You haven't heard about this

By Michael Vass | March 24, 2010

Ok, at least I don’t think you have heard about this. I just learned of it myself.

Chessboxing. Any idea what it is? Well yes the name does give it away, but I mean have you seen it? Did you know it’s a world sport? That it’s been around for 7 years now? I surely didn’t until yesterday. And it is growing quickly. But let me explain what this is.

“Chessboxers go through alternating four-minute long rounds of chess and three-minute boxing rounds with a one-minute break in between. A maximum total of 11 rounds are fought out—six rounds of chess and five rounds of boxing. The fight begins with a round of chess. Each player has a respite of 12 minutes during the game of chess, which means the maximum duration of the whole chess game is 24 minutes. A K.O. or checkmate can lead to an early win, and the fight can also be cut short if a player exceeds the chess time limit or the referee decides the fight has to be aborted. If the game of chess ends with a tie, it is settled with the points earned in the boxing rounds. If the boxing fight ends with a tie, the player who had black on the chessboard wins.”

Well those are the basic rules in a nutshell. Still not quite sure what to think? Maybe you think this is for wimps and a silly European idea? Would you tell Lennox Lewis that to his face?

I’m not saying this is a stunning new sport that everyone should get involved with. But I like the concept. I like the opposing disciplines being combined. And given time to really catch on and mature, well imagine a fight between say Muhammad Ali (a great thinking boxer) and maybe a buffed up Bobby Fisher. Well maybe not that match up but you get the idea.

At the least, chess boxing is far more attractive, physically demanding, and intellectually rewarding than cup stacking or eating hot dogs. Which would you be more proud of, you or your kid being the world hot dog eating champ, or the chessboxing champ? Plus anyone that wanted to make fun of the sport would quickly find that there are no pushovers in it.

The more I think of it, the more I admire the concept. From what I can tell a recent match in London went quite well

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02qR0qhs8HY&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0]

Well, now that you know we will see if America will jump into this, or if it may become another sport like soccer and the World Cup that the rest of the world dominates and we avoid because we cant win.

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