Robert Plant may be good at writing folkish Americana tunes, but he isn’t quite so good at playing chess.
The former Led Zeppelin member made a surprise appearance at a junior chess charity tournament in Bewdley, Worcestershire, on August 1st.
The singer ended up facing off against local teen George Walker, who went on to win the game by default because Plant ran out of time and had to vacate the premises.
“He was really decent,” the 17-year-old told the BBC. “I won by resignation because he had to quickly go, but it was a good game.”
The competition’s organiser, John Wrench, also shared that the team was “really delighted to have Plant along, and it adds a bit of prestige to the event.”
Though Wrench admitted that plenty of the under-18s in attendance didn’t quite know who Plant was, his opponent was quickly well aware that the man he was facing off was no ordinary chess enthusiast.
“I’ve been a fan of Robert Plant and Led Zeppelin for many, many years. My mum and sister like him as well,” Walker shared incredulously.
The teenager went on to admit that he was “shocked at first because he is one of my favourite music artists… seeing him there was shocking.”
Earlier this summer, the coveted musician announced a North American tour, coined Up the Sharp End, alongside Suzi Dian and Saving Grace, in support of his new album, Saving Grace.
Far Out gave the 2025 release a glowing four-star review, observing, “Plant himself is still fantastic years on from even the Raising Sand days. His version of ‘It’s A Beautiful Day Today’ is absolutely gorgeous, and ‘I Will Never Marry’ is the kind of melancholy that not even his former band could have reached back in the day.”
For now, Plant continues to enjoy his August off the road, after a busy June and July saw him perform in Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey and Croatia. Perhaps he can get a few extra chess lessons in before the North American leg kicks off…