Rook Takes King's Bishop -- With an Uppercut to the Jaw - August 28, 2008

 

Sometimes it's a bright idea to take two things that are good on their own and combine them into something great. Take peanut butter and chocolate, for example, or automobiles and airplanes, or even pluots (or is that apriums?). Other times -- pineapple and pizza, or Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman -- it's not so smart. Falling into the former category, as far as we're concerned, is Chess Boxing, which combines the mental challenges of chess with the brute force of the "sweet science."  The sport probably officially originated in a 1992 graphic novel by French cartoonist Enki Bilal, but versions of it appeared in movies from 1979 and 1991. Regardless, by 2003, the World Chess Boxing Organization had been founded, and official rules and regulations were devised: Six four-minute rounds of chess are sandwiched around five three-minute rounds of boxing. A knockout in the ring or a checkmate on the board wins the match. If either competition is a draw, the winner is decided on points.  While brawn is necessary in Chess Boxing, one would hardly compare reigning world champion Nikolai Sazhin to, say, Kimbo Slice. On the other hand, we think Mr. Slice could take out FIDE's current world chess champion Viswanathan Anand pretty handily. Even though it's easy to disparage chess boxing as a stunt, it surely tests both the mind and body at least as much as synchronized swimming or rhythmic gymnastics -- though we'd be plenty surprised if it were to turn up in London in 2012. Of course, if one wants to talk about a sport that really combines multiple skills, then one need look no further that Slamball, which manages to mash up basketball, football, hockey, and trampolining into a spectacle extreme enough to make the X-Games look like tee ball. Suggested Sites... World Chess Boxing Organization - the official sanctioning board, with news, events, and more information than you can jab a rook at. You Though We Were Making It Up? - blow-by-blow report of the 2003 World Championship. Chessboxing Nation - "Your chessboxing community." Time Magazine: Chess-Boxing Hits it Big - see, it's not just us. Time thinks it's pretty cool, too. Chessboxing: The New Craze Where Brain Meets Brawn - explains and illustrates the action.