Awesome Sports, Vol. 1: Chess Boxing

Baseball, football, basketball and hockey have a bit of a popular-sports-monopoly going on here in North America, which is a bit of a shame. Don't get me wrong, these sports have their merits. I'm just saying, there are cooler sports out there that are currently not getting the attention they deserve.

Exhibit 1: Chess Boxing.

This sport, as the name implies, combines alternating rounds of boxing and speed chess (that's chess with a total time limit of 12 minutes per player). I would TOTALLY watch this. Forget the decathlon, chess boxing is the ultimate test of human capability. Imagine how hard it would be to get punched in the face a bunch of times, then play a round of chess. You'd be a little woozy, and maybe bleeding, and then you'd need to kick your critical thinking skills in to high gear. Then, once you've got your brain focused on the chess, it's time to go back to getting punched in the face, while also trying to land a few punches of your own. Except you're probably still thinking about the chess a little bit. "Should I play aggressively and force him to move his queen out into a vulnerable position? Or do I play conservatively, and wait for him to make a mistake?" Then you get punched in the nose for not paying attention. Being good at chess boxing would require absolute physical and mental discipline. Why is this not an Olympic sport?



As it stands, the sport is governed by the World Chess Boxing Organization. If you happen to live in Germany, there is an open German Championship coming up in April. Better start working on your cross check and your left cross.