corner, [6:14] Speaker 1: I give you John, said the giant alien hologram. And somehow, [6:19] Speaker 1: the crowd got even louder. As they cheered, the white [6:23] Speaker 1: chess pieces teleported onto the board. But these weren't carved [6:28] Speaker 1: figures or molded shapes, but real aliens chosen for their [6:32] Speaker 1: likeness to the traditional chess pieces. And playing in the [6:37] Speaker 1: black corner, may I present Jack, called the hologram alien. Again, [6:44] Speaker 1: the crowd whooped and hollered as Jack's black pieces appeared, [6:49] Speaker 1: again played by suitable looking aliens. Let the game begin, [6:55] Speaker 1: said the alien and blinked out of existence. A hologram [6:59] Speaker 1: of the board appeared in Jack's lap. Dad, is this [7:03] Speaker 1: how we get them to move? he asked, seeing a [7:06] Speaker 1: similar hologram board before his dad. [7:09] Speaker 2: I guess so, his dad replied. Let me try. [7:14] Speaker 1: Even though they appeared to be made of light, Jack's [7:16] Speaker 1: dad was able to pick up one of his pawns [7:19] Speaker 1: and slide it forward and slide it forward. Sure enough, [7:24] Speaker 1: one of a row of white bubble-headed pawns stepped into [7:28] Speaker 1: the square in front of it. The crowd approved with [7:31] Speaker 1: yet more cheers. Jack was keen to try moving one [7:35] Speaker 1: of his knights, played by black-furred aliens with long faces [7:40] Speaker 1: and pointy ears like a horse. His movement on his [7:43] Speaker 1: hologram board was mirrored by the knight stepping two squares [7:47] Speaker 1: forward and one to the right. Hey, this is easy, [7:51] Speaker 1: said Jack delightedly to more cheering. Taking turns, they brought [7:56] Speaker 1: more pieces into play, positioning them around the board. So far, [8:01] Speaker 1: Jack was enjoying it immensely, but his dad's next move [8:05] Speaker 1: was a shock. Using one of his bishops, his dad [8:09] Speaker 1: slid it onto the same square as one of Jack's pawns. [8:13] Speaker 1: If they'd been playing at home, his dad would have [8:15] Speaker 1: simply picked up Jack's piece and put it to the [8:18] Speaker 1: side of the board, out of play. But that's not [8:19] Speaker 1: what happened here. The crowd clearly knew what was coming. [8:29] Speaker 1: because they went wild when a large, lumpy, frog-like alien, [8:34] Speaker 1: twice the size of any of the playing pieces on [8:37] Speaker 1: the board, appeared beside the square. It leant forward and [8:41] Speaker 1: swallowed Jack's pawn before disappearing again. Uh, sorry, Jack, said [8:47] Speaker 1: his dad. [8:48] Speaker 2: That was sort of gross. [8:51] Speaker 1: Well, you best get used to it, said Jack, as [8:54] Speaker 1: he slid his queen into play straight onto the same square. [8:59] Speaker 1: The audience gasped, because now it was the white bishop [9:03] Speaker 1: that was in trouble. This time, a gigantic slug with [9:07] Speaker 1: a large mouth appeared and gulped down his dad's piece. [9:11] Speaker 1: The crowd were enjoying this immensely, and every time a [9:15] Speaker 1: piece was taken, they would shriek and stamp and cheer [9:18] Speaker 1: with delight. The game was evenly matched, meaning that the [9:22] Speaker 1: two players were steadily losing pieces at about the same rate. Then, [9:28] Speaker 1: in a flurry of moves, Jack's dad made a serious error. [9:32] Speaker 1: Jack managed to take his queen. The queen is the [9:35] Speaker 1: most powerful piece on the board, because she can move [9:39] Speaker 1: as many squares as you like in a straight line [9:42] Speaker 1: in any direction. So when the big black slug gulped [9:46] Speaker 1: the white queen down, it gave the advantage to Jack. [9:50] Speaker 1: But he still needed to capture his dad's king to win. [9:53] Speaker 1: But his dad's king was protected by a row of pawns. [9:57] Speaker 1: with a rook standing guard beside him. If Jack approached [10:00] Speaker 1: the wall too closely, he risked losing that piece. He [10:04] Speaker 1: needed to be careful. Meanwhile, Jack's dad was steadily advancing [10:09] Speaker 1: his other remaining pawn towards Jack's side. If he could [10:13] Speaker 1: reach it, the pawn could be turned into a new queen. [10:16] Speaker 1: And Jack would lose his advantage. Troubled, Jack wasn't sure [10:21] Speaker 1: what best to do. Attack the queen and force him [10:24] Speaker 1: out of his hiding place? Or go after the porn [10:27] Speaker 1: to stop it from becoming a queen? The noise from [10:30] Speaker 1: the crowd was making it hard to think. [10:32] Speaker 2: What's wrong, Jack? His dad asked. [10:36] Speaker 1: I don't want to make the wrong move, Jack replied [10:39] Speaker 1: with a groan. Of course you don't, said his dad [10:42] Speaker 1: with sympathy. But remember, you can't win every game. You [10:46] Speaker 1: win some, you lose some. And regardless of what happens, [10:50] Speaker 1: what you learn from this game may help you in [10:53] Speaker 1: the next one. [10:54] Speaker 2: Jack nodded. [10:55] Speaker 1: This, of course, was how he'd been able to beat [10:57] Speaker 1: his dad the first time. All the times he'd lost [11:01] Speaker 1: helped him find a way to win. And one of [11:03] Speaker 1: the things he'd learned to help him win was to [11:06] Speaker 1: use one piece to cover two problems. He slid the [11:09] Speaker 1: queen onto an empty space so that if his dad [11:13] Speaker 1: tried to move the pawn forward to his side again, [11:16] Speaker 1: He could move straight across the board and capture it. Plus, [11:19] Speaker 1: his queen was now perfectly positioned to take the rook behind, [11:24] Speaker 1: behind which his dad's king was hiding. Not wanting to [11:27] Speaker 1: lose another piece, Jack's dad moved his king one place [11:31] Speaker 1: behind his wall of pawns. It meant all his other [11:35] Speaker 1: pieces remained safe. Or at least he thought so. He'd [11:40] Speaker 1: not counted on the black rook. In the far corner [11:43] Speaker 1: of the board, Jack picked up the hologram piece and [11:47] Speaker 1: slid it to the opposite corner on the white side. [11:50] Speaker 1: The stadium erupted in a gasp. Jack had put his [11:54] Speaker 1: piece in danger. All his dad needed to do was [11:57] Speaker 1: slide the white rook across from where it was protecting [12:00] Speaker 1: the king, and Jack would have lost his rook. His [12:03] Speaker 1: dad's hand hovered over the piece, about to make the move. [12:08] Speaker 1: When he realized what Jack had done, the Black Queen [12:11] Speaker 1: wasn't just covering two problems- It was covering three. If [12:16] Speaker 1: his dad took the black rook, Jack's queen could take [12:19] Speaker 1: the white rook, and the king would have nowhere to go. [12:22] Speaker 1: I can't move, said his dad, sounding defeated. Whatever I do, [12:28] Speaker 1: you've won. We have our champion, bellowed the large hologram head, [12:36] Speaker 1: reappearing over the stadium. People of the galaxy, I give [12:40] Speaker 1: you Jack! To great applause and cheers, Jack waved to [12:47] Speaker 1: the crowd as his chair sank to the ground. The [12:50] Speaker 1: aliens that were his remaining pieces raced over to congratulate him, [12:55] Speaker 1: while nearby, the big white frog alien reappeared and the [12:59] Speaker 1: aliens that had been captured were allowed to climb back [13:02] Speaker 1: out of its mouth. Well played, Jack, said his dad, [13:07] Speaker 1: running across the board. [13:08] Speaker 2: You did really well. [13:10] Speaker 1: Thanks, Dad. Once I got used to this giant board... [13:13] Speaker 1: It wasn't too different to playing at home, grinned Jack. [13:17] Speaker 1: And there you were, saying you were going to pound [13:19] Speaker 1: me into dust with your chess-playing skills. [13:22] Speaker 2: Hmm, I did, didn't I? said his dad. I don't [13:26] Speaker 2: suppose you want to play best out of three. [13:29] Speaker 1: People of the galaxy, boomed the giant hologram head above them, [13:34] Speaker 1: remain in your seats, because here we go again. The [13:39] Speaker 1: End Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.