Actor Omar Epps, who is a nationally ranked chess player, spent much of his free time on set playing chess with various members of the cast and crew.
As Foreman and House discuss Foreman's sabotaged interview, House suggests it was Ashton Kutcher. However, in season 1's "Poison (2005)", one of the clinic patients (an 82-year-old woman with a recurrence of syphilis) says that House reminds her of Kutcher, to which House replies, "People are always mixing us up."
When Nate was under the influence of mushrooms, he says, "Hey, hey! It's Skippy, the bush kangaroo!" to Chase, referring to the Australian TV show Skippy (1968).
Talking to, much less taunting, your opponent across the board in a chess tournament is improper, can get a player warnings from the tournament director, and even a forfeited game for repeated violations.