HELD HOSTAGE: How I Carved a Chessboard to Survive
About this video
The guest recounts how he carved a chess set while held hostage in a barbwire camp, starting with a pawn and eventually completing a full set using a broken machete blade provided by a guard he could negotiate with. He describes how he and fellow hostages Keith and Tom played chess daily, which served as a mental escape from their harsh conditions including hunger, mosquito bites, and being chained together. The guest still has the original cardboard board (signed by all three hostages on the back with a date) and carved pieces, though he no longer plays regularly.
Key takeaways
- The guest carved a complete chess set during captivity using a broken machete blade given to him by a guard, working on it whenever the guard was on duty
- The guest describes playing chess daily with fellow hostages as a powerful mental escape that made them forget their physical discomfort, chains, hunger, and mosquito bites
- The guest preserved the cardboard board (which he laminated with packing tape) and pieces, including signatures from all three hostages and a date marking their continued captivity
Episode details: published May 29, 2025 · 2.5K views · 5:25 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Stories told by Mike Ritland’s podcast guests are the guests’ own accounts, attributed to them — not independently verified. Commentary is Ritland’s, presented as his analysis.
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