Not by the Playbook

• Chess mates

  The ancient game of chess is one steeped in tradition, with a history dating back centuries. The classical form of chess is still prominent on the global stage, but streaming and online platforms have seen the game now increasingly being played online – so much so that it’s set to make its debut at the Esports World Cup later this year.Not by the Playbook’s Katie Smith finds out more about the stories behind this historic board game – from a world record holder to the designer of one of the world’s most valuable and lavish chess sets.Nigeria's Tunde Onakoya shares his story from learning to play in a barber shop to setting the world record for the longest chess match last month. He played against Shawn Martinez for 64 hours in New York’s Times Square and he’s wanting to help children in Africa with a similar story to his.Jules Gambit was a junior chess champion in her youth but found that she was struggling to make friends, so made the switch to ballet. She’s now back involved in chess and is now a rising star in the streaming community. What brought her back to chess and is streaming the future of the sport?Anthony Mathurin is no stranger to strategic games as a chess coach and a contestant on The Traitors, but is he staying faithful to the classical form of chess?Also meet the designer of one of the most valuable and lavish chess sets in the world. The Pearl Royale is estimated to cost $4 million – but what’s the story behind the design? Australian jewellery artist Colin Burn reveals all.Listen to Not by the Playbook on the BBC World Service every Saturday at 0900 GMT, or find it as a podcast wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Get in touch with us via email and use the hashtag #NBTP on social media.Photo: The Pearl Royale chess set which is made of diamonds, blue sapphires and South Sea pearls. Credit: Aaron McPolin/Colin Burn)

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  49:10
• What's in a name?

  In 1991 the Chancellor family welcomed their new daughter into the world. they named her Emily. A bright and active girl she grew up watching Rugby union, but it wasn't a sport easily accessible to women. The game however has grown and it's set to get bigger with the Women's World Cup coming to the UK in September. And there's a good chance Emily will be there representing Australia. Chance. It's what you need in sport, in life in general! Chance. It's right there in her name Emily CHANCEllor... and so she has adopted a mantra, a tag line that she lives by... "Life of Chance" “What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” I mean if it's good enough for Romeo and Juliet, it's got to be ok for Not by the Playbook, right!?This week we are meeting three extraordinary women for whom their names mean something much more than just something they call themselves. In 1991 the Chancellor family welcomed their new daughter into the world. they named her Emily. A bright and active girl she grew up watching Rugby union, but it wasn't a sport easily accessible to women. The game however has grown and it's set to get bigger with the Women's World Cup coming to the UK in September. And there's a good chance Emily will be there representing Australia. Chance. It's what you need in sport, in life in general! Chance. It's right there in her name Emily CHANCEllor... and so she has adopted a mantra, a tag line that she lives by. "Life of Chance" I you say something flopped, you're saying it didn't work. That it failed but in the 1960s, American athlete Dick Fosbury invented the 'Fosbury flop'. It was as far from a failure as you could possibly imagine in fact it revolutionised the discipline of high jumping. Instead of diving or scissor-kicking over the high-jump bar, Fosbury floated, or flopped, across on his back. He went on to win a gold medal at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. Dick Fosbury died just over a year ago, but in 2011 he spoke to Alan Johnston about his iconic moment Names often have more than one meaning - apparently Henry means "home ruler", Amir means "to live long, to thrive" and Amy means "beloved". Our guest is called Mix, and it's a name she has chosen herself. It not only represents who she is but the name is the perfect reflection of the life she has lead. We have rarely had guests who have excelled at sport but pivoted in a totally different direction – but for archer Mix Haxholm Mix did, going from competing at the Olympics to lining up for "Miss World!” Atoya Burleson created the “Ladies Playbook” and takes us behind the scenes to a part of sport we never see, the lives of the wives of the NFL. It can be a very challenging life being uprooted and resettled, having to make a new home in a new city which can be lonely. The Ladies Playbook helps smooth that bumpy road. For so many, including Atyoa it starts with a love story, in her case one between her and Nate Burleson, who would spend 11 years in the NFL and is now a big TV star in the US, but their story began many years before when they were both at collegePHOTO: Emily Chancellor of the Waratahs receives the Super Rugby Women's Final trophy during the Super Rugby Women's Final match between NSW Waratahs and Queensland Reds at North Sydney Oval on April 12, 2025 in Sydney, Australia. (CREDIT: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

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  49:13
• Crossing the line

  Aneta Grabmuller is both a winter and summer triathlete. She first started competing at the age of 15, but within a few years she retired having fallen out of love with the sport. She had been subjected to behaviour from her coach that had crossed the line. She was convinced that her weight was a problem and started to train harder and eat less. The strain on her body had caused bones to break whilst mentally she was depressed and anxious. Stepping away from the sport, she studied, became an IOC Young Leader and a certified safeguarding officer. Now aged 25, she is back and better than ever, and when not racing she continues to advocate of REDs (relative energy deficiency in sport).In 1992, the British 400m runner Derek Redmond popped his hamstring in the Olympic semi-final. In absolute agony he got up and started to hobble to the finish line - determined to complete his race. Halfway round, his dad, Jim, ran on to the track to help his son home. It is an Olympic story that has inspired millions around the world.As it is London Marathon weekend, we focus on a great story about crossing the line at the inaugural London Marathon which took place in 1981. Dick Beardsley and Inge Simonsen who, having battled stride for stride for all 26.2 miles, crossed the line together... hand in hand. In doing so, the pair famously were declared "joint winners" of the London Marathon.And we are with two people as they get ready to compete in their very first ever marathons. One a multiple Paralympic champion and the other someone very close to Katie’s heart! So how have they found the training and having never completed the distance before?We finish with the ultimate finishing line story from in Finland. Only a few weeks ago two skiers crossed the line and recreated one of the most legendary moments in Winter Olympic history. Exactly 45 years after it happened at the 1980 Lake Placid Games, the two competitors, one a Swede beat his Finnish rival by just one-hundredth of a second, a tiny margin in any event, but the two had been neck and neck for every inch of that 15km, cross-country race. In Scandinavia that race is lauded like no other, so it was big news when it was announced they would meet for a rematch all these years on.(Photo: Sweden’s Thomas Wassberg and Finland’s Juha Mieto cross the finish line together. Credit : Matti Huutoniemi)

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  49:03
• The whole kit and caboodle

  This week we are focusing on football fashion and those using jerseys and kits to create clothing that looks fabulous on the field and fantastic on the fashion runways. Everything you want to know about how you elevate your team’s outfit.Christian Jeffery used to design football shirts for Adidas football but has since turned his very talented hand to a more artistic take on team jerseys. He talks us through his process of taking standard football shirts and making them bespoke pieces of fashion that have led to exhibitions of his work and fans from the very top of the footballing world. His designs are striking and intricate and speak to a deeper relationship between the club and the communities they represent. Former PSV Eindhoven midfielder Funso Ojo can still be seen doing his thing on the pitch each week in the English lower leagues, but as his career comes towards an end, he is eyeing up a new career. Inspired by his wife Julie, the two have set up a clothing company "Rose Ojo" that breathes new life into people’s old football shirts. Julie, who has a background in fashion, and Fuso, who is learning how to sew, have now got a thriving business upcycling clothes and making football fashion fabulous.It's all about getting your kit off with Robbie Manson. The New Zealand Olympic rower was combining competing in Paris with making a living tastefully taking his kit off. He made headlines when his “Only Fans” page became popular. The site which allows people to subscribe for personal adult content has made Robbie more money than his professional athletic career ever has. He discussed the moral and practical elements of being an athlete and an adult content creator.PHOTO: Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min standing alongside Christian Jeffery whilst holding one of Christian’s Tottenham kit designs. (Credit: Tottenham Hotspur)

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  49:11
• Messing about on the river

  We’re heading to the river as the University Boat Race makes its way down the Thames. Not by the Playbook’s Katie Smith chats to people who had the courage, bravery and fortitude to stay afloat when others would have floundered.Lauren Rowles is just 26 years old but is already a three-time Paralympic champion, starting in Rio through Tokyo and to Paris. A history maker who has had to overcome countless injuries and battled anxiety. She is a vocal member of the LGBTQIA+ community and a mum, first and foremost. She tells us how one morning, aged 13, she woke up unable to move. She had contracted the rare neurological condition Transverse myelitis. Overnight her life had changed but with the help of sport she has thrived and talks us through the challenges and success, including many a trip to the Palace.Rory Gibbs was part of nine men in a boat who won gold in the Olympic rowing regatta in Paris in August. It was a sharp contrast to the pain of failure he felt in Tokyo where he finished fourth and just outside the medals. He tells us what it took to comeback and climb to the top step of the podium. Since then, Rory has laid down his oar and picked up his pen. He gives us an exclusive reading of his new children's book, a fantastical set of stories all laced with lessons about how best to live your life. And what exactly does it take to win the University Boat Race? Sophie Shapter knows, she was the cox of the winning Cambridge boat in 2018 she talks us through the training, tidal waves and the trophy lift.Photo: (Left to right) Rat and Mole enjoy a picnic lunch as Badger, who dislikes socializing, watches in this scene from Dayton's holiday "Wind in the Willows" display in the eighth floor auditorium.(CREDIT: JOEY MCLEISTER/Star Tribune via Getty Images)

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  48:34

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